NFL Worst fanbases

[Cartwright]

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/8479052?MSNHPHCP&GT1=39002#sport=NFL&photo=8464402

Jacksonville #1. Look who is number 4. The comments below are also interesting.

 

[Mogamedogz]

It's true. We probably have the second largest group of bandwagon fans in the league (behind Dallas).

 

[signbabybrady]

I dont remember where it was but I recall a poll that said just the opposite not to long ago.

Not denying that there are probably a ton of Bandwagon jumpers but don't you think alot of this has to do with marketing too. Kraft is obviously hands down leap years ahead of the guys in the past as far as this is concernened. And how bout the fact that the season ticket holder number leaped in 93-94 before we even went to the 1st Kraft SB.

This is a baseball town and Kraft was able to break thru that and to say it was only due to winning would be inaccurate. I think a lot of people jumped on when they realized it might be gone and was saved and I think the winning ensured everyone stuck on.

 

[WhiZa]

Jacksonville has fans?

 

[Pat the Pats Fan]

I dont remember where it was but I recall a poll that said just the opposite not to long ago.

Not denying that there are probably a ton of Bandwagon jumpers but don't you think alot of this has to do with marketing too. Kraft is obviously hands down leap years ahead of the guys in the past as far as this is concernened. And how bout the fact that the season ticket holder number leaped in 93-94 before we even went to the 1st Kraft SB.

This is a baseball town and Kraft was able to break thru that and to say it was only due to winning would be inaccurate. I think a lot of people jumped on when they realized it might be gone and was saved and I think the winning ensured everyone stuck on.

New England (region) was just looking for a winner. Look at the competing franchises; Celtics with all their banners, Bruins with their loyal fan base, RedSox nation is a dominant fanbase that monopolizes talk radio regardless of the season.

2 things helped crystalize the fans around the Pats.
1. Orthwein and naming Parcells head coach gave instant credibility to the Patriots. The day after the naming of Parcells, there was a huge jump in season ticket sales.
2. Kraft acquiring the team from Orthwein and providing a vision for the organization that is still materializing today.

I became a fan in 1991, when I moved to New Hampshire, despite the team sucking. Been one ever since, despite moving several times....

 

[primetime]

I agree with this. Maybe not on this message board, but most "Patriots fans" are in fact fans of winning franchises. Boston is a bandwagon town. The Sox will always be number 1, followed by whatever team is winning. The Celtics are winning? Good, they're our new favorite team. The Bruins are mediocre? Well screw them. Attendance at games won't dip, but people who attend games make up a very small percentage of the fanbase, and hardcores like us make up an even smaller percentage (in the Bruins' case, the two are usually one and the same). When the team starts slipping back to mediocrity, expect less coverage in the media and less people talking about the Patriots on the street or caring much at all.

I'm relatively young, but I attended games when Marc Wilson was throwing to Hart Lee Dykes. Most "Patriots fans", especially in my age group, would have no idea who those guys are.

 

[Icculus]

This is just a joke...The guy did absolutely no research. If you look at it, once Kraft came in and decided to make the franchise legit for once, the fans came in and pack the stands. From his biography on Patriots.com..."The year he bought the team, season ticket sales soared to new heights, eclipsing 40,000 for the first time in franchise history.By the start of his first season, every game was sold out, a feat that had not been accomplished in the franchise's previous 34 seasons."

So obviously, NE was just waiting for an owner that took the Pats seriously.

 

[nashvillepatsfan]

I cant disagree with his comments. I remember awhile back I made a comment about Sam Bam Cunningham, and people had no idea who he was. Now just so we understand each other, I was about 8 when he was playing. It was my dad who educated me on the teams history. I may have seen those guys play when I was young, but I had no idea what I was seeing.lol. Anyway, even if someone became a fan in 2001, they could atleast learn the history of the team. If you don't know who Babe Parilli is, then yes, you are a bandwagoner, and you should leave Patsnation.

 

[primetime]

This is just a joke...The guy did absolutely no research. If you look at it, once Kraft came in and decided to make the franchise legit for once, the fans came in and pack the stands. From his biography on Patriots.com..."The year he bought the team, season ticket sales soared to new heights, eclipsing 40,000 for the first time in franchise history.By the start of his first season, every game was sold out, a feat that had not been accomplished in the franchise's previous 34 seasons."

So obviously, NE was just waiting for an owner that took the Pats seriously.

Game attendance can be an indicator of the fanbase (as with Jacksonville, who fails to sell out), but it isn't necessarily. At most, you're still only selling to 70,000 people. The Patriots' fanbase is significantly larger than that, and a great deal of those people only care because they are a winning franchise. They have no idea about the history of the team before 2001. Oh, maybe they watched in 1985 and 1996. But they lost then and the Celtics and Bruins were good so whatever.

Unfortunately, these rubes also tend to be the most vocal and obnoxious of the team's fans, too. So the media and general public see the bandwagoners and not the old faithfuls.

