A pyrrhic victory is the road any fan will endure if it is ensured their team comes out victorious or in first place. A wide array of people believe dominance in sports reveals intelligence and power; however not all fans depict this aspect. In effect, sports fanatics want to be on top of the food chain and the only way to get there is to devour any obstacles in their path, or to simply remain there. Fanaticism relates back to ancient Roman or Greek times: one would be entertained by the superiority of their favorite gladiator, or the elite, talented Olympic player. However, until today it can range from entertaining and joyful to irritable, depending on what kind of sports fan one is. The question remains: how can certain fans separate into categories of how they interact and follow their team. Particular sports fans are classified by their thoughts and representation of their team and there are a variety of factors that build up key components for the title one is specified as.

Words and actions portray the average fan of a certain team, yet one should know in this situation to not judge a book by its cover. Rather large majorities of people nowadays are stated under bandwagon, gaining the ‘airweather’ fans motto. One way to assure this is true is that a large quantity of these fans are in complete denial and claim no affiliation whatsoever. Bandwagon fans have little to no loyalty at all to their team(s) and are essentially nowhere to be seen when their team is in a deep hole it cannot dig itself out of or when the team is basically not in its winning stage. While extremely easy to identify, this is the effect of being titled an air weather fan, especially because one contains little knowledge about their team. When fans exhibit dislike of their team due to concern of future win/loss ratio or from a playoff or championship loss, they are bandwagons and do not stick with their team through thick and thin. They repeatedly claim to have false excuses of their reasoning to root for their team, but when it comes down to the last second, bandwagon fans would leave their team without hesitation. In some instances, it would be just as a fast as they started ‘loving’ their team. What are bandwagons though? They like what is in trend and it is completely fair to say there are merely ignorant than fans in denial. They have essentially very limited or no knowledge at all and sprout ‘beef’ with other team followers simply to make themselves feel enthusiastic about their own team. They are the students in school who bully the vulnerable, but evolve into the quiet victims the next.

The homer and casual fans fall under one category; however they fall under two different sub-categories. They maintain loyalty and sustain their positive attitude towards their team. On the other hand, homer fans take the depiction and image of their team way beyond measure and underestimate anyone’s argument as long as they are satisfied with proving another wrong with their own set of ‘facts’ (opinions). Not willing to take extreme measures to root and defend their team, the average casual fan still rests on loyalty. Consider them the general population of a jail and the homer fans as the secluded prisoners who are lower in numbers but still manage to sustain and instill a notorious reputation. Casual fans will not go to extreme measures to support their team; therefore, they know little information about their team’s roster, statistics, players, coaching, schedule, etc. On average, they support the mediocre and underdog teams and proceed to cheer for their city they lived in, were raised in, or were born in. Considered to the best or even worst of all, homer fans are ones that will bash a victory in your face or create constant, irritating statements to flow a stream of excuses of why the defeat was not so bitter after all. They either claim to know everything about the team they support and know nothing at all, or they can know every single ‘micro-detail’ the average person would not lay their eye upon. Despite how invincible another team could be, homer fans depict their team as superior to everyone else and believe other fans are inferior due to their ‘ignorance’. Ceasing in logic, they will be hypocritical, extremely obnoxious and confrontational if they are put down and especially if they are blind to facts that have been shown to them for the first time.

Every military has a backbone to flex its muscles; the diehard fans are the resembled fan in this case. They are: ‘the few, the proud’ and have proud and confident characteristics. They are loyal from the day out of their mother’s stomach until the day they are motionless in their coffin. Performance of their team does not affect whether or not they support their team. Their sports team is idolized like a religious messiah and one will watch every game, every year for the rest of his/her life. The outcome of a game will determine how one’s day or even will transition to. The vast amount of knowledge the diehard fans contain is unimaginable. They can memorize certain games and specific years, player numbers, last names, attributes, and background without a pause. The history of a team is like reciting a miniature poem from first grade that retains in the brain forever. Details that are so minute appear vital and vastly important to the loyal fans. Diehard fans do not watch their team to enjoy their life; they enjoy life by devoting time and emotion to watch their team. Loyal fans are devoted to their team for many reasons: they have built a bond and mentally and emotionally are attached to where the barrier is unbreakable. Furthermore, one could just have grown up with them so memories create an impenetrable position that resists change. The fact that diehard fans stick with their teams through thick and thin, through the best of times – through the worst of times can define their character of strength and respect. They criticize their own team because they have the right to see room for improvement, whereas if a rival person did so, it would be complete disrespect and utmost irrelevant to assist the other teams’ issues. Diehard fans are the most important fans because they are the role models and the ones to pass their limited traits down.

Creating rivalries, memories, and divisions to classify themselves was the primary objective of sports fanatics since day one. Ranging from bandwagon to diehard fans, there are both similarities and differences within each category, but the observation was that they all complete a food chain much like animals do. Without a certain category, sports would be boring to argue and exchange information about. Sports fanatics can range from non-loyal to loyal, crazy to normal, uneducated to educated, and joyful to serious. They are complete opposites and make a triangle that connects with each other, which is still equal to one piece; this is what distinguishes a specific person.