Behind every good sports team (and bad, in many cases) is a legion of die-hard fans, but whether they’re bandwagoners or faithful groupies, they all join together for one purpose: to rag on other teams and convince others that their team is going to the top. In the past few weeks I’ve come to realize the thin line between being a die-hard sports fan and being an annoying one; the distinction comes as a blur, but when you cross the line, there’s no turning back. For the ones who openly talk uninitiated trash and those who sport their favorite jerseys and walk around with the same cockiness as the letters emblazoned on their backs, I have four words for you: Get over it. Quick.
Trying to compile a list of the most annoying fans wasn’t hard. Granted, there will always be a bias in anyone’s perception, but the biggest offenders of this line are, hands down, the Los Angeles Lakers fans. I cannot even count how many Kobe jerseys I saw the day after Bryant’s 81-point contribution over the Toronto Raptors, one of the worst teams in the NBA, and, furthermore, the myriad “the-Lakers-are-coming-up” conversations through which I had to suffer. It’s not even that I despise the Lakers or Kobe, but put it into perspective: Anyone shooting more than 50 percent of a team’s shots better be making more than half of the team’s points. This is simple logic. I don’t deny that Kobe’s talented, but just because you beat a team with a poor record does not automatically qualify your team as playoff caliber, much less allow you to pump your ego up when your entire team hinges on one man. It’s just hard to justify such flamboyancy over a team that’s barely on the road to the playoffs.
Another violator of the annoying-fan tendency is none other than the fans of the University of Southern California football team. It’s hard for me to put such an awesome team on this list, but a team is not necessarily a reflection of its fans. Granted, Trojan fans have every reason to be cocky about their team; the way any USC fan will look at you if you much less suggest their team losing or mention the infamous/amazing (depending on which side you stand on) Rose Bowl game will help you understand what I mean. Talk about how you knew all along Texas was going to win and you risk the chance of being hurt, or forever denied a job opportunity by any USC alumnus. Decked from head to toe in red and gold, Trojan fans will spew facts and yell at you until you concede defeat and bow down. The bottom line is that they’re just too smug for their own good.
After all this ranting, you may wonder then what IS a team that is over-the-top but not conceited. Ever been to Oakland? This is where the distinction between being a die-hard fan and an annoying one comes; Raider fans are notorious and steal much of the team’s thunder with their body paint, tailgate parties and intensity. But they’ve always been that way. They know when their team’s doing poorly, but they’ll still dress up regardless — because to them it’s not just a Sunday tradition, it’s a way of life, and that is what makes it respectable. True, they get in your face just to get under your skin but that’s what the “Black Hole” is notorious for. Which other sports teams have people going to their games just to see what their fans look like? They don’t throw octopi on the ice after a big game and they don’t even do the Tomahawk Chop in unison. Instead, they’re there to celebrate their teams’ shortcomings as well as wins, and that’s what makes them die-hard, respectable fans.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s definitely fun to be the biggest, most die-hard fan when it comes to your favorite sport teams. There’s nothing wrong with a little trash-talking here and there; hell, slap a few guys up. But just make sure that, when you start spewing, you can back yourself up. After all, when the talk is bigger than the game, you don’t gain respect. Instead, you gain a large group of people who would like nothing better than to see your team fall. So go ahead, sport your jerseys and strut your stuff, but if your ego is bigger than your favorite team’s salary, don’t preach to others until the championship party.
