Are You a Fan?

The following is a post I’ve been chewing on for awhile and finally took the time to throw it around.



Fan – noun: an enthusiastic devotee, follower, or admirer of a sport, pastime, celebrity, etc. (dictionary.reference.com)


What makes someone a “fan”? What allows someone to be a legitimate “fan” of a team, player, etc.? Is their an unwritten guideline?

Why am I a Detroit Tigers fan? Is it because I live in Michigan? Ok. But what if there were two professional baseball teams in Michigan? Is it the team I live closest? I live 100 miles from Detroit. What if I grew up in Michigan for 20 years and was a die-hard Tigers fan but then moved to New Mexico or Washington and lived there for 60 years. Does 60 years out-weigh 20 years? New Mexico doesn’t even have a MLB team. So do I get to remain a Tigers fan and/or am I allowed to pick any team I want since New Mexico doesn’t have one? Washington has a team. Do I now have to be a fan of the Mariners? Or, does the Mariner-nation have a waiting period that you have to prove yourself as a fan, not just because you now live in their state. Is their an induction ceremony for those that have been on the waiting list?

Is it because my dad is/was a fan of that team? Is it because I went to one of the games? Did I get a players autograph?

Is the team successful or a bottom dweller? Should that even matter? Is it because I like the name of the team or their colors? Is it because I graduated from that school/college? Does it qualify if my kids and/or parents attended there?

Is it because I know the NAMES of some of the players on the team? Am I a fan of a team because of certain players on a team? Take Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars. I was and still am a huge Dumars fan. Would I have been a fan of them if they were not Piston players? What if Thomas and Dumars would have played for another team after 1990? Would I then be a fan of the team they currently played with or would I only be a fan of the specific players, Thomas and Dumars?

See, loyalty worked until about 20 years ago, so some of that previous logic would be allowable. But in the past 15 years, there has been no such thing as loyalty in any of the big sports.

So, again, what allows me to be a “TRUE” fan of the Detroit Tigers, if there even is such a thing as a “true” fan. Are there multiple kinds? A “fan” and a “true fan?”