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almost everywhere else. On the radio, callers
and hosts regularly use the term to deride a person
with whom they disagree. The talk-show hosts use
it to generate needless controversy to fill the
hours.
So, how do we tell the real fans from the bandwagoners?
Sometimes the difference is easy—such as when
a person suggests that we need to drop “Valdy”
to the 7-hole in the lineup and trade for Erstad
to take over CF. Other times, though, it’s not
so easy.
Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of objective
tests that we can use to distinguish between the
bandwagoners and the real fans. Both may or may
not have Angels gear to wear. Both may or may
not attend a certain number of games. Both may
or may not make silly trade ideas or lineup ideas
for the both. Both may or may not know every last
detail about every player and minor leaguer in
the system. Some real fans may not be able to
get to many games due to finances, where they
live, life events (from personal experience having
infants greatly affects the number of games that
I can attend), etc. while some bandwagon fans
can get to many more.
So, what makes a person a real fan?
For me, a real fan is one who will attend, watch,
or read about a set number of games for the team
regardless of the standings. Real fans are following
the team in April and May as well as in September.
They pay attention while hockey and basketball
are wrapping up their seasons and are still paying
attention late in a year when the Angels chances
of the post season have long since dimmed. They
may have to make sacrifices, such as not eating
in the ballpark, or sitting in cheaper seats,
but they still come regardless or watch regardless
of the standings.
For real fans, the Angels are their team. They
are paying attention year in and year out regardless
of how the team performs. While real fans may
mourn the loss of certain players from the Angels
(like Eckstein), and may hope that former Angels
play well once they leave the Angels, they still
want to beat their former teammates. Real fans
want their former players to go 4-4 with NO runs
scored while we pitch a shutout for the game.
Real fans may disagree with management about a
signing or a trade—or lack thereof. They can blog,
post, call, or complain about team actions (or
inactions) vociferously. But, unlike the bandwagoners,
they recognize that they will never have all the
information that the team has. So ultimately,
they give deference to the Angels management to
which they are due.
Real fans will keep at least casually informed
about the rest of baseball, but will have a greater
knowledge about the Angels. As baseball fans,
real fans are fans of baseball, so they keep abreast
of it. They may read some interesting stories
about other teams or players. But, when push comes
to shove, they’ll gladly read an article about
a game they saw the day before rather than reading
about A-Rod’s latest tryst with Madonna.
Real fans have class and dignity when attending
a game. They don’t root for players on other teams
to get hurt (like when Kotchman got a concussion),
and they acknowledge an opponent who does get
hurt. Real fans politely applaud when the opposition
makes a great play—even if they wish the play
had turned out differently and groan when an opponent
gets injured. They don’t get drunk and belligerent
with fans for other teams. They may heckle and
cheer, but they don’t get physical or violent.
The hardest thing for real fans to accept is that
deep down they know that the team needs the bandwagon
fans. For one thing, some of the bandwagoners
will go on to become real fans. Let’s face it:
no one is innately born an Angels fan. Had we
lived in other cities or in different times (when
the Angels weren’t an ML team for example) we
might have easily become real fans for other teams.
There is no doubt that some child will be brought
to Angels Stadium for the first time this summer
because the Angels are hot and the child will
become hooked. That child will grow up to be a
future real fan. As good as we’ve been playing,
we’re probably making many more future real fans.
Another reason why real fans need bandwagoners
is that baseball is a business that depends on
numbers. Bodies equal ratings, and ratings equal
cash for the team. The more bandwagoners we can
get, the less real fans will have to pay for tickets
over the course of the year. And the more merchandise
they buy, the greater the variety that will be
produced. With a great owner like Arte Moreno,
the more revenue the team can generate, the more
revenue we can spend to keep players like Teixeira
and Lackey.
So, let’s face it real fans: as much as we may
complain about them, we need the bandwagoners.
Every time we have to suffer through callers talking
about “Shoney Figgins” or asking why Scioscia
doesn’t pitch K-Rod in the 5th inning, we need
to remember that some of those asking the questions
will go on to be great fans in the future or help
us to remain a large market team.
As a real fan, I am thankful that bandwagon season
only lasts from August through October. And, I’m
thankful that we will be playing in October—even
if it means the bandwagoners will be descending
on Angels Stadium like a plague of locusts. While
the bandwagoners may be starting to hatch, I know
that I’ll have the rest of the year to love the
Angels without them.
By David Saltzer - Angelswin.com
Columnist
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