The Wonderful World of Sports Fans
Image by Laura Cavati on Dupe Photos.
Opinion
Sports fandom is, to simply put it, unique.
I’d argue there isn’t a platform or an aspect in the world bringing people together from genuinely all walks of life in the same way, created from the sheer passion and care it fosters within us.
Like most interests however, there are varied levels and ways people fan over and support their favourite player or team, so below is Canta’s breakdown of some of the most common types of sport heads.
The Analyst:
There’s no denying the Analyst’s passion for sports is top-tier, it’s just sometimes hard to understand it. Often their head is buried in some statistics that when recited, you’ll forget about it in roughly 30 seconds.
When the game’s on, they’ll be spouting numerical stats for teams and individuals like they’re in a final year accounting exam and will honestly enjoy breaking down sequences of play more than celebrating. Can’t hate, it keeps them happy.
The Gambler:
The Gambler is mostly comprised of university students who have wandered their way from the pokies at the Bush Inn onto the TAB mobile app in hopes of greener pastures.
These people will bet on anything, from an All Blacks game to random greyhound races to some mid-week NRL code. To an extent, I see it. There is no doubt it transforms what is usually a game with absolutely no meaning to something exhilarating, watching with bated breath to see if that last parley leg hits.
Prayers up to these guys’ bank accounts though.
The Die-hard:
The Die-hard fans are the living embodiment’s of ‘it’s more than just a game.’ Typically fans of one club/team in a sport since they were nappies, these guys will refer to themselves as if they’re part of the team, as in, ‘we won last night.’
When watching, the Die-hard wears their heart on their sleeve and their mood for the following days, sometimes dangerously affected by their team’s result.
The Bandwagon:
Every successful team is filled with the Bandwagon fans, and while it’s silly annoying to hear them laud about their team’s winnings, it’s unfortunately just part of the game.
These are the types of fans to post on social media about their team’s championship win after tuning into a grand total of 3 games the entire season, and more frustratingly, jump ship at the snap of the fingers when there’s even the slightest dip in productivity.
Canta’s advice? If you’re getting into a new sport, specifically international leagues (i.e. the NBA, Premier League), and need to choose a team, don’t just pick the one that’s won for the last 5 years. That’s just uncool.