What is necessary to claim to be a fan of a particular program?

[bamabear82]

No one has said (that I know of) that a person can't be a fan. It's the lack of understanding from some that you're claiming to be a fan of a team of a college. Not giving a shit what is done by the student athlete or the coaches as long as they win is what some or most have an issue with. The fact that you have no connection to the school is a reason they probably don't give a shit. If you , your dad or your kid has a degree from there you actually care what peoples perception of the school is. I also have a connection to the Marine Corps. When i hear a story of a Marine doing some stupid shit , it upsets me. Get that?

As I said, I don't give two shits about the opinion on the subject of someone who wants to set perimeters to someone elses fandom. Your explanation is irrelevant.

 

[socaljim242]

As I said, I don't give two shits about the opinion on the subject of someone who wants to set perimeters to someone elses fandom. Your explanation is irrelevant.

It's totally relevant. Everything has parameters and I don't set them. I'm on one level . Some one who donates and builds a building on campus is on another level. It is what it is and you don't change it if you don't care.

 

[bamabear82]

It's totally relevant. Everything has parameters.

 

[broncosmitty]

Depending on how you define "go", I might need about 18 entries.

I'm actually in Mt. pleasant at the moment, so by "go", we cannt mean visit. Unless root beer and cheeseburgers are an option. Lol

 

[nddulac]

As I said, I don't give two shits about the opinion on the subject of someone who wants to set perimeters to someone elses fandom. Your explanation is irrelevant.

There is also a difference between "fandom" and a feeling of entitlement to dictate what a school does or doesn't do. I hate that boosters whose only connection to a university is that they donate money feel entitled to dictate who a schools hires, retains, or fires. Next thing you know, people will be expecting to buy curriculum as well. (Oh wait - that already happens.)

 

[Innermind]

To me the only real thing you have to have to be a fan of a team is to continue to root for that team, even when they are losing.


The two rules that @Boise4Life and @Innermind use of either having someone go to the school or live in the area are just reasons to make yourself feel better then other fans of the same team. If these rules were actually applied to the country, then people outside of the 128 cities that have a D1 school would not be allowed to root for College Football. So lets take the biggest city in America and tell 7+ millions people there that they are no longer allowed to watch or root for College Football. Lets take the state of Montana and it's population and tell them that they are no longer allowed to root for College Football along with all the other states that do not have a D1 school within their bounderies.

If these rules were actually applied to the country, then people outside of the 128 cities that have a D1 school would not be allowed to root for College Football. So lets take the biggest city in America and tell 7+ millions people there that they are no longer allowed to watch or root for College Football.


That's not sound logic.
Of course you can still root for college football. Example: I love watching the Michigan vs Michigan State Paul Bunyan Trophy Game each year, and would be very disappointed if I missed the broadcast. However.... some years I root for the Spartans to win the game, and some years I root for the Wolverines to win the game. I have no 'horse in the race' for the game, but I still love the contest! The same goes for the Notre Dame vs USC contest (some years I might root for the Trojans, and other years I'll root for the Irish).... I am the same way with many, many other games too! Here's another - The Nebraska vs Iowa game on Black Friday... screw going out to the malls to shop.... I wouldn't think of missing this game despite that on one given year I might root for the Hawkeyes, and the next year I might root for the Cornhuskers.

The point is I figgin' love watching college football!

Also.... enjoying and rooting for football goes way beyond D1. I try to attend a couple GLIAC D2 games at Wayne State University in Detroit each year and it is a blast! In this case however, I actually do have a 'horse in the race'. I am a grad of Wayne State and believe in being 'true to your school'.

I also root for Navy... why? My family has a tangible 'investment' in the Navy. My dad, who is still alive at age 92, is a WWII Navy vet.... there's my 'real' connection.

I tend to root for my region (Great Lakes area), and generally support all the schools in the B1G, and the MAC, and the GLIAC (D2) whenever they play somebody outside the region (out-of-conference). Example - I was tickled pink when Wisconsin beat USC in the Holiday Bowl several months ago (yay B1G), and yet.... I can be very happy with a USC win over Oregon.

I just love college football.


So.... hell yes you can root for college football..... but to be a 'real fan'/'invested fan' of a particular team, I still stand by my silly opinion in my post above.

And again, the Walmarters can be very rude and annoying.... those douchebags trash talk how crappy the other school is, and yet most of those bandwagoneers probably could not even academically qualify to get admitted into those very schools that they are trash talking about!



Yay football!




PEACE!

 

[B_dub]

That should have been one of the choices. I failed.

You probably lost a lot of Oregon votes without that one.

