Bandwagoners No More

There are some fans out there who first became Rams fans between 1999-2001. Many of those fans really didn't even follow the NFL before then, and were attracted to the game by the GSOT.

These fans have often been marked with the ugly label: bandwagoner.

Well, now the GSOT has folded its tent and moved on, and the future is uncertain.

Now is the time for the, shall we say, Neo-Rams Fans to show that they are here to stay. Times are bad, and, if these fans were truly of the "bandwagon" type, they would, no doubt, be moving on to greener pastures in Indianapolis, Seattle or even Cincinnati.

But, I strongly suspect, that won't happen. These fans will stay, ride out the storm, and prove their mettle as Rams fans.

They are bandwagoners no more.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AvengerRam

There are some fans out there who first became Rams fans between 1999-2001. Many of those fans really didn't even follow the NFL before then, and were attracted to the game by the GSOT.

These fans have often been marked with the ugly label: bandwagoner.

Well, now the GSOT has folded its tent and moved on, and the future is uncertain.

Now is the time for the, shall we say, Neo-Rams Fans to show that they are here to stay. Times are bad, and, if these fans were truly of the "bandwagon" type, they would, no doubt, be moving on to greener pastures in Indianapolis, Seattle or even Cincinnati.

But, I strongly suspect, that won't happen. These fans will stay, ride out the storm, and prove their mettle as Rams fans.

They are bandwagoners no more.

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I will be the first to admit I came on board with the Rams in preseason 1999.
I couldn't get enough.
I am here to stay.

Avenger speaks the truth.

avenger, for all of us that made it through horrible teams of the 90's this is just a small bump in the road on our way to another championship.let the bandwagon fans go,loyal rams fans will be here good times and bad.

I think you're missing my point, JK. I don't think that anyone is going to jump ship, thus proving that the newer Rams fans are not, in fact, bandwagoners, but are rather just new fans.

yea your right, i missed the entire point,i'm off to a slow start today.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AvengerRam

There are some fans out there who first became Rams fans between 1999-2001. Many of those fans really didn't even follow the NFL before then, and were attracted to the game by the GSOT.

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I fully agree with your final conclusion that the neo-fans will prove themselves not to be bandwagoners, but I have to disagree with the background facts of your post. I think using the word "many" above is misleading in that it makes it sound like a huge number and huge issue. Compared to the total number of Rams fans, the percentage of those that you are talking about is miniscule. So, yeah, there are "many" technically, but hardly a percentage worth worrying about in the big picture. If they stick around, great, if not, it won't be noticable.

Much more important and what you should be concerned about is the home fan support in St. Louis. The vast majority of these fans don't fit your description -- the dome has sold out from the beginning, not just in 1999 -- and of course people in St. Louis have deep roots of being NFL fans, not just fans when the GSOT story came along.

St. Louis knows the game of football, knows the current product is crap, and they've been burnt by bad ownership before. If the Rams' front office doesn't pull their heads out and make the right offseason moves, they WILL lose their home fan support. *Not* because of "bandwagon fans", but because of just the opposite: the St. Louis fans are way too sophisticated to be fooled again.

Once again, my original post has been misread.

What I said is that there are "some" fans who came on board between 1999-2001. Among those "Neo-Rams Fans," "many" were not even NFL fans prior to 1999.

I agree that most Rams fans became Rams fans before 1999.

The point here is simply that the newer Rams fans will prove their mettle by sticking with the team now that times are bad.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AvengerRam

Once again, my original post has been misread.

What I said is that there are "some" fans who came on board between 1999-2001. Among those "Neo-Rams Fans," "many" were not even NFL fans prior to 1999.

I agree that most Rams fans became Rams fans before 1999.

The point here is simply that the newer Rams fans will prove their mettle by sticking with the team now that times are bad.

