What's the definition of not being a true fan?

[DynamiteRave]

This is something I've been grappling with for awhile out of fear of someone coming over to my house and beating me within an inch of my life because I say something that may be construed as negative. I mean people here are starting to get kinda scary with their anger towards people who have something bad to say about the team. And maybe I'm just being a typical girl and just taking things out of context, but the way people are acting is getting kind of silly.

I think the Skins have had bandwagon problems for awhile. I don't think I've ever actually jumped off and said we suck, but I definitely don't think we're good. And I think a lot of fans feel that we just aren't a good team. But do you think people wish ill will upon the team? Those are the people that I think people need to have a problem with. I don't think we're going to beat the Vikes and the Giants. And I think we'll have a problem with the Cowboys even though we're playing at home. The Bears though, I do think we can beat. I don't think we're a very good team. We have inconsistency problems, we have gaping holes in our O-line because of injury and with the tragedy of ST we have a huge hole to fill at safety. But I'm certainly going to watch and I'm certainly going to cheer and pray to God that they win. Does that make me not a fan?

I don't like Gibbs 2.0. I'm 21 years old. I didn't get to see or remember Gibbs 1.0 and of course I'm thankful for what he gave the team back in the day, but.. You know, I'm not living in the past cause I wasn't alive. So. I'm looking ahead towards the future, what does he have to continue offering the team. I want to see this team gradually build and not say "Hey, wasn't life swell back in the early 90s?" Does that make me not a fan?

I mean what do people feel ISN'T a true fan? I don't wanna see people get bitched at and it's come to a point of where if I dissent, I'm afraid of getting bitched at. I hate too people who are fair-weather fans who love the team when they win and hate it when they lose and I too wish they wouldn't poison peoples positive vibes. But to just put people down for their beliefs isn't right either. So do I have a substantiated fear of not being a real fan or is this all imagined?

[Cowell]

What a great post. Thank you so much for putting into words which I could not.

[BigSKINBauer]

yeah, to question someone's loyality and fandom (?) of the skins is unnecessary. All my friends who are skin fans have never seen the skins playing like a good team. Its kind of impossible to be a fair weather fan of the skins. Everyone who is here at this site is a real fan. Just because your opinion isn't positive doesn't effect that. I am usually an optimist when it comes to the skins but that doesn't make me more or less a fan than anyone else.

Hell, i'm still thinking with a lot of luck we can make the playoffs. I think that makes me stupid.

BUt then again its possible and i will still cheer for other teams to lose. Once i stop cheering for other teams to win or lose, that is when i have given up on the playoffs.

[MTK]

A fan is a fan, I'm tired of this debate.

[scafuri27]

Everybodies interpretation is different I guess. I love this team and defend it non-stop, living in Massachusetts and having to listen to Patriots fans. If you love the team and love watching the games your a true fan plain and simple. Everybody wants to win and its frustrating losing all these close games. We will have our turn on top of the league again.. In response to "fair weather fans".. look up BOSTON RED SOX FAN... for years it was " i cant wait to blow it in september...bucky bleeping dent" etc

We arent like that, Redskins fans are an extremely educated group. We see the mistakes and our dedication to the team gives us heavy hearts during times of tragedy and when we lose a close game. Its not like that in most towns.. The last game I went to was against the Giants in 05 and it was one of the most memorable times of my life...I had 2 of my freinds that were pats fans buying jerseys and screaming with me the whole time...

Its not like that in NE.. the atmosphere isint the same and the fans dont know the game as well..just take pride in being a skins fan.. We will be a stronger healthier team moving forward. It hurts me watching the close losses every week, but I got into work talking the most smack every week about how bad were going to beat our next oppenent, and that will never change.

[DynamiteRave]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

A fan is a fan, I'm tired of this debate.

Not a debate, it's a question. And its a recurring question because every week someone comes out complaining about "fans". It's obviously a problem or else people wouldn't keep bringing it up.

And it's a serious question and a serious fear that some people might be questioning me as a fan. I know how I feel and it's important to me that my brethren is backing me up and patting me on the back, not putting me down.

(And I don't mean me, personally but me, speaking for fans in general)

[Redskin]

Im sorry your not a true fan if you cant watch the game becuase your team "sucks" and only watch when they are going to the superbowl then you are not a true fan. Being critical is not imposing on your "fanhood" as a comercial put it but not rooting for your team becuase they are not doing something you like is, and most likely they are not your team. Who needs fans like that.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by DynamiteRave

Not a debate, it's a question. And its a recurring question because every week someone comes out complaining about "fans". It's obviously a problem or else people wouldn't keep bringing it up.

And it's a serious question and a serious fear that some people might be questioning me as a fan. I know how I feel and it's important to me that my brethren is backing me up and patting me on the back, not putting me down.

(And I don't mean me, personally but me, speaking for fans in general)

I think if everyone dropped it and stopped worrying about other people's fandom it would be a more enjoyable message board overall.

[SmootSmack]

I think you're a fan DynamiteRave. Doesn't hide the fact that I do think there are plenty of non-fans here.

More importantly, I feel there are plenty of people who don't allow others to be fans.

But whatever, it is an increasingly tired debate that only seems to come up after a loss.

[DynamiteRave]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

I think if everyone dropped it and stopped worrying about other people's fandom it would be a more enjoyable message board overall.

