Has anyone else faced this situation?

[Seahawks1Fan]

Now that our Seahawks are very good and have high expectations from most of the national media, I knew that there would be a lot more Seahawk gear being sported because of the microwave socety mind set to get with a winner now. And that's okay for those folks.

But I absolutely hate it with a passion when I get lumped into that group of fickle fans.

So here's the situation I was wondering if you guys have had to face yet.

First of all I live in the Southeast so there's not very many people rocking Seahawks gear anyway. Last weekend I take my son and my mom to Golden Corral for lunch. (its her favorite place in the world to eat)
So I'm standing there in front of the grill waiting for the chef to put some of those yummy mini burgers out and there's a kid standing beside me. He's probably 13 or 14.

I've got on a Seahawks shirt and the chef looks at me with a smart ass grin and says "So you're a Seahawks fan" with a smirk. Before I could even answer he goes "for how long"?


OMG!!! I got so aggravated but I kept my cool and said "From day 1 buddy"!! "I've been a die hard Seattle Seahawks fan since 1976!!!" I continued...."Now I'm sure you've seen several Seahawks shirts and hats lately right?" He confirmed that he had. I told him that the thing that gripes me most are bandwagon fans who start liking a team because they're good. I told him that I've mostly suffered through 36+ seasons and it's awesome to finally be considered a contender again.


So I think he wants to test my fandom because he goes...."Who's that quarterback...and before he could finish his question, the kid next to me said "They have Russel Wilson now". I gave the kid a nod and said "that's right, we're set for a long while now". The chef continued...."No I'm talking about the one who started off good but ended up a bust" to which I immediately replied "Rick Mirer". He goes, "yeah, yeah, that's the one" "Okay, okay, I guess you're legit"
I said, "Damn straight I'm legit".

That bugged me for days thinking that I could be mistaken for a bandwagon fan just because we're good now.

Please understand that I'm not implying that you have to be with a team from the inception to be considered a fan, Not at all. Because I know we have many passionate young fans too.

But you guys hopefully know what I'm talking about right?

Have any of you experienced anything like this recently since everybody thinks we're gonna be good this year?

This is probably silly but it just bugged the crap out of me!

Okay, rant over!!! Fire away!!! :242735:

 

[BlueTalons]

You gota take it with a grain of salt that's all. I was sporting a Hawks ball cap in LA back in July 2010 (mind you...the team just came off a 5-11 2009 season and it was Carroll's first training camp) and I overheard a "I can't believe he is wearing a Seattle Seahawks hat!" I just shrugged.

 

[Subzero717]

You were at Golden Corral. Just sayin.

 

[CHawk]

At least now they are not asking "why" we are hawks fans that always bugged me. Just wait till we get some rings "fair weather" fans will be coming out of the woodwork.

BTW he's no chef working at Golden Corral ask him if he know who Emrial Lagassi (sp) or Gordan Ramsy is.

 

[sutz]

Well, I was wearing Seahawks gear in California in the 90's. Met some good fans down there, too.

 

[Seahawks1Fan]

You're right about Golden Corral. I never thought about it that way!!

 

[Stephen SeaHawking]

It's hard when you move to a different city. I just moved to DC and have to contend with all these scummy Redskins fans now.

 

[Evil_Shenanigans]

This is, I presume how all those old "Hells angel's" types feel now that all the baby boomer/empty nesters are running out and buying Harleys in droves. It is the cool thing to do.

No sense getting bent about the new "fans" getting on the gravy train.

 

[FDNYHAWK]

Are the redskins fans scummy? They were great, or I should say most were great at the playoff game last yr. amazing tailgating they do there also

 

[mikeak]

I have always been on the "don't be a fair-weather" fan but Colin Cowherd made an argument a few years ago (heard him make it again after that) which is - shouldn't fans hold the team and the management accountable?

Example Cubs (my baseball team long story but clearly not fair weather fan) - they have sucked for a long time. At times clearly not trying to win as much as just getting people in there and making a lot of money and big partying etc

So should I as a fan of the team that wants to see them win / work towards winning support that with my money on tickets and buying their gears? OR should I protest the lack of drive towards excellence by simply not giving them my money.

There is a fine line to walk and I get how "funny" it is with fans that now all have to rush out and buy the gears but there is something to be said for protesting with your wallet. Doesn't mean many of those people didn't watch the games every year in between and cheered for the team and really hoped they would turn things around........

