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Do you have enough tape on your ankles?
Blog — By intheoradio on May 6, 2012 12:16 PMWe all know what time of year it is in the hockey world. Other than the Draft in any league, the playoffs is where you often find men weeping, and women wondering what the heck is going on. Granted, as proven by the lovely ladies on this site (and I do mean lovely, beautiful and talented. Sucking up never hurts) there are those females out there who know the ins and outs of the game as much as or more than men. That’s fine I am not here to judge who knows more. I am here to talk about the epidemic that plagues us all… BandWagoning
Yes, every year it affects millions of people. Bandwagoning not only affects the brain but has an ability to snap people’s ankles as they jump on and off this said ‘band’ wagon. As a side bar… why is it a band wagon. Shouldn’t it be called something with a sports team name in it?
Now that the first round of the NHL playoffs is over, and now that we enter the 2nd round of the AHL playoffs and the final
round of the CHL (WHL, OHL, QMJHL) playoffs, this epidemic is in full effect. And to be honest, it’s ok. I know I sit on my media perch sometimes, with a puffed up chest and a wagging of the finger at what fans do. But we media folk are bandwagon jumpers. Some teams are just cooler than others, sometimes you have allegiances with certain players and you want to see them succeed, and other times… it could be just travel. Sorry Ottawa 67’s. A 5 hour trip to watch game 3 and 4 is just too much mid week. Whatever the reason for an individual’s bandwagoning… it is just plain funny.
Sticking with the NHL only, this past weekend kicked off the second round where we saw some great hockey without the marquee teams of Vancouver, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Boston and Ottawa (I really like picking on this city don’t I). because I am such a big twitter wheel, or is that twitter tool… I got to talking with a bunch of people about their changing of alliances and pretty much going over to the dark side.
The most common reason why, has to do with our fathers. Admit it, your dad made you a fan of Team X. I have no shame in saying that my dad introduced me to the Blue and White of the Toronto Maple Leafs but I loved to hate them. I guess I fully turncoated the Leafs a few years leading up to the lockout when I realized how dumb it was for them to get rid of all this young talent to continually fill the seats while only ousting the Senators in the first round (there’s this Ottawa theme again). Unfortunately for the Leafs I wised up to their plan and said ‘nay nay. I will not promote a team that is only interested in merchandise sales and filling their pocketbooks’. But it was so much more than that, back to my dad, it was just awesome to root against him. He would get so pissed off, heated debates, the laughing the crying the raw emotion of father versus son. Heck, if he didn’t like it, he shouldn’t have
kept buying me jerseys of the other 29 NHL teams in the league. But to be fair, this can go well beyond your father. Heck I root for teams in the playoffs just to piss some people off ha ha. BOO L.A. KINGS!
That is just one reason, to hop on the bandwagon. Another, more common, reason or explanation for fans jumping on with other teams is the old, ‘if my team can not win the cup, then the team that beat them should win. This way we lost to the champs and it isn’t that bad.’ Does anyone else find that excuse laughable. It is like thinking, ‘so my girlfriend cheated on me, it is out of her system now, she wont do it again.’ Wise up will ya! Your team was just bad for a 4-7 game stretch. That logic is flawed beyond belief and you should all be ashamed to root for the team that knocked yours out. Especially if it is a hated rival. Identity crisis.
Then the third main reason to see the bandwagoners jump on is because you live there. Oh to think that for 82 games your team doesn’t matter, never been to one game. And then BAM! They make it to the playoffs, and even win the division, and now you decide it is the cool place to be… yeah I am specifically talking to you Phoenix. Hey, its ok. I am somewhat of a closet Phoenix fan. Know some buds in Arizona, I have their jersey and more importantly, who doesn’t wanna see Shane Doan succeed. The man is the definition of (input any type of soldier/fighter/leader reference you want) and at some point he deserves to have some playoff success.
The playoffs are what they are. Fun! Plain and simple. The Rivalries, the heroics and all those dillusional fans who come out of the
closet to cheer for teams that they never knew existed. Like all you Chicago Blackhawks fans from 2010. I’ve been a fan since the Ed Belfour rookie year… Best non Quebec goalie of my generation.
