Being Called a Bandwagon Fan

I have never been to Seattle. I am as far away as it gets in terms of US.
I have been a Seahawks fan since 2002 and have maybe missed 1 or two games since. I always represent the 12s by either wearing a Seahawk shirt , hat or even having the Seahawks bumper stickers and license plate

But since we have won the Superbowl every where I go somebody hints or directly implies that I am a bandwagon fan. I usually smile and nod because I don't really feel the need to defend myself. Is this happening to anybody else not from the seattle area ?

It happens to me very infrequently, simply because I've been known as a diehard 'Hawks fan for a long time in my circles. That being said, a few strangers have tried to call me out on it. Then I bring out the picture on my instagram of 10-year-old me in a 'Hawks Jersey. I carry the picture on my phone specifically for that reason.

It's really one of the only things butthurt fans can scrape together to insult us...

But recently I have been harassed on two separate occasions by fellow 12s inquiring if I was a bandwagon fan, which was met with my well practiced and automatic response, "you sound like a niners fan..." but to my surprise the ribbing was coming from one of our own.

I get that other fans try to use it to knock us down a peg but why would any of us care if our team is inevitably attracting more fans with our continued success and general domination of the league??

EastCoastHawksFan":3qvy9slm said:

I have never been to Seattle. I am as far away as it gets in terms of US.
I have been a Seahawks fan since 2002 and have maybe missed 1 or two games since. I always represent the 12s by either wearing a Seahawk shirt , hat or even having the Seahawks bumper stickers and license plate

But since we have won the Superbowl every where I go somebody hints or directly implies that I am a bandwagon fan. I usually smile and nod because I don't really feel the need to defend myself. Is this happening to anybody else not from the seattle area ?

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Born and raised in Seattle... But fans are fans regardless of where they come from or how they came to be. Professional sports is global, its teams are marketed as such. This is what the Seahawks want. Fans from everywhere

I think it's hilarious the people can just assume someone is "bandwagon" because they wear Hawks gear :roll:

I'm heading out to Vegas this weekend, will be decked out as usual in my gear, but fully expect a few comments about the Hawks. Oh well, I'll just tell them what I always tell someone who tries to make that comment, I've been a fan since 76 son.

SoulfishHawk":3m8aumj4 said:

I think it's hilarious the people can just assume someone is "bandwagon" because they wear Hawks gear :roll:

I'm heading out to Vegas this weekend, will be decked out as usual in my gear, but fully expect a few comments about the Hawks. Oh well, I'll just tell them what I always tell someone who tries to make that comment, I've been a fan since 76 son.

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Vegas is very Hawks friendly. Don't be surprised to hear a "Go Hawks" shouted in your general direction at the airport or casinos, or on the street. I'm always decked out in Hawks year when I go down there and the response 9 times out of 10 is positive.

Nice! Love Vegas, always cool to sit and b.s. w/someone at the blackjack table about sports etc.

I find the same most everywhere I go. Of course I never miss a chance to say "nice shirt, coat, jacket, if I see Hawks gear. I've had some great conversations and like to think I have gotten a few people interested enough to join us.

I asked the doctor that did my heart surgery if I could wear one of my Seahawks shirts for surgery and he said sure if I wanted it cut down the middle. lol I passed on that one.

Not long ago I met a guy wearing a new appearing ninnirs jacket and asked him with a smile on my face if he realized the clerk had given him the wrong teams jacket? He laughed and we stopped and talked football a bit in a crowded hallway in a mall without trying to kill each other. We agreed the Hawks/ninnirs rivalvry was looking like it was going to be years and he hoped it would swing his way this year. Of course we agreed to disagree on that.

He did think my dream of the ninnirs not winning a game against the Hawks until 2054 was a bit unrealistic.

:les:

EastCoastHawksFan":2pwzd9hg said:

I have never been to Seattle. I am as far away as it gets in terms of US.
I have been a Seahawks fan since 2002 and have maybe missed 1 or two games since. I always represent the 12s by either wearing a Seahawk shirt , hat or even having the Seahawks bumper stickers and license plate

But since we have won the Superbowl every where I go somebody hints or directly implies that I am a bandwagon fan. I usually smile and nod because I don't really feel the need to defend myself. Is this happening to anybody else not from the seattle area ?

