a rant about sports fans

As someone who follows college sports, my biggest pet peeve is sidewalk, t-shirt fans (ie. people who did not attend the university or do not donate to the school) demanding excellence, calling for firings of coaches, or trashing recruits when they decide to attend another college.


End rant.

So only people who attended a university or donates to it are allowed to be fans?:huh:

Oh, sure, they can be fans. But if they are not invested in the team in some way, what right do they have to demand anything? Kind of like being a citizen of your country, and complaining about the government if you do not even vote.

I disagree, if you're a fan of a college team and you buy merch or tix to games you're certainly financially supporting the team.

Yep. If you go to the games, support the teams financially, I agree.... but if you just buy a shirt in Walmart that says "Go Dawgs", and that shirt was made in South Korea with cotton imported fromo Bangladesh and screen printing from the People's Republic., and never go to the games and buy the team merch.......that really is not an investment in the team.

actually, if you buy it in walmart, regardless of where its made, the money kicks back to the school.

Maybe a little bit.....but 5% of a $8.00 shirt is not like going to the university bookstore and buying a hoodie, or even a T-shirt. Yeah, they are a lot more expensive, but better quality...and in buying there at the school, from the school, they are getting a greater benefit.

Fact is, anyone has the right to holler and complain and say what they want. But they really have not earned the right to be taken seriously by the school and the administration if they do not have a real investment in the establishment.

Still not following the logic here. Real investment?

So now we have to search out and buy products of your team that are made in America?

Nope, not saying they have to be made in America. I am just saying that if you are a fan, you should seek out ways to financially support the school or team that you love. Buy your gear from the team website, or the school bookstore. Go to the games if you can....buy the beer and concessions, get season tickets, subscribe to the network that carries your team's games...whatever you can do to support the school.

Fans who do not support their teams in some manner still have the right to scream and holler.....they just should not expect to be taken seriously by anyone in the organization who has a say-so.

I understand that some people can get really into a game, but what really irks me is that some fans complain about actions that they couldn't possibly do better if they were in that scenario. Example: the blocked penalty kick. Everyone was screaming "How could you miss that?!?!" I dunno, maybe because the other team was good? Maybe because the players are freaking exhausted? Maybe because crap happens? But everyone that was yelling was severely out of shape and acted like if they were in the game that America would have dominated.

End rant.

As someone who follows college sports, my biggest pet peeve is sidewalk, t-shirt fans (ie. people who did not attend the university or do not donate to the school) demanding excellence, calling for firings of coaches, or trashing recruits when they decide to attend another college.


End rant.

This is up there with one of the snobbiest things I've ever read.

I didn't go to college because neither my parents nor I could afford even a community college, let alone a major University. So you're saying that even though I pay damned good money for tickets to University of Texas football games, I'm a "sidewalk fan" and am therefore unable to have an opinion?

L
O
L

OP, people talk a lot of s*it during games, and of course they can't play better. There's even a name for it: armchair quarterbacking. It's just part of the culture of sports in general.

This. All of this.

If you buy a t shirt and "demand success from your team and refuse to give in to the others who have a loser mentality and accept mediocrity" but have no idea where to locate the commons or rec center, you're basically a tourist when you're on campus. Be nice and stay out of the way, and be aware that nobody needs your ideas on how to run the place

If you buy a t shirt and "demand success from your team and refuse to give in to the others who have a loser mentality and accept mediocrity" but have no idea where to locate the commons or rec center, you're basically a tourist when you're on campus. Be nice and stay out of the way, and be aware that nobody needs your ideas on how to run the place

very much disagree. THis is pure snobbery imo.

I understand that some people can get really into a game, but what really irks me is that some fans complain about actions that they couldn't possibly do better if they were in that scenario. Example: the blocked penalty kick. Everyone was screaming "How could you miss that?!?!" I dunno, maybe because the other team was good? Maybe because the players are freaking exhausted? Maybe because crap happens? But everyone that was yelling was severely out of shape and acted like if they were in the game that America would have dominated.

End rant.

I disagree. I consider myself a thinking fan for some sports (of course, not all or even many). I played volleyball, baseball, soccer and fencing in university. My grandfather was a reasonably successful soccer coach and I was raised to understand the game.

When watching a game, some people have commented that it's interesting that I keep seeing the periphery of the game, the moves without the ball, the shape and motions. That interests me more than whether the striker hit the ground and then the ball and then shanked the shot. Crap happens - it's sports. For me it's the process to get there that's fascinating, and the mental game.

So when I say "x player was bad for these reasons" I am not comparing it to myself, or another fat couch potato weekend warrior. I'm comparing it to his peers. Saying "Bedoya was terrible at holding possession during the US game" doesn't mean I would do better, but it does mean I think Klinsmann should have subbed Green sooner for a fresher look and fresher legs. And it's a perfectly valid (if debatable) argument.

If you buy a t shirt and "demand success from your team and refuse to give in to the others who have a loser mentality and accept mediocrity" but have no idea where to locate the commons or rec center, you're basically a tourist when you're on campus. Be nice and stay out of the way, and be aware that nobody needs your ideas on how to run the place

Still missing the logic. Now we have to have an intimate relationship with the campus? I have to know where the mess hall is to be a real fan? I'm guessing by your responses that you are a fan who donates to the school? Maybe you only buy your gear from the school bookstore (which you know where the bookstore is because you're a "real" fan)? So, being that you are a "real" fan what makes you think that anyone at the school or sports department care about your opinion? Do they survey you for your opinions on running a nickel or dime package on defense? Do they ask you if the women's basketball team should attempt to run a triangle offense? News flash to those of you who think you're "real" fans because you "invest" in the school, if you're not donating millions of dollars on an annual basis they don't care what you think.

Most people have never played competitively in sports they like, or maybe even played at all. They don't understand the mental part of the game that has effect on performance, and just thinking everything is easy and routine, when easy and routine is usually the hardest.

If you buy a t shirt and "demand success from your team and refuse to give in to the others who have a loser mentality and accept mediocrity" but have no idea where to locate the commons or rec center, you're basically a tourist when you're on campus. Be nice and stay out of the way, and be aware that nobody needs your ideas on how to run the place

Still missing the logic. Now we have to have an intimate relationship with the campus? I have to know where the mess hall is to be a real fan? I'm guessing by your responses that you are a fan who donates to the school? Maybe you only buy your gear from the school bookstore (which you know where the bookstore is because you're a "real" fan)? So, being that you are a "real" fan what makes you think that anyone at the school or sports department care about your opinion? Do they survey you for your opinions on running a nickel or dime package on defense? Do they ask you if the women's basketball team should attempt to run a triangle offense? News flash to those of you who think you're "real" fans because you "invest" in the school, if you're not donating millions of dollars on an annual basis they don't care what you think.

In my opinion, you're either an alumnus, booster, a student, or a tourist. Neither is necessarily bad, but a lot of tourists get a little butthurt when they're put in their place.

Just my opinion

"put in their place" no thats not snobbery at all.