Rules of fanhood...especially termination of fanhood

[akorn22]

With the redskins being on the verge of having to forget about playoff hopes for the season, I can tell they are losing fans. I assume every team loses fans, and i also assume that over the past 15 years the redskins have lost many fans. I also see threads every year around this time consisting of people vowing to end their fanhood. THen I also see a lot of hardcore "fans" who bash all those people and call them fairweather fans. So i beleive that there needs to be some rules or guidelines to determine when someone is a fan, a fairweather fan, and when fanhood can be terminated without reputation penalty of that person.

For instance is a true fan someone who has a lot of merchandise and goes to a lot of games? Is a true fan someone who supports their team so much that they can never say anything negative about the team?

Are true fans allowed to criticize ther team and to what extent?

And the one I am most interested in is when is termination of fanhood allowable and acceptable? I mean there is a thread up that says if we lose to the bills the thread starter is done rooting for the team. Well i noticed that the thread starter was 30 years old. In that case I would go as far as to say that that person is not allowed to quit on the skins based on his age. If he was 30 then that means he did get to enjoy the superbowl years of the redskins dynasty....a pleasure a lot of us don;t have.

Now take me for example. In 1992 i was turning 7. That's when I started liking the redskins. 7 is a legitimate age to start being hardcore into sports. I never got to enjoy the superbowl years of the skins. My whole life as a fan of the redskins has consisted of 12 years of missing the playoffs, 3 playoff appearances, 0 conference championship appearances, 0 SB appearances and 0 SB wins. In my history as a fan I have had the pleasure of seeing 10 .500 or below seasons.

Not that I am considering ever rooting for another team other then the skins....but should someone in my situation be allowed to terminate their fanhood? How many losing seasons must someone endure before they can like another NFL team? Could a dolphins fan legitimately stop liking the dolphins if they go 0-16?

Let's hear some ideas....

[TD Riggo]

Real fans don't EVER terminate their "fanhood!' EVER.

[bubba9497]

are you questioning my FANHOOD???

:slap:

[playoffsplz]

Dude your nuts. You know by now ( especially at your age...trust me I understand) that you COULD NEVER "terminate" ( as you put it) your fanhood if you grew up a fan. I mean it's seriously not possible and that is why you come back every week....just to be tormented. It's like crack...Redskin Crack.

I can't tell you how many times i've sat here after a game and said " WHY did I have to grow up as a Skins fan?"

It's a curse we must carry and it either will be broken or you will be here writing the same type of thread on your death bed.

Scary thought eh?:laugh:

[dlwredskins]

True fans never terminate their fan hood....I've been a skins fan ALL my life....and yes the last 15 years have been rough but even then, I live and die with the Redskins...The last 3 weeks are probably the maddest I have been with the Redskins in a long time. Oh did I mention I was in Dallas pure torcher...though I kept hoping against hope we'd win. Everyone says Jason Campbell cried after the Cowboy loss....I was almost brought to tears in the stands when Chris Cooley dropped that first down pass against the Cowboys...that would have given us another opportunity to bury the Cowboys. The week before against Philly...I was utterly disgusted! Today....after the both picks....my exact words were "Damn it Jason". So as much as this hurts, as tired as I am of hearing "5 in a row or we don't go", "we fought our guts out", "we played our rear ends off", "Jason is going to be great" , "we were one play away" and every other positive spin that Gibbs and the team makes up I'll be cheering them on hoping a against hope of them running the table and getting that last wild Card Spot.

They need to get over the hump and stop making excuses...just do it! No I don't want Gibbs to be fired either...but this is painful. So like one poster said it's almost like a disease...burgandy and gold FEVER....you can't shake it, but keep in mind my friend when we get back to hoisting that trophy, making the playoffs consistently, winning a division title here and there and of course sweeping the Cowboys in dramatic fashion our "sickness" will be all worth it...so keep hoping....and support the team...nothing worth having ever comes easy.....HAIL

[thelarkascend1ng]

i don't think i'll ever stop being a fan. there are always times when teams simply are awful and then they turn things around. a big part of all of this simply boils down to the fact that like, say someone "gives up" on their team and they start rooting for another team because they have to fill that void. let's say that their first team wins the superbowl the next year and they are suddenly like "oh yeah! i've always been a ******** fan." and you see it and call it out.

LAME.

regardless, i can understand everyone's frustrations with the team. as a matter of fanhood though? pshh... come on, you roll with the punches, as long as they might be. i used to yell or like, throw the remote and get my dad all pissed off at me. later on i realized that it's all out of my control but fun to watch and really be into. it's tough. being passionate about something so ultimately out of one's hands can really be bad for one's heart.

it's not stupid optimism or anything. if a team is bad, it's bad. you just hope that the coaches and players and owners you have are good enough to get the job done and improve the team, always. our number will come soon enough. all i think about is how much fun it was in 1991 around the area when EVERYBODY was going nuts for the skins.

