The Myth of the Bandwagon Jumper and Why They're Good for Sport

I completely understand people's devotion to a sports team. 

Every win is your win, every loss is your loss.  You feel the pain of every sack and hip check; you feel the sting of every missed catch or fumbled ball. You live and breath your team and no matter how dismal the season may turn out to be, you're right there next season with your face painted, squinting from the nosebleeds as your team takes to the field, ice, or court.

It's a feeling of belonging, of brotherhood, of being a part of something bigger than you and that's really what sport is all about.

What I fail to understand, however, is why those same devotees have a hate-on for the bandwagon jumpers?

It was inevitable with Brett Favre packing his bags for the Big Apple that the bandwagon naysayers were already griping about the fans hopping on the Jets wagon for the upcoming season. 

Die-hard Jets fans, who haven't had a whole heckuva lot to cheer about since the Joe Namath years, are already reminding the bandwagoners that "true" Jets fans don't need any freeloaders, hard-up to find a team to support, just because Favre is the No. 1 quarterback in New York.   

There is, however, a much bigger picture that many fail to see.

I'm a fan of the Atlanta Falcons and have been for years.  It has never been easy being a Falcons fan and the one time where things were starting to look up, a certain quarterback decided fighting dogs in a ring in his basement—and then shooting them dead if they didn't win—kind of put the kibosh on a promising future for the team.

However, during Michael Vick's brief tenure at the helm of the Atlanta offense, the Falcons bandwagon started getting more and more crowded. 

Some whined and complained but I embraced these new-found Falcons faithful, most of whom jumped ship moments after the dogfighting story hit the headlines.

In that time, however, those faux-Falcons fans filled seats at the Georgia Dome and spent, perhaps, millions of dollars on T-shirts, hats, foam hands, and other assorted Falcons swag, bringing in a lot of extra coin for the club.

If you've got a superstar on your team, or your city has a championship team, it's like a license to print money, money that can be used to improve the stadium, lure marquee players, whatever the club owners deem necessary.

Why do you think the Jets secured the services of Favre in the first place?  Not only does the club want to appeal to the "true" Jets fans, they also want the bandwagon jumpers to get on board, even if it's only for a season. 

And besides, who's to say a bandwagoner won't become a die-hard fan?  Would you not embrace them then?

Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees fans are the biggest bandwagon bellyachers, but have absolutely no reason to complain about a couple of interlopers donning a pinstripe hat and a Sox jersey for a couple of seasons because it swells your numbers. 

There are some teams in all the different leagues out there that would love to have the kind of fan base Boston and New York enjoy, even if a chunk of them leave for greener pastures when the going gets tough.

You can bet that some of the money the bandwagon jumpers spent on Yankees gear helped pay for that shiny new stadium being built next door to Yankee Stadium.

In life, friends come and friends go, in and out like busboys at a busy diner. You say hello, you live together through a season and then you say goodbye.  You'll be back next year, but like that best friend you had in grade one, the bandwagon jumper may be gone for good.

In the meantime, you remember the good, laugh at the memories, and be glad he left his lunch money behind.