And this I completely agree with. If only it was so easy.

Btw. I know Mods are tired of this fans vs. non-fans bs. I wasn't trying to start a debate, I just wanted to know peoples opinions. So if any mods feel the need to wanna close this thread, I will understand.

[SouperMeister]

Outstanding post that captures the true nature of fans who are realists. I count myself among the realists. Being critical of bad play or coaching DOES NOT make you a hater. We are not a good team, and have not been consistently good since the end of Gibbs 1.0. That's not hating, that's looking at matters honestly.

Now what defines not being a true fan? I say that would be the fan who only crawls out of the woodwork when his team is winning. I see plenty of fans like that. There are two types of those bandwagon fans. The first type only shows up when their team is a winner. The second type jumps from bandwagon to bandwagon, Say a Denver fan in the late 90's that calls himself a Patriots fan today. I don't think we have any bandwagon fans on this board.

[Lady Brave]

I've grown weary of all the repetitive arguments. Fandom, Gibbs 1 vs. Gibbs 2, homers, haters and so on. Most of the time I find the responses I start typing are sprinkled with not very lady-like words. So I end up hitting the back button a lot.

The older I get, the less energy I have to engage in heated debates. Anyway, SGG and SS almost always say exactly what I'm thinking, so I just let them do the dirty work for me.

[NYC2LA]

This is my first post...I never thought it could happen, but in the past several years I have grown to love football, look forward to Sundays and have become a true, albeit recent, Redskins fan. (Let’s say it has a lot to do with marrying a Redskins-fan-for-life who is on this board all the time.) I especially loved #21 and I began coming to this board over the past week for information as well as solace.

Losing today sucked and it was painful and emotionally trying, so I came to the board to cheer myself up. Why so much negativity from “fans”? This is a time when the team needs us more than ever to support them. Being a fan is not just cheering a team on when they win, it’s supporting them through losses as well, and it’s not just a game they’ve lost this week. They lost a great player AND a best friend and yet there are still millions of people counting on them to play hard and “in the memory of their teammate”…that’s a hell of a lot of pressure on an already emotionally drained team.

I know since I’m a newbie not only to this board but to Redskins fandom and football in general there are many aspects of the game that I don’t understand, but one thing I do get is loyalty. I feel honored to be a Redskins fan and I’m not ashamed of the way they played at all, I am proud of them. I’d still defend them and cheer them on if we were 0-12. Call me naïve…or call me a “true fan”? I don’t think being critical of your team takes away from being a “true fan” but there were so many people on the game thread who said they were ashamed, weren’t going to watch anymore games and they had given up on our team. I know it’s disappointing to see us lose games we should have won, but being a fan is not always easy. It takes more dedication than just cheering on winning games.

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

Originally Posted by SouperMeister

Outstanding post that captures the true nature of fans who are realists. I count myself among the realists. Being critical of bad play or coaching DOES NOT make you a hater. We are not a good team, and have not been consistently good since the end of Gibbs 1.0. That's not hating, that's looking at matters honestly.

It's not hating to acknowledge that we were not good in 2000-2004, and 2006. It's not hating to be of the opinion that a coaching change may be necessary. It's not hating to say that a few players need to be benched, or we have needs at certain positions. It's not hating to criticize front office moves, game plans, certain play calling, or clock management. It's not hating to be upset with your team when they lose.

That all being said, I do start to question someone's "fandom" when they do NOTHING but recite the negative, ignore any positive signs, paint things in black and white terms and say things like "we sucked the mostest," and are constantly doing nothing but hating.

The best posters on this site, IMO, are those who are "fair and balanced." Those are the guys/ladies whose posts I look forward to reading. The best posters and most realistic fans are those that recognize the good, bad, all things in between and do not associate with one extreme or the other.

I'd say 95% of the people on this site are fans. As for the other 5%......

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

Originally Posted by NYC2LA

This is my first post...I never thought it could happen, but in the past several years I have grown to love football, look forward to Sundays and have become a true, albeit recent, Redskins fan. (Let’s say it has a lot to do with marrying a Redskins-fan-for-life who is on this board all the time.) I especially loved #21 and I began coming to this board over the past week for information as well as solace.

Losing today sucked and it was painful and emotionally trying, so I came to the board to cheer myself up. Why so much negativity from “fans”? This is a time when the team needs us more than ever to support them. Being a fan is not just cheering a team on when they win, it’s supporting them through losses as well, and it’s not just a game they’ve lost this week. They lost a great player AND a best friend and yet there are still millions of people counting on them to play hard and “in the memory of their teammate”…that’s a hell of a lot of pressure on an already emotionally drained team.

I know since I’m a newbie not only to this board but to Redskins fandom and football in general there are many aspects of the game that I don’t understand, but one thing I do get is loyalty. I feel honored to be a Redskins fan and I’m not ashamed of the way they played at all, I am proud of them. I’d still defend them and cheer them on if we were 0-12. Call me naïve…or call me a “true fan”? I don’t think being critical of your team takes away from being a “true fan” but there were so many people on the game thread who said they were ashamed, weren’t going to watch anymore games and they had given up on our team. I know it’s disappointing to see us lose games we should have won, but being a fan is not always easy. It takes more dedication than just cheering on winning games.

Welcome to the board. Nice post.