[hiswadeness]

are you questioning my FANHOOD???

:slap:

Does your fanhood need questioned?? LOL

[desioreo87]

You know i wish i could stop loving the redskins. Every sunday they fill my heart with joy and anger. I can't stop loving them even if i wanted too. They are teh team i grew up with and they are the team i will die with.

Every sunday i try and detach myself before teh game so that i don't double over at the end of the game in agony and every sunday i still yell at every mistake and cheer after every great play.

If you are a "true fan' (i do hate that label) then you can never stop loving these redskins no matter how hard you try, its something ingrained in your character and you can't just throw it away cause you are angry.

HTTR!

[No_Pressure]

Well I would say somebody who renounces that they are a fan of a certain team when Santana Moss drops a pass shouldn't pretend they are fans to begin with...either that or they take a midol and try to contain their rampant emotions...

[DCSaints_fan]

I've never stopped being a fan of any team - even when I went to VT I still found myself rooting for ND as well. I've tried swearing off the Orioles year after year but still find myself at least checking the box score every now and then.

[ravenson]

Redskins Crack????? I love it, Thank You Sir, May I have another

[LoveDaSkins172645]

I think it depends on the person and the situation, for me I am a season ticket holder and the cost every year is getting steeper and steeper, I don't mind not winning every year, however I have problems when it's the same old crap year in and year out. I spend 3000 every March and I don't care whether it's this site or another one I feel I have a right to critique this team and the product they put on the field without being called a fair weather fan or getting banned or what have you.

I mean there are so many people on here that will go hard should you say anything bad about the coaching staff, namely Gibbs and Williams, but for me when I spend my 3000 every march I am paying to see players not the coaches, especially coaches that take entirely too long to adjust or make changes that need to be made. I am at FEDEX every home game rooting my ass off and it hurts me to no end to see the product that Gibbs puts on the field, I am tired of them getting rid of players namely fan favorites only to bring in some over priced bumb that isn't even as good or comparable to who we let go.

I know I am a fan because when the Skins lose my whole week sucks! I know I am a fan because of the season tickets I pay for the merchandise I pay for. So while there might be a great number of fans that seem to think you can't have any negative comments about this team and not be true fan is crazy and ass backwards in thinking.

With the amount of money this team brings in, I find it hard as hell to watch the Colts, New Orleans, The Bears be better then us, I hate that it takes this team damn near a whole season to find itself, I really have a problem with Gibbs and how he wants a SUPER SMART PLAYER over ones with more athletic ability, and then people wonder why this team is perenial celler dwellers in the NFC East! I remember the good times in the 80's and 90's and I was taught growing up the older you get the smarter you get, and maybe Gibbs spoiled me with what he did back then, however 4 years into experiment and the same type of crap happening every year is unexcusable! How can Snyder give Gibbs so much leadway but couldn't do the same with Shottenhiemer? How can Snyder even keep Vinnie Cerato involved in the decisions? I mean please!

I know for me it's becoming harder and harder to pay that amount for this sorry excuse for a team, but I can't blame the players, I blame the coaches. Coming to the Redskins games now I truly expect to lose every game, not because we don't have good players, we do but because the coaching staff seem inept, slow and they play scared and it shows.

I personally can't wait to see Gibbs leave, I only hope that Daniel Snyder finally understands what a good GM would bring to this team, a REAL GM not Joe Gibbs, not Vinnie Cerato either, someone like Ron Wolfe or heck even Bobby Beathard!

I know there are fans that follow regardless of the seemingly every year problem but for me it's getting to the point that I need to walk away because seeing Gibbs coach, blow timeouts, make assinine calls in the Redzone is enough punishment for me.

While I will always love my Redskins, I will not and just can't be blind anymore to the less that standard team and the coaching staff that play every weekend. The blown timeouts, the lathargic blocking and all and maybe one day a serious hard ass will come here and make all right again.

HTTR

[scruffylookin]

Everbody here is a fan and I'll even use that overused and dreaded "true" fan label.

How people react to their favorite football team's continued failure, I guess that's what is at issue.

Some vent by expressing disgust and others react to that disgust by feeling protective of the team by defending them and attacking those who are expressing their disappointment.

I think we're all fans of the franchise. We just show it in different ways.

That's why the use of the term "fairweather" fan is just laughable and clearly those that use it have no comprehension of the meaning of the term and embarrass themselves every time they use it.