 

[BradyManny]

The New England Patriots are the first fanbase in the history of sports to see an influx in its popularity when it became a more successful team. This disgusting and indefensible phenomenon has never happened before in sports and, god willing, will never happen again.

 

[Kontradiction]

Jacksonville has fans?

Indeed they do. Ironically, they were nowhere to be found in 2006.

 

[Richter]

I cant disagree with his comments. I remember awhile back I made a comment about Sam Bam Cunningham, and people had no idea who he was. Now just so we understand each other, I was about 8 when he was playing. It was my dad who educated me on the teams history. I may have seen those guys play when I was young, but I had no idea what I was seeing.lol. Anyway, even if someone became a fan in 2001, they could atleast learn the history of the team. If you don't know who Babe Parilli is, then yes, you are a bandwagoner, and you should leave Patsnation.

Wait a minute... that's ridiculous. So every Red Sox fan needs to know who Jimmy Foxx was, every Celtics fan needs to know who Ed Macauley was, every Bruins fan needs to know who... well, I don't know crap about the Bruins because it's hockey, but you get my point. I've been a Patriots fan for a considerable chunk of my life, well before the current run of success. I know notable players from the past, but aside from a few key years and events, I couldn't tell you that much about the franchise before 1990 or so. I wasn't there for it. And it's ridiculous to assume that everyone that likes the current team is going to go research the history behind it. The measure of a bandwagoner is what happens after the success ends, not what happens while it's occurring.

 

[BradyManny]

The measure of a bandwagoner is what happens after the success ends, not what happens while it's occurring.

I think its all besides the point. As my sarcastic comments above imply, why would anyone be surprised or ashamed of the fact that there is a correlation between team popularity and team success? It's absolutely asinine to think it'd be otherwise. We on this message board are in the minority in terms of our dedication to the team and or Boston sports and or football. The average casual sports fan in any city likely does not have the time or the desire or the responsibility to root for a team that sucks unless he/she likes said team and said sport enough to watch for entertainment value, in which case, they may have moved into that minority I've referred to. And when the Patriots run of dominance ends, yes, of course the fan base will begin to shrink. And that's not a big deal.

The only reason you see comments like "oh, the Patriots have so many bandwagon fans" is because of their current success. You could say it about any team that went from crap to dominant.

 

[Richter]

I think its all besides the point. As my sarcastic comments above imply, why would anyone be surprised or ashamed of the fact that there is a correlation between team popularity and team success? It's absolutely asinine to think it'd be otherwise. We on this message board are in the minority in terms of our dedication to the team and or Boston sports and or football. The average casual fan likely does not have the time or the desire or the responsibility to root for a team that sucks, and when the Patriots run of dominance ends, yes, of course the fan base will begin to shrink.

The only reason you see comments like "oh, the Patriots have so many bandwagon fans" is because of their current success. You could say it about any team that went from crap to dominant.

Except the Cowboys, who from my time in Texas, I've learned only have fans week to week.

 

[nashvillepatsfan]

Wait a minute... that's ridiculous. So every Red Sox fan needs to know who Jimmy Foxx was, every Celtics fan needs to know who Ed Macauley was, every Bruins fan needs to know who... well, I don't know crap about the Bruins because it's hockey, but you get my point. I've been a Patriots fan for a considerable chunk of my life, well before the current run of success. I know notable players from the past, but aside from a few key years and events, I couldn't tell you that much about the franchise before 1990 or so. I wasn't there for it. And it's ridiculous to assume that everyone that likes the current team is going to go research the history behind it. The measure of a bandwagoner is what happens after the success ends, not what happens while it's occurring.

Think what you want. I believe if you're going to be a fan of a team, learn about it's history. If you're going to jump off the bandwagon as soon as team fails, then don't. Alot of people on this board are called bandwagoners because they started following the team in 2001. They could help their label by knowing the history of team. It shows they are genuine. If you're going to call yourself a Pats fan, yet you can't name their top 3 rb's, then you'll be considered a know nothing bandwagoner.

I do agree with the last part of your post though. What they do when the team loses, will define them.

 

[TheComeback]

Bull**** list

If being bandwagon fans is the reason we're number four on that list, then where the **** are the Cowboys?

 

[rusH1023]

It's all the same. Some teams have had a longer go of it than others. I work with a guy out here in Vegas who called the Pat's 'his team' last year to my buddy even though he's a niners fan. I puked in my mouth a little bit. It's everywhere.

 

[italian pat patriot]

I believe if you're going to be a fan of a team, learn about it's history.

i agree with you 100%

personally , as a fan, i like to know the history (bad or good, whatever) of your team

 

[Kontradiction]

Re: Bull**** list

If being bandwagon fans is the reason we're number four on that list, then where the **** are the Cowboys?

They are Colts fans for now.

 

[SamusAranX]

Indeed they do. Ironically, they were nowhere to be found in 2006.

Funny...Pats fans were hard to find before 2001.