Click to expand...

Who cares what they think? Period. Some say it to me since I live in L.A. and I bought a hat with the SB logo on the side in the post-SB swag buying gluttony, but I just do the smile and give them a shrug.

Worse, imo is when irrational Seahawk fans start calling you names and questioning your fanhood because you don't agree with them about their paranoid views of the ongoing blatant oppression and crusade against the Seahawks by the NFL at large. Being objective apparently makes you a Niner's fan or a bandwagon fan etc.

I always let people know I have had Hawks merch since I was 3 and i have a Hasselbeck jersey in my closet. Most 9er fans that give me crap aren't old enough to have seen a winning 9er superbowl.

One of my favorites (and borrowing from the line in Caddyshack) "The Niners were something before Electricity"

I'm in the D.C. metro area. It's an interesting phenomenon. Previous to this SB, I never felt "self conscious" (if that's the right word) about wearing my Seahawk gear. After all, who would wear the colors of such a mediocre franchise unless they were a transplant/diehard like me? Now, in the back of my mind I wonder if people look at me like a frontrunning bandwagon fan. I will say that whenever somebody has engaged me in conversation, it's either complimentary of the team (particularly the defense) or asking about the prospects for next year. On that note, it's funny how Redskin fans in person are so much cooler/laid back than on the internet.

If you're fan enough to post on this forum in May, no one can call you a bandwagon fan.

I usually just whip out my old-school logo-emblazoned bicep, and tell them I got it done in 1993, fresh off a 2-14 season. That shuts them the f*** up.

Sports Hernia":2jsgekzg said:

SoulfishHawk":2jsgekzg said:

I think it's hilarious the people can just assume someone is "bandwagon" because they wear Hawks gear :roll:

I'm heading out to Vegas this weekend, will be decked out as usual in my gear, but fully expect a few comments about the Hawks. Oh well, I'll just tell them what I always tell someone who tries to make that comment, I've been a fan since 76 son.

Click to expand...

Vegas is very Hawks friendly. Don't be surprised to hear a "Go Hawks" shouted in your general direction at the airport or casinos, or on the street. I'm always decked out in Hawks year when I go down there and the response 9 times out of 10 is positive.

Click to expand...

I live in Vegas, and if I see people wearing Hawks gear I definitely give a hardy, "Go Hawks!" I also get the bandwagon thing once in a while, but screw em. World Champs Bitches!

I also don't get why any 12 would give anyone else crap for becoming a Hawk Fan. Better late than never. I always tell my friends that there is still plenty of room on the wagon - just hop on.

I get it in Seattle at times, and I really don't care. If it were true I would care I guess.

I get implications of that in Indiana from people who haven't known me for long (anyone who has known me long knows how into the Hawks I am). Can't say I blame them since I've run into people wearing Hawks gear around here who clearly ARE bandwagon.

I have heard it from a few strangers. They want a defensive response. I don't give one.

I just belligerently ask Why do you care?

It used to be that I would tell people I was a Seahawks fan, and they would ask, "Oh, are you from Washington?" I always wanted to say, "No, no, I just really enjoy suffering." At least that dynamic has changed.

EastCoastHawksFan":p0vzkpzw said:

I have never been to Seattle. I am as far away as it gets in terms of US.
I have been a Seahawks fan since 2002 and have maybe missed 1 or two games since. I always represent the 12s by either wearing a Seahawk shirt , hat or even having the Seahawks bumper stickers and license plate

But since we have won the Superbowl every where I go somebody hints or directly implies that I am a bandwagon fan. I usually smile and nod because I don't really feel the need to defend myself. Is this happening to anybody else not from the seattle area ?

Click to expand...

I love the bandwagon fans. I don't care what it takes to love the Hawks and make some noise, every voice, every jersey, every high five just adds to the excitement. We're all in this together, the numbers may change but the situation doesn't

I've never had anyone call me a bandwagon fan except my boss who also grew up in The Bay Area and also moved to Seattle in his early 20s. He remained loyal to the Niners, I realized Seattle is home.