Is it ever acceptable to just hop on with a winning team or winning program, rather than just putting in the years of service with a team you have always loved? Is it ever okay to root for the good team at least in part just because they are good? When is it acceptable to others?
Bandwagon fans usually have annoyed me in the past, but a year ago, I hopped on the Bolts bandwagon and I rather enjoy it. I think that my story is a natural progression to like a hockey team and at least some bandwagon fans come to like a team in this way. The way outlined below is an acceptable way to be a bandwagon fan in my opinion. However, I do not by any means claim to be a die-hard, at least right now, at least until I am more invested. Feel free to let me know what you think, after reading the entire article of course.
I grew up in Northern Virginia, and never gravitated towards hockey. Neither of my parents liked hockey and I just never invested much time into it. It was not important to my family and I just didn't care. As much as I am obsessed with sports, I did not ever work hockey into the rotation (or golf until I was older). It was basically O's, Seminoles, Redskins and Spurs all the time. I did grow to like the Wizards as I was closer to high school because they were the local team. The Redskins I stopped rooting for when a family friend quit the team due to a poor ownership situation. Long story short though, I did not really care about hockey. For that matter though the only people locally I remember caring about hockey a great deal were my older brother (who rooted for like 5 teams) and my cousin Adam (who did like the Caps). I can never remember another person caring much about hockey. That seemed to happen after I left the state and went to college at FSU.
After graduating from FSU, I moved to Tampa and wanted to root for a local team. Several locals did suggest the Lightning, but I just was not ready to go all in on hockey and I tried to flip it on occasionally. Just was not invested though. I casually paid attention to the Storm as well and starting paying attention to the Bucs as well. When it seemed the Buccaneers would get Jameis Winston, I picked them up. The Lightning I picked up and claimed fan status a different way...
Last year, when the Lightning made it to the Stanley Cup Finals and Bolts fever swept through the Tampa area in tremendous fashion, I got caught up in it. That excitement captivated me and I was happy for the city and true Lightning fans. I gave in during those final two rounds of the playoffs and really enjoyed rooting for the Bolts. It was at that point that I decided to go in and even purchased some Bolts gear for myself. I was finally picking up a Tampa team, but it was admittedly to hop on the bandwagon of excitement that the team was bringing during a successful season.
That being said though, I picked up the team, but I am not die-hard like I am for the Seminoles or Orioles. Those will always be my two main teams. Bucs 3rd then NBA, but there is still room for the Lightning. Just in a 1 cable TV house, it means that they will never be at the forefront if a conflict exists with those other teams. For instance during a very important game 7, FSU baseball had an ACC Tournament game against Georgia Tech. I was much more interested in FSU than the elimination game. Even though technically, the Bolts played the more important game. I watched probably 10 games in full this year, but I know the players (my favorite is Killorn, he seems to be the guy who is constantly making good stuff happen in the clutch despite not being the best player) and follow the teams successes and failures. I consider myself a Bolts fan because they are my favorite and I am at least a little invested, but I am okay with those that call me bandwagon. I'm okay with it because it is true and because in this case, I feel there is nothing wrong with enjoying the ride.
Go Bolts!
I think this is an acceptable way to become a fan and hopefully most bandwagoners join their teams in similar ways. However, I do not believe that it is the case. Either way, I can't be too tough on bandwagon fans, because I did become one this once.
Next week, I will give my thoughts on the past NBA season.
-Noland
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