Love Me. Hate Me. You are still going to read me. @intheoradio
64 Comments
ahaha the title ^
great chirp!
“what flex?”
‘my stick? its an 85′
“no those ankles you fuckin bender!”
good one
haha love it, i dont like bandwagoners too much either!
The 3rd reason, welcome to Chicago when they won the cup. Going to games was awesome just to mess with the people that knew nothing about hockey except for Kane, Toews, Sharp, Hossa, and Niemi
so many bandwagoners on philly because of 24/7
you got that right
LIKE
so true
I’m a big Wings fan, but once they went out I started to cheer for my favorite players. In this case it was Mike Richards and LA. Not sure I’m jumping on the bandwagon but definitely cheering for a certain player to do well
dont bend lolo
lol
Great read
benderr
I’ve been an Oilers fan since the early 80′s and unless the team were to move I will be an Oilers fan for life!!! BOOOOO! to those bandwagon fans!
I was actually thinking something I might write about this, in terms of … ALL the teams I had any interest in are out. St. Louis was the last one, and I really don’t like any of the remaining teams. Though, not many teams I like made the playoffs in the first place, and my interest has been casual at best. Not even sure what bandwagon to get on. I hate one player on LA probably more than I hate Sean Avery (but not quite as much as I hate Dion Phaneuf …) don’t realy like any of the East teams … and hi, I’m from Canada, who the eff are Nashville and Phoenix? Truth be told, I’m actually following the AHL more than the NHL at the moment. The Leafs and I aren’t speaking, but nice to see the Marlies doing well!
good read haha
oilers, ebs-rnh-hall
the only shitty part of the playoffs is that you have people pretending to be huge fans of teams they probably didnt even give a rats ass about during the regular season
Nice…
Nice read… loved the girlfriend part haha
AHAH good Read!! I’m a die hard Leafs fan, Could never Cheer for a rival
Worst was people saying the Canucks were “Canada’s team” last year. No thanks.
good read
Not a fan of cheering for the team that knocks you out of the playoffs. If my team can’t win I don’t want to see those guys win either
Lived in Boston this past year, sooooo many band wagoners
great read
Great read, haha liked the girl friend bit!
so true great read
Good REad
sick
have to cheer for someone to win the cup, gives you a reason to watch, its not always bandwagoning
Haha this is great and I feel all complimented now…way to pump our tires lol! But seriously, band wagon fans are killer when it comes to the end of season. 2nd party ticket prices get insane and I seriously believe it prevents the true fans of that team who don’t have season tickets or a disposable income from going. Makes me kind of sad actually…I know a lot of die hard Sharks fans who simply coudln’t afford the ticket costs once playoffs started, was really a shame.
You shoulda seen what it was like here in LA. People who had never even watched a hockey game were big kings fans all of a sudden
the title is a beaut! As for bandwagoning I would say I’m guilty now that the Red Wings are gone, but I love seeing teams like Phoenix do so well for the guys they have on their team (like Doan). Playoffs are about excitement and I think no matter what team you root for all year long, you’re going to end up falling for a team in the most exciting time of the year
loving the title (sick). as for bandwagoners they are just annoying. pick a team and stay with em.
i also agree that cheering for the team that knocked yours out can be laughable at times
great read
lets go rangers gotta love torts
good read love it
Nothing wrong with bandwagoning during playoffs
good read, as a sabres fan, this year i’ve been rooting for the kings. definitely not a kings fan or anything, but it’d be nice to see them finish off this crazy run. the playoffs are no fun without at least having a team you wouldnt mind seeing win!
Unreal read, so true too
Unreal!
unreal
jokes title
i need more tapee
Unreal
great read
nope
the title made me laugh
haha
good title. bandwagoners are funny.
good read
hahaha good read
lmaao
e6
good stuff !!!!
nice stuff!
nice!!
benders
cool
nice article
bender