The Bandwagon fans and Sabres Nation....
Posted 9:14 AM ET | Comments 1
I have been a fan of sports for a long time, and I have seen my share of bandwagon fans…but outside the current day red sox (they couldn’t get a guy without a boston accent to admit they were a fan until they won…now some chucklehead in Indiana is proclaiming himself a lifelong fan, yet cant remember a manager prior to Francona), nothing touches the current day Sabres fan…
Now let me first be clear, as I know this going to ruffle some feathers (to put it mildly)…there is a significant portion of Sabres nation that have truly been lifelong Sabres fans…they remember seeing games at the Aud…they remember the days of the French Connection…they have truly been through thick and thin with this team, and as with most fans who are a fan during the good, and the bad, have had their heart ripped out and stomped on by their club. What I am getting ready to type below, is not directed at this group (and if you fit into this group, you know who you are)….
The bandwagoner that is mind boggling are those that claim to be lifelong fans, go around talking trash all year long, yet the minute that the team hits hard times, they aren’t anywhere to be found. Some characteristics of this lunatic fringe include:
- Sabres fans who have sweaters, t-shirts and ballcaps all with the slug…but nothing with the true sabres logo
- Sabres fans who like to taunt and point to other teams about how it is near impossible to get tickets to regular season games this year, yet weren’t in attendance, nor did they consider going to the non-sellout that was opening day last year
- Sabres fans who like to tell Canes fans that if it wasn’t for them sending an AHL team to the ECF last year they would have won the cup (love the revisionist history here…)
- The small segment of Sabres nation that has traveled to games in the last 2 years and has since garnered one of the worst reputations in the sport about being boorish, pre-pubescent drunks city after city, and defending their actions by saying it is a hockey game not a family event (and before the calls for other fans fly out there, I have been a lifelong fan, going to games all over the country for most of my life, and most recently a Canes season ticket holder since ’01 and no fan base comes close to this behavior). I can safely attribute this behavior to bandwagon sabres nation though as their fans (and the sabres have always been represented at the RBC Center given the local population from Buffalo) prior to last year are good natured hockey fans…who love the sport, and their team.
A couple of my favorite examples of this bandwagon fans posting from hockey buzz include…
Attributing the Canes lackluster season to…
I have rarely seen a fanbase so concerned with a team who is not in the postseason, when their team is making a run.
Regardless, I wish the longtime members of Sabres nation well, and I wish you luck in the playoffs…as the postseason experiences I have had give me some extremely fond memories. Though if I am being honest, I cannot say that I hope that your team prevails and wins the best trophy in all of sports…because the lunatic fringe of Sabres nation will be downright unbearable…
To those of you that fit the characteristics of this bandwagon behavior, please be careful falling off the bandwagon when hard times come…would hate for you to get hurt
Now let me first be clear, as I know this going to ruffle some feathers (to put it mildly)…there is a significant portion of Sabres nation that have truly been lifelong Sabres fans…they remember seeing games at the Aud…they remember the days of the French Connection…they have truly been through thick and thin with this team, and as with most fans who are a fan during the good, and the bad, have had their heart ripped out and stomped on by their club. What I am getting ready to type below, is not directed at this group (and if you fit into this group, you know who you are)….
The bandwagoner that is mind boggling are those that claim to be lifelong fans, go around talking trash all year long, yet the minute that the team hits hard times, they aren’t anywhere to be found. Some characteristics of this lunatic fringe include:
- Sabres fans who have sweaters, t-shirts and ballcaps all with the slug…but nothing with the true sabres logo
- Sabres fans who like to taunt and point to other teams about how it is near impossible to get tickets to regular season games this year, yet weren’t in attendance, nor did they consider going to the non-sellout that was opening day last year
- Sabres fans who like to tell Canes fans that if it wasn’t for them sending an AHL team to the ECF last year they would have won the cup (love the revisionist history here…)
- The small segment of Sabres nation that has traveled to games in the last 2 years and has since garnered one of the worst reputations in the sport about being boorish, pre-pubescent drunks city after city, and defending their actions by saying it is a hockey game not a family event (and before the calls for other fans fly out there, I have been a lifelong fan, going to games all over the country for most of my life, and most recently a Canes season ticket holder since ’01 and no fan base comes close to this behavior). I can safely attribute this behavior to bandwagon sabres nation though as their fans (and the sabres have always been represented at the RBC Center given the local population from Buffalo) prior to last year are good natured hockey fans…who love the sport, and their team.
A couple of my favorite examples of this bandwagon fans posting from hockey buzz include…
“Good for Whitney. He deserves it for sure. Now if the Canes make it deep into the playoffs again he can buy up all those tickets that the box office couldnt sell and hit up all the great golf courses since he hasnt anything to do right now. “
Attributing the Canes lackluster season to…
“they didn't get to play injured teams all year”
“Fact: Buffalo sweeps carolina in the season series this year. lol
Fact: Carolina last year (a good team///not the best) wins a very tainted stanley cup. Ignorant fans blinded by the light are unable to realize/admit that they barely beat a team with several missing starters. The canes had every last piece of luck fall in their lap last year, it was like the heavens parted for your team. Your playoffs last year was like watching Disneys Angels in the Outfield.”
I have rarely seen a fanbase so concerned with a team who is not in the postseason, when their team is making a run.
Regardless, I wish the longtime members of Sabres nation well, and I wish you luck in the playoffs…as the postseason experiences I have had give me some extremely fond memories. Though if I am being honest, I cannot say that I hope that your team prevails and wins the best trophy in all of sports…because the lunatic fringe of Sabres nation will be downright unbearable…
To those of you that fit the characteristics of this bandwagon behavior, please be careful falling off the bandwagon when hard times come…would hate for you to get hurt
I see you are using my vocabulary when you used the word pre-pubescent in your post. google