The Redskins have lost "fairweather" fans. The fans that jumped on the bandwagon during the Super Bowl runs in the 80's and early 90's have already jumped ship long ago to other teams.

When you're a fan of a team and still wear the colors with pride despite the on field results of the last 15 years, your anything but a "fairweather" fan.

[WSHRedskins3ATLBraves3]

Real fans don't EVER terminate their "fanhood!' EVER.

[tomahawks]

Real fans don't EVER terminate their "fanhood!' EVER.

They just torture themselves over and over again. Until they find something else to do. Then they become grumpy old men.

[edgun88]

I'm a Skins fan till the day I die. And no one can take that away from me.

[MONTEY]

Skins football is in my blood. I could give up a NBA team and move on. Same with any MLB team. I love the B and G. But Im very, very unhappy with my Skins right now. Disgusted. Im just gonna move back a bit, take a break. As in not making that effort to make sure I can sit back and watch my boys on any given Sunday. Against the Bills Ill listen a bit to Sonny and Sam . I cant sit in my lazy boy anymore this season and allow myself to view such a inconsistent, disappointing team make such fools of themselves. That's that.

[LD0506]

The Redskins have lost "fairweather" fans. The fans that jumped on the bandwagon during the Super Bowl runs in the 80's and early 90's have already jumped ship long ago to other teams.

When you're a fan of a team and still wear the colors with pride despite the on field results of the last 15 years, your anything but a "fairweather" fan.

We just have the MOST HARDCORE FAIRWEATHER FANS EVER! :laugh:

[BAFGA]

Back when I was in high school and college it was great being a Redskin fan. Super bowl after Super bowl was nice. Now, as I've gotten older, it's in my blood that I'm a Redskin fan. Even with everythign that has gone on since 1999 (Snyder) I still am a fan.

I'll still keep coming back but it'll take signing somebody Michael Vick to seriously question coming back.

[Wyvern]

I'm not in favor of judging who are "true" fans or who qualifies as being "retained" as a fan.

My sense is that most of the folks on here ...are "true" fans. This is because they obviously care about the fate of the Redskins. (The fans of other teams that post on this board are usually detected quickly.) Like in life, the way people react to things they care about, doesn't always sit well with everyone.

That's because, like in life, fans express their interest in their team in many different ways. Some exhibilt overt, die-hard support for the team, some express suggestions or criticism on what needs to be changed. Some seem to be 'over-the-top' in their gloating on the teams successes, some seem overly negative about the team's setbacks.

:poke: THE POINT: I don't think being a Redskin fan isn't about being a "homer" or an "anti-homer." I don't think it's about being for or against a particular player, coach, or owner. It's about whether you are willing to take time out of your life to be involved in Redskin matters (watching the game, going to the game, buying Redskins stuff, posting on Redskins boards, discussing the Redskins at the office, etc.) The extent to which you do so, maybe make you a more committed fan (for or against the current state of the team) but regardless -- it shows that part of you cares about the Redskins.

I'd go further to say that at a gut-level, being a Redskin fan is about whether someone wants something good happening for this Washington Redskin franchise (not necessarily the current franchise, but the concept of the franchise.) For one reason or another, we associate ourselves or our frame of mind with the fate of the Redskins ...and on some level their success makes us feel good, even if we don't happen to like the player/coach/owner that was responsible for that As "fans" we all deal with the upside of this relationship in different ways; we all deal with its downside in different ways too!

Let's get used to the fact that, as fans, we are now having to get used to the downside of what just happened over the last three games. And as fans, we are expressing ourselves in different ways. Let's also keep mind of the fact that there will be many more times when we can all express ourselves in the enjoyment of the upside as well.

[TheGift]

I'm a Skins fan till the day I die.

[Skinsinparadise]

Fairweathered fans? If a fan in my book only roots for a team when the sun is shining they aren't much a fan if at all. Dallas had bleak years, the Pats had bleak years, Greenbay had plenty of bad years.

Yeah, we've been on a long bad spell after a long good one. I suspect we are on the brink of a nice run, starting next season. We played supposedly the three best teams in the NFC on the ROAD and almost beat them and arguably out played them. I don't see us staring at an abyss here. Jason is just going to get better.

But even if things looked bad, It doesn't even enter my mind for a split second to stop rooting for them or pull for someone else.

[PCS]

Need to find that "Fans Rulebook". Gotta be around here somewhere.

[cougarskins]

I think it is simple. Those that suffer with the team the most during the bad times get the highest high when things finally go right.

[md20j]

Best time to root for your team is when they're down. Otherwise, what the heck kind of fan are you?

Shoot... real fans? Folks like me, who STILL root for the O's, even though the owner has done every possible thing in his power to make the team suck and keep it that way!

;-)

JB