I’m someone who watches the MLB, NHL, and NBA, and something that drives me insane about the basketball community in particular is the amount of bandwagoning. It doesn’t even come close to the other sports. Connor McDavid is the undisputed goat in hockey right now, but no one is hopping on the Edmonton Oilers bandwagon. Shohei Ohtani is making MLB history, but no one’s trying to be an Angels fan (Angels are abysmal though, so it makes a little more sense). But meanwhile in the NBA, you have dudes from DC, Michigan, Georgia, Idaho, Colorado, etc. rooting for the Lakers or Warriors SOLELY because of players like Lebron, Kobe, and Curry.
I think this is something that frustrates me more than it does most because I’m a Warriors fan who grew up and lived their entire life in the Bay Area, and no team in the NBA right now has more bandwagons than GSW. It’s frustrating because they are the absolute most fair weather and negative fans you will ever encounter, probably because they have zero tolerance for adversity, which is why they flocked to the Warriors instead of their less successful, small to mid market team in the first place. It doesn’t help that they’re also probably a big factor in why Warriors tickets are just completely unaffordable.
I know this is gatekeeping mentality, but I’m sorry…if you and your whole family were born and raised in Massachusetts, there is zero reason for you to be a dubs fan (yes, I’ve seen people like this online). Go root for the Celtics, they are literally the most successful franchise in NBA history, they’re good right now, and they have a superstar in Jason Tatum. Supporting your local team and having that connection to your city/region is what makes professional sports fun in the first place, even if your team is bad. It’s just absolutely lame af to only hop on to teams that are successful and only when they’re successful. Yes the Pistons suck ass, but I promise you that when the time comes that they’re good again, it will feel so much better to be a Pistons fan cheering alongside your fellow Detroiters than it will be to be a Lakers fan living all the way in Michigan. Like why do you guys only give a shit about Lebron and his legacy, there are 4 other dudes on the court with him. Did you know that basketball is a team sport??? I think Ronald Acuna Jr is amazing, but I can admire his talent while still sticking by my .500 Giants.
This post will get a lot of hate, but I will die on this hill. GO ROOT FOR YOUR LOCAL TEAM! YES, TEAM, THIS AINT TENNIS, BASKETBALL IS A TEAM SPORT. STOP BEING A BANDWAGON!!!
It’s because basketball fans tend to be the youngest, it ain’t rocket surgery
I only cheer for my fantasy players. No loyalty beyond that. Too many teams moved on me.
“P.S., I am NOT a crackpot.”
I’m on the same wavelength as you, brother. For some reason the NBA has become the ultimate casual sport. I wonder if it’s fans taking cues from the players - players don’t show loyalty anymore, so fans aren’t either.
I follow damn near every sport under the sun. Basketball, hockey, football, soccer, rugby, cricket, baseball. The list goes on. Of all those basketball is the only league with this many bandwagon and casual fans.
Small teams, only 5 at the time from one team playing, no helmets…
Are you drunk?
Basketball is a fun as fuck sport, so no matter who you support it’s fun to watch and enjoy.
Where as with other sports, if you don’t have some kind of reason to watch, it’s usually just boring.
I would still say NFL and Soccer beats NBA here. But that’s just me.
I’m a basketball fan first. I want to watch good basketball. Watching the Nuggets last year was fucking awesome. Loved seeing the Raps win as a Canadian (and have seen tons of growth in the local youth scene as a result of it) but I’m out here rooting for teams that are fun to watch, because that’s what I want to watch.
It’s creates the most toxic community of the Big 4 sports. The amount of hate is unbelievable
These teams aren’t your community they are a business. Do you support bad business just because they are local?
These aren’t mom and pop shops they are billion dollars companies owned by billionaires. You don’t owe them shit. Cheer for whatever you want.
Because in no other major sport a individual star can have the impact NBA stars have. As good as Mahomes, Haaland, Othani, are at the end of the day they are just one player that can’t swing the luck of a team by themselves. In the NBA a single star can be the difference between a team not going to the play offs or winning the championship, you can’t find this anywhere else
A generational talent in baseball or hockey doesn’t have the same impact as a generational talent in basketball. Shohei has claim to be the greatest all around baseball talent ever and the Angels still suck. Connor McDavid is already one of the best to do it in Hockey and the Oilers are competing for worst team in the league. Meanwhile an nba mvp has only ever missed the playoffs once.
Individual talent matters way way more in basketball than basically any other sport. And the nature of the sport allows players to all be great in different and varying ways, creating more focus on the individuality of the players. If you like the way X player plays, and nobody else in the league does it quite like them, then there’s nothing wrong being a fan of just that player.
because rooting for a team is just simping for a gigantic corporation? nothing about your local team (or any team) represents you or your friends etc unless your friends play for the team. every team is just a company with employees they hire from all over the world to make money, they just happen to be playing half their games in your city this year. it’s like rooting for Walmart or Amazon. i like watching athletes do cool things and i like following players’ journeys.
I’m not hating on people who root for teams — do what makes you happy. but hating on people for NOT supporting teams / local teams is lol