Yet a good friend of mine (who doesn't attend this university) always questions, "How many of the games do you ACTUALLY attend?" My falsified answer - "all of them!" The true answer - 50%. How can I call myself such a fan when I do not attend half of the home football games. When I do attend, I rarely stay until the completion of the match. Am I giving letting down my team? Can I even call myself a Michigan fan?
To ensure some peace of mind, I decided to conduct a survey with a random sampling of Michigan students. I surveyed 30 individuals, randomly assorted on the basis of gender, age, greek/nongreek. I asked each individual two questions:
1. Are you a Michigan Football season ticket holder?
2. What percentage of the home football games do you attend?
**Note: The word attend implies going to the big house and does not indicate length of time remaining at the game.
The results of my survey are pictured below:
While I am proud to see that the majority of the responses did attend close to 100% of the football games, I am relieved that I am not alone with my 50% response. In fact, the category of 41-60% was the second most frequent response category. I conclude that 100% of my participants consider themselves to be Wolverine fans as they all purchased the season ticket package. And therefore I wonder, what does it really mean to be a fan? Does a 100% attendance record indicate you are a "true fan"?
For all you "True Fan" readers: Click here to go to our athletic homepage where you can view rosters, schedules and buy tickets!
Personally, I think what makes someone a true fan of a team is loyalty. They don't necessarily have to attend 100% of the games, but they must be proud of their team and stick with them regardless of the situation and regardless of their win-loss record. Just a few years ago, Michigan football was struggling, but the true fans still bought tickets and still supported them. Attending 100% games doesn't mean a person is a true fan because it's difficult to tell whether they're a band-wagon fan now that Michigan football is doing well again or someone who has been loyal to the Wolverines.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Thomas. Although attending 100% of the teams home games does show your team spirit and dedication; I believe that there are many devoted and loyal fans that are unable to attend all of the games. I think it is interesting to see that majority of the people you sampled fell in the category of attending 81-100% of the game. However, I would be interested in seeing how long those individuals stayed at the game. I think you are not alone when you say that you leave majority of the games very early.
ReplyDelete-Shannon Funsch
The beauty of following a team is that you feel like you are part of something bigger than yourself, a movement of sorts. All fans have that common denominator, so I would say that you are definitely a fan! I have been a Laker fan since the day I was born (exaggerated, yet if I could have it would be true) and I know just about anything that you would like to know about Laker history. However, as much as I love the sport and the team, I still love being a fan more if that makes sense. So I definitely can relate to this!
ReplyDeleteYou definitely do not need to attend every single game in order to consider yourself a true fan. I think that as long as you are wearing team colors and rooting for a team (rather than secretly rooting against them) then you are definitely considered a true fan. Fandom cannot be quantified by the number of games you attend, in fact, it cannot be quantified at all. You don't need to enjoy playing sports, or even enjoy watching sports, to be a fan of a single team. I think that for most people who attend the University of Michigan, just the fact that you attend this school is reason enough to call yourself a fan. 100% attendance at home games does not make you a fan, instead, it is your interest and investment in the team which truly makes you able to call yourself a fan. I know for me that I will always call myself a fan of UM Football no matter how many games I attend within my college career.
ReplyDelete- Mallory Harwood
The Magic Circle
Lucy- I'm so with you. I buy season tickets and go to MAYBE half of the games (and sell the other tickets!). But I would still call myself a fan. Like Thomas said, loyalty is a major characteristic of a fan. Additionally, if you're passionate about your school and everything it encompasses, you're a fan--not just of your team, but of the University of Michigan as well. You don't have to know every statistic and player. If you chose to identify as a fan, then you are. And hey, we can still support Michigan sports without actually going to the games. As long as you don't secretly root for the other team! :)
ReplyDeleteI love getting the question, "so how many Michigan Football games have you ACTUALLY been too this season." It always makes me laugh because I happen to have a really good track record with getting to the game, but like Shannon said, how long I stayed at some of these games was questionable. Whether or not a person, makes it to the game probably shouldn't decide whether or not he or she is a fan, I think its (like what Mallory said) if they are rooting for that team or not should decide if a person is a true fan.
ReplyDeleteLike Jordan said, when I first tell people I go to Michigan, I get the question: "How many Big House games do you go to?" However, normally I don't have time to laugh before making up a quick lie that I attend almost all of them ( even though I really only going to 1 or 2 a season). It always seems embarrassing for me to say that I don't go to the games, but that I dress in maize and blue and party every saturday for "Football Saturday". However, this blog post along with the comments have eased my mind a little that maybe I can call myself a fan, even though my attendance at football games definitely doesn't show it.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who has grown up being a fan of many different sports, I can say that going to a game doesn't always make someone a true fan. Especially in the case of college students, many students, not unlike yourself, go to games more out of convenience and the desire to be social than to actually see the team play the whole game. I know that this experience isn't unique to sports either. There are other events such as a musical concert that I might not find myself wanting to go to every concert, but still enjoy the music. I think the idea of a attending a game doesn't ensure a "true fan" go to every game, or even any at all, but it does ensure that there is at least some support for the team they are watching, even if they aren't a "die-hard fan".
ReplyDeleteI'd consider myself a pretty loyal Michigan fan. I'm a huge follower of football recruiting, so I can give you the names of high school juniors (wow that sounds weird) that are considering Michigan as their school. However, even I can't say I go to 100% of the games. On those days when Michigan is playing a crappy team and the weather outside is rainy and cold, I see no problem with watching the game in the comforts of my house. Plus, if it isn't a close game and I have homework or something to do later in the day, I will leave at halftime and watch the rest of the game in my house. This doesn't make me less loyal...it just makes me more practical than others!
ReplyDeleteI don't think that not going, or going, to a game makes someone a loyal fan. I know a lot of people that go to ALL of the games just for the fun of it. They don't understand football, pay attention, or have a clue what is going on. So, even if these people that go to 100% of the games don't actually care or pay attention, I would not know what to consider them. I don't think there is one way to determine what a loyal fan is and I do not think that going or not going to a game impacts this.
ReplyDeleteHey Lucy.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that 100% attendance equates to "true" fanhood. I consider myself a true fan but I have missed a couple games in my two years at Michigan. Sports is important, but there are also other things that we as student athletes have to take care of. For instance, academics and other extra-curriculars. I think that true fanhood comes from caring about the teams you claim to root for, and actually following what happens during a match or during the season. I hate the fact that so many people attend games drunk out of their mind, not following a single damn thing, yet claim that they are true fans. I attend games sober because I actually care about the match. I enjoy watching the games, and I take pride in the fact that I am a true fan.
So, again 100% attendance does not necessarily equate to true fanhood, but caring about the team you purport to support does.