 

[hawksfansinceday1]

Yeah, happened to me on these boards when the shithead Peehawk called me Hawksfansince2005 even though the franchise's first season was 1976, a year after I graduated from high school, even though I grew up in Spokane and lived in Seattle for 7 years total and even though I've spent 75% of my life (almost 57 years) residing in the state of Washington. But yeah Pee, you're right. I'm a bandwagon guy for sure.

:sarcasm_off:
.
.
.
Oh well, I'm not part of the "in" clique here so what would I expect right? I mean hell, I even get a mod attacking me rather than my post. I should really know my place I guess.

 

[Stephen SeaHawking]

I have always been on the "don't be a fair-weather" fan but Colin Cowherd made an argument a few years ago (heard him make it again after that) which is - shouldn't fans hold the team and the management accountable?

Example Cubs (my baseball team long story but clearly not fair weather fan) - they have sucked for a long time. At times clearly not trying to win as much as just getting people in there and making a lot of money and big partying etc

So should I as a fan of the team that wants to see them win / work towards winning support that with my money on tickets and buying their gears? OR should I protest the lack of drive towards excellence by simply not giving them my money.

There is a fine line to walk and I get how "funny" it is with fans that now all have to rush out and buy the gears but there is something to be said for protesting with your wallet. Doesn't mean many of those people didn't watch the games every year in between and cheered for the team and really hoped they would turn things around........

This is an extremely good point. If you look at the Browns franchise, for instance, they have an extremely loyal fan base despite putting a horrible product on the field year after year. As a result, there's no real financial incentive to ever get better. Browns fans always talk about how much they've had to go through, and how much they support their team - and it's all true. But in some ways that support is why they will never improve. There's just no pressure on the owner's pocketbook. And that's what really matters.

 

[Attyla the Hawk]

There are a lot of different reasons why people choose to follow teams. In the end, it has to be personally satisfying.

If you're a lifelong fan, then obviously what outsiders think of your fanhood can't really matter much. Otherwise, what's the point of suffering the losing and missed opportunities that is part of our experience?

I don't necessarily care about bandwagon fans. They don't really affect whether or not I love the team. Their existence doesn't legitimize or cheapen it. Although I'd say that the fact we have bandwagon fans is certainly better than the alternative we've had to endure the last 5+ years. It's all a natural part of success. I can live with that.

 

[LawlessHawk]

It's hard when you move to a different city. I just moved to DC and have to contend with all these scummy Redskins fans now.

That'll earn your stripes. You may get inducted into the seahawks fan hall of fame if you live through that stint.

 

[rastahawk]

It's hard when you move to a different city. I just moved to DC and have to contend with all these scummy Redskins fans now.

That'll earn your stripes. You may get inducted into the seahawks fan hall of fame if you live through that stint.

Try living in L.A. a.k.a Raider Nation. Thank goodness they suck now because its subdued the thug masses somewhat.

EDIT: But now we've awoken Dodger fan!!!

 

[SouthSoundHawk]

That's when you tell that person you hate them.

I've lost friends over my love for the Seahawks, and I never looked back. My real good friends know what's up. Hell, I got my friends mother into football and now she's a diehard 'hawks fan (no one ever sat down with her to explain football, so i took that opportunity to mold a new 12th man). My girlfriend asked me to explain football to her, so I'm making her play Madden against me. She'll be a fan soon enough.

Bandwagon fans only bother me at games, and only when they seemingly out number the home crowd. It's not difficult to sort them out once a conversation starts.

 

[themunn]

i couldn't give a rats ass what other people think of my fandom

 

[MontanaHawk05]

I didn't start following the Hawks until 2003.

 

[LawlessHawk]

Well to be honest there's only been a few years in Hawks history worthy of collecting a whole lot of riders on the bandwagon... and if you jumped in at any other time, you're just a self flaggelating masochist like the rest of us that have been around since day one. :192215:

 

[Stephen SeaHawking]

It's hard when you move to a different city. I just moved to DC and have to contend with all these scummy Redskins fans now.

That'll earn your stripes. You may get inducted into the seahawks fan hall of fame if you live through that stint.

Yeah, the Ravens fans here aren't as bad because the first thing I do is thank them for beating the 49ers in the Super Bowl. But those Redskins fans, man, still so bitter...