From number crunchers to diehards, there are enough fans to fill stadiums
There are many kinds of them. Some are loud and obnoxious, while others are calm and intellectual. Some base their arguments on emotions and heart, while others use numbers to back their points. They come in all shapes and sizes and everyone knows at least one type of them.
I am talking about sports fans. There are many types of sports fans. To help you differentiate what type you and your friends are, here are the descriptions of some of the most common ones around.
The hometown try-hard: This type of sports fan’s cheers and rooting interests are generally limited to one city. Even when their team is performing poorly, they don’t care as long as teams from a rival city are worse off. They are impossible to discuss or debate sports with because they are rarely objective in their argument and try too hard to impose their subjective values. Although you have to admire their dedication to not only franchises but also to a city, they are some of the worst sports fans out there. The hometown try-hard will often cheer for teams located in the Boston, Toronto, New York, or Los Angeles area.
The analytics fan: Numbers, numbers, and numbers: those are the things they keep bringing up when sports are discussed. Never mind emotions, crowd noise, pressure, a coach’s gut feeling, a player’s sports IQ, luck, or team chemistry. If numbers can’t explain it, the stats fan will deem it irrelevant. A stats person will not be able to explain how in 2007 the Golden State Warriors eliminated the Dallas Mavericks in the playoffs. Discussing sports with this type of fan is always tricky because they will try to make the numbers work in their favour. Numbers never lie, but they don’t always explain reality.
The bandwagoner: This person has no rooting interest. They cheer for the hot team of the moment. However we must specify that there are two types of bandwagoners. The first type only cheers for the good team of the moment. The second bandwagoner cheers for a team after they become good or acquire good players and they stick with that team for the rest of their lives.
Miami Heat fans, ‘90s Chicago Bulls fans, and the non-sports person during the Super Bowl are prime examples of a bandwagon fan.
The gambler: Pure and simple. This fan’s rooting interests are dictated by the team they cheer for, and they’ll cheer for them no matter how often they lose because eventually their team will win, and hopefully, when they do, they’ll win big.
The single-sport fan: Some are deeply invested in their favourite sport, while others watch it casually. However, these types of sports fans will bash any other sport. The one-sport fan (in Canada) is often a hockey fan who’ll bash the competitive nature of professional athletes in other sports while not looking at the big picture that the NHL is at the bottom of the four major North American sports. Another example is the NBA fan who calls other sports boring and not tough when they do not realize they watch a sport where a 6’9”, 260 pound man falls as soon as he is hit by a 6’1”, 210 pound man.
