Guest Post From Christopher Kiel: Is it Okay to Be a Bandwagon Fan?

Photo: Philliedelphia/Lindsey Crew

Ever since the Phillies won the World Series a lot of people have become Phillies fans. For some hardcore Phillies fans this has caused some problems. As a lifelong Phillies fan I have mixed feelings about this issue. So let’s take a minute to put down our Schmitters and $7 dollar beers and look at the pros and cons.

Pros: Well the most obvious is that all these new fans means the Phillies are winning. This is still a fairly new experience for me. This is the 34th season the Phillies have played in my lifetime and they’ve only made the playoffs 10 times. The first 4 times came before I was in kindergarten and the last 5 have come the last 5 years. So for those of you not good at math that’s only 1 appearance that I was really able to e old enough to know what was going on before 2007. The next pro is that they are filling the stadium and selling merchandise which means they have money to keep signing players. I’m not missing the days of players leaving for more money and when signing Travis Lee was a big move. It’s also nice that I don’t have to be embarrassed to be a Phillies fan anymore! Finally, it makes happy to see my favorite team getting so much love. 

Cons: All these fans that fill the stadium means the Phillies keep jacking up ticket prices. This is the 5th season I’ve had season tickets and the price has gone up every year. When does it stop? Soon I hope. I mean I don’t want to have to refinance my mortgage just to buy Phillies tickets. Also, all the concession and parking prices are going up too. It is also harder to get tickets because all the games are sold out. The biggest con most lifers complain about is that we have to listen to fans who know nothing about the Phillies make ridiculous statements that make no baseball sense.

So I tell you what I’m going to do. I’m going to make a list of rules for all those bandwagoners out there. You can thank me later.

1. Pay attention this is the most important one. If you want to be a Phillies fan you do it for life. We thank you for coming aboard and we appreciate the support but you are in for good now. You can’t stop liking the Phillies if they start doing bad (like this year for example) And you really can’t stop cheering if they go in a slump during the season. That automatically gets your card revoked.

2. You can’t make ridiculous statements about a player sucking for no reason. For example “Ryan Howard struck out twice today. He sucks! We should trade him” Another one is “Joe Blanton is terrible I would trade him for a cheese steak!” That wouldn’t work because we all know Blanton would eat the cheese steak before anyone else saw it (side note…this was written a while ago before Blanton was traded) . Seriously though, just cause a player is slumping doesn’t mean he sucks. Just because a player is not an All Star he doesn’t suck. Now if you want to say “Raul Ibanez sucks, we should trade him” that’s ok. 

3. This one pertains to mostly the ladies. Just because a player is “hot” is not the only reason to like him. I agree that Chase Utley is dreamy but he’s also a great player. 

4. Take some time to learn about the game. Read up on the history of the Phillies. Learn the rules of the game. Maybe pay attention to what’s going on in the rest of the league. I’m not asking you to become Peter Gammons (a well known baseball expert) but just learn a little. 

5. You may find this hard to believe but a lot of go to Phillies games to watch the games. Shocking I know. I have no problem (well maybe a little one) if you want to go to the games to hang out and drink with you’re friends. I love to tailgate but don’t act like jackasses in the parking lot while I’m enjoying my beer. Also don’t get plastered and then sit near me and be obnoxious the whole game. And girls I’m not there to watch and a game and listen to you chatter away bout nonsense the whole time. 

So if everyone follows these rules we can all get along.

Comments

[Barbara]

Very good insight. I've been a Phillies fan for over 50 years now and feel the same as you. Many teams have bandwagon fans because the locals only follow them when they have good years, and/or to be seen at the park. Phillies fans are expected to be hardnosed baseball fans who support their guys through thick and thin. It is very heartwarming to see red shirts wherever the Phillies play throughout the majors, and not just because they are among the best looking uniforms ever designed!

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