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Example: Me.
I watched a few games before '99, but never really got into it. I liked Green Bay better than any other team, but never was a "fan".
The '99 Rams changed that. I'm one of the people that Avenger is trying to describe here as one of the "many Neo-Rams Fans". There are a lot of us. Some will leave for the 'flavor of the month', but most of us will stay with the Blue and Gold. Once it is in your blood, it tends to stay there.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AvengerRam

Once again, my original post has been misread.

What I said is that there are "some" fans who came on board between 1999-2001. Among those "Neo-Rams Fans," "many" were not even NFL fans prior to 1999.

I agree that most Rams fans became Rams fans before 1999.

The point here is simply that the newer Rams fans will prove their mettle by sticking with the team now that times are bad.

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Av... whatever the sport, whatever the following, whatever the team, successful or not. there will always be people who simply jump on the bagonwagon when successful, and jump off when the team is going through a slump.. personally i just cant understand people whith that mentally..

he's a quote you may or may not have heard, not sure who first spoke it.

You can change your Religion, you can change your politics, you can change your home and car, and even change sex... but one thing NO-One can do is change their team,

At the risk of being labeled (sigh), can we now root for other teams through the playoff tournament?

Can those of us that just also happen to be football fans fallow the progress of other teams, whom we may admire and are inspired by more than others? Or should we, who happen not to be lemmings (individuals), fold our tent and quit like our team did weeks ago?

Do we have your permission, Oh Great Ones?

RELEASE MY BONDS! YE GODS OF THIS CYBERSPACE REALM.LOL LOL LOL

Don't worry guys. I'm not going anywhere. I just like the game. There is some good game going on out there.

And get a life.

This Fan thing is getting complicated.

Okaaaay.... not sure where all that came from, but...

If the Rams are not in the playoffs, and you pull for another team to win it all, that's fine.

Of course, once next season starts, I assume you'll be back to pulling for the Rams.

And don't be so touchy.

i hate bandwagoner fans!!!!!!!!!!

We all hate 'em -- problem is everyone seems to have their own definition of them so it's hard to come to any sort of consensus about bandwagoners. I think (hope) we can all agree that in the list of teams that have bandwagon problems, the Rams are at the bottom of the list.

@ Av, sorry for misreading. Thanks for the explanation.

From the "Where the heck have you been file":

I've experienced quite a bit of this during the past couple of years even on the collegiate level with my team. Nebraska has struggled transitioning into a new offense and people while, moan and call 18-22 kids idiots. These guys don't get paid 70 million over 7 years, ya know? This isn't their JOB.

Still, bandwagoners come around to feel a part of something grand, but don't get the full experience. It's a shame, but it's a fact of life and it doesn't only reside in sports. However, that's their problem, not ours. :)

I became a fan before the 1999 season, but my reasons were somewhat different. I didn't know anything about football other than the fact that I was going to be playing it in high school. My family wanted nothing to do with the sport and never watched it on TV... my dad didn't have a team since he was a minor colts fan back when they were in baltimore, but moved to LA in the late 70s and slowly stopped caring about football. He completely lost any affinity for the NFL when the colts moved.

I was a kid in 8th grade in 1999 and I picked the rams because I liked their colors. They happened to be the same colors as my middle school at the time and my cub scout troop. They went on to win the superbowl that year, so that was pretty cool, and I was, of course, accused of being a bandwagon fan. Then came 2001 and the superbowl. I went to school that day with all of my rams gear on (and I have alot of it) and my body painted blue and gold (mind you this is in LA), proclaiming the arrival of the Rams dynasty.

The week following the Superbowl was misery, but that was when I believe that I proved that I was indeed a true fan. Throughout the next season (the 7-9 one) and so forth, I continued to watch every game and dress in all my Rams stuff, and I still have to this day been true, making a point of wearing my Rams shirt to class the day after a Rams loss. My school (in LA county) somehow has alot of people from Washington and so I constantly bicker with them about the Seahawks. When I get back from Winter break midway through January, I look forward to giving them all kinds of trash for the Seahawks losing in the playoffs (I'm sure they will...).

Any way, I guess what I wanted to say was that AV is right: a true fan is one who will continue to stand up for his team even when they suck.

-OPIMH