 

[Texas Jefe]

No one has said (that I know of) that a person can't be a fan. It's the lack of understanding from some that you're claiming to be a fan of a team of a college. Not giving a shit what is done by the student athlete or the coaches as long as they win is what some or most have an issue with. The fact that you have no connection to the school is a reason they probably don't give a shit. If you , your dad or your kid has a degree from there you actually care what peoples perception of the school is. I also have a connection to the Marine Corps. When i hear a story of a Marine doing some stupid shit , it upsets me. Get that?

This is an interesting point. There are levels of fandom, I guess.

For College sports, to me, it's much more than just winning. I have an investment in the institution. I belong to a brotherhood in a sense; I want those there to do well, to honor the university, to stand for something good, etc. I think that's why non Texas alums dont get the LHN. It's a network about MY SCHOOL, my family, in a sense. Yes it's hokey to outsiders, but I feel good when I see a random Texas track star who goes on to win a Gold Medal and shows her Hookem sign, then comes back and hangs out on LHN. It's more than just my football team winning...

It is different than how I feel as a fan of a professional team. Basically, I just want the pro team to win. Dont care about anything else they do.

BUT, I dont have anything against fans who are just fans because they like a team. I love the folks who live in Austin, never went to college, but they LOVE THEIR LONGHORNS. I mean what's not to like about that? I see them at games all the time, they bring their kids, all wearing orange, it's great.

If you support your team through the bad as well as the good times, that's all that matters to me.

 

[4down20]

You seriously need to learn the difference between being a fan of a Pro Team and a college with a football team.

Oh yeah, lets here those differences.

 

[4down20]

It's totally relevant. Everything has parameters and I don't set them. I'm on one level . Some one who donates and builds a building on campus is on another level. It is what it is and you don't change it if you don't care.

What level do you need to be in order to tell others if they are a fan or not?

 

[Deep Creek]

We can have another poll:

Why did you chose to go to a certain school?

Answers would be very interesting.

After I gave college golf a whirl, I decided I wanted to be a high school basketball coach. Could only afford to go to a state school. I consulted my high school basketball coach. He didn't hesitate in telling me that there was only one school to attend in Texas if you wanted to learn how to teach basketball. I sat through many Don Haskins' practices.

Had to be exiled to the desert to learn my craft from a transplanted Okie. Go figure!

 

[4down20]

Oh yeah, lets here those differences.

Also, hear them.

 

[TROJAN-MAN]

Damn 420 must'a thought this "bitch thread was about him " they way he carried on with the post following the erection of this thread

 

[4down20]

Damn 420 must'a thought this "bitch thread was about him " they way he carried on with the post following the erection of this thread

I hate when I think it's me being quoted and getting alerted about a thread being made only to find out I imagined it.

 

[outofyourmind]

 

[H2S]

but I bleed green (and paid dearly for the transfusion), DEPT...

Yay football!

I like the way you think.
For a period of over 20 years, I business traveled & entertained bookoo...
got to get to collegiate & professional sports events all over the damn place...
got to get to who fuck cares who's playing? it's FOOTBALL* fer crying out loud.

*or Baseball, Hockey, Golf, Women's Volleyball, etc... ie: ALL SPORTS

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

Good lord. Now there are rules to being a fan? Too funny. I was brought up a Michigan fan from the time I was born. I've watched their games every week for as long as I can remember. I get a kick out of MSU fans calling a Michigan fan a "walverine" if you didn't go to school there. Here are the average scores for the 6000+ incoming freshman in 2015:
Average HS GPA -- 3.85
Average ACT score -- 31-34 (95-99 percentile)
Average SAT score -- 2100-2300 (95-99 percentile)

They had 52,000 students apply to go to UM in 2015 and had applicants from all 50 states and 114 different countries -- only 20% of the applicants were accepted.

So unless you graduated near the top of your high school class and get either a top 5% score on your ACT or SAT, you aren't getting in. Even then, you STILL may not get in. So that means you can't be a fan?

Two of my brothers graduated from Western Michigan -- one is a die hard Notre Dame fan, one is a die hard Michigan fan for football, but is a die hard Duke fan in basketball.

 

[KnightAndDay]

#1. Must support said team through good times and bad times, through winning and losing etc.

#2. Must be knowledgeable in said team's tradition and history.


IMO.

 

[nddulac]

one is a die hard Michigan fan for football, but is a die hard Duke fan in basketball.

This is a phenomenon I will never understand.

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

Someone please give me the ground rules for being a fan so I can reconsider who I should be cheering for. I'm going to be very upset if I've been a fan of the wrong teams all my life.