Mike Tanier on Fan Negativity

[Raleighcat83]

Not about the Panthers specifically, but a nice write up about expectations, disappointment and the attitude one can choose to have as a fan. It is somewhat long.

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/walkthrough/2010/we-are-walkthrough

"The Walkthrough about Colts Deserters -- fans who raised a super-sized fuss when the team pulled its starters in Week 16 -- generated a lot of feedback, good and bad. Of course, I wrote that to stir the pot, and I expected some negative responses.

Many people disagreed with my ultimate premise: that fans who demanded refunds from the Colts or spent days decrying Bill Polian as a confidence man were guilty of a foul against fandom. Some argued that fans have a right to boo and be angry (I would never suggest otherwise) and that fans have a right to astronomical expectations for their team. There's no reason that a Colts fan, or any other fan, should be satisfied by a Super Bowl three years ago, or a string of 12-win seasons, or the promise of a possible Super Bowl to come. Fans have a right to expect and demand an undefeated season, or multiple Super Bowls. Fans shouldn't be ridiculed or given (imaginary) punishments for setting high expectations and expressing their anger when the team falls short.

Those arguments are correct. Ultimately, your fan experience is completely and totally yours. I can't tell you how to be a fan. It's a relationship that belongs to you and only to you.

Which is exactly why you should try to make it better. It's an obligation not to me, or your team, or your fellow fan, but yourself.

You have the power to decide what you will find satisfying or intolerable. The more things you find satisfying, the more satisfied you'll be. It's a pretty simple concept. It applies to everything: your career, your neighborhood, your marriage, and your fan experience.

If only a Super Bowl win will satisfy you, you will be dissatisfied, on average, by 96.875 percent of all your team's seasons. If that Super Bowl only brings you fleeting joy, you are in bad shape, because it may be the only one you will experience in your lifetime. If you can find the joy in other accomplishments -- a Super Bowl loss, a 13-3 season, an ordinary win on an ordinary Sunday -- then your fan experience will be much more rewarding. If you cannot, that's your prerogative.

Of course, no one wants to become a Stepford fan, appraising the team like a tee-ball parent. "Oh, they lost 31-7, but it's all about the spirit of healthy competition!" Those boos are a release, and they are as important a part of fandom as cheers. Trust the Philly fan: I have uncorked many a throaty boo, usually for the referees or the opponent, and have felt the cathartic giddiness that comes with finally being able to take out my frustrations in a way that's inappropriate at home or at work.

But again, this isn't about booing. This is about writing angry letters, about waiting on hold the day after the game to vent on talk radio, about harboring and expressing long-standing contempt for an owner/executive/coach/player who by most accounts is both successful and professional. Those acts aren't spontaneous or primal, like a bloodthirsty boo. They are the results of consideration and thought: it takes time to write a letter, and sports talk stations give you plenty of hold time to consider the tenor of your comments. Hostile calls and letters are the results of lingering anger, the kind that grows into sprawling negativity, the kind that can creep out of fandom and into other aspects of life. Lions fans, who have no other outlet for their frustrations, may have no choice but to revel in the negativity. Other fans of bottom-feeders are in the same boat. Most of us, though, have a choice whether to live win-to-win or loss-to-loss.

Of course, you are entitled to your anger, no matter what team you root for. It's your team, and it's your anger. I know enough fans whose entire relationship with their team is based upon dissatisfaction: the team doesn't pick the right free agents, doesn't draft well, doesn't win the big games, doesn't blow out bad teams convincingly enough, doesn't care about the common fan, and charges too much for hot dogs. Victories are greeted by nitpicking, losses by ridicule. These fans watch every game and know every player; they are as much fans as I am. If they were Colts fans, these guys might have used their season tickets as baby wipes before returning them after Week 16.

It's their fan experience. It appears to be one of misery. I don't know what the rest of their lives are like. Maybe they need something to be miserable about. I don't. I want my Sunday afternoons to be as pleasant as possible. I choose to find satisfaction with my team, whenever I can. I can only suggest you do the same. It makes for a better experience."

[R0CKnR0LLA]

I'm with this guy 100%.

[guyinchesapeake]

Is there a point here? "Don't worry, be happy". Is that it?

For those of us who pay our money, ESPECIALLY thos eof us who invested in the team via PSLs', we damned sure have the right to express ourselves anyway we see fit. I admit that I have no use for fair weather fans, and Charlotte has an abundance of them. The 'wine and cheese' crowd just has too many members here. But as paying fans, it's their right. I can't argue that.

[jasonluckydog]

sorry too long for me..

[Rhys]

Not about the Panthers specifically, but a nice write up about expectations, disappointment and the attitude one can choose to have as a fan. It is somewhat long.

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/walkthrough/2010/we-are-walkthrough

"If only a Super Bowl win will satisfy you, you will be dissatisfied, on average, by 96.875 percent of all your team's seasons. If that Super Bowl only brings you fleeting joy, you are in bad shape, because it may be the only one you will experience in your lifetime. If you can find the joy in other accomplishments -- a Super Bowl loss, a 13-3 season, an ordinary win on an ordinary Sunday -- then your fan experience will be much more rewarding. If you cannot, that's your prerogative.

Of course, no one wants to become a Stepford fan, appraising the team like a tee-ball parent. "Oh, they lost 31-7, but it's all about the spirit of healthy competition!" Those boos are a release, and they are as important a part of fandom as cheers. Trust the Philly fan: I have uncorked many a throaty boo, usually for the referees or the opponent, and have felt the cathartic giddiness that comes with finally being able to take out my frustrations in a way that's inappropriate at home or at work.

But again, this isn't about booing. This is about writing angry letters, about waiting on hold the day after the game to vent on talk radio, about harboring and expressing long-standing contempt for an owner/executive/coach/player who by most accounts is both successful and professional. Those acts aren't spontaneous or primal, like a bloodthirsty boo. They are the results of consideration and thought: it takes time to write a letter, and sports talk stations give you plenty of hold time to consider the tenor of your comments. Hostile calls and letters are the results of lingering anger, the kind that grows into sprawling negativity, the kind that can creep out of fandom and into other aspects of life. Lions fans, who have no other outlet for their frustrations, may have no choice but to revel in the negativity. Other fans of bottom-feeders are in the same boat. Most of us, though, have a choice whether to live win-to-win or loss-to-loss.

It's their fan experience. It appears to be one of misery. I don't know what the rest of their lives are like. Maybe they need something to be miserable about. I don't. I want my Sunday afternoons to be as pleasant as possible. I choose to find satisfaction with my team, whenever I can. I can only suggest you do the same. It makes for a better experience."

A lot of good points in there.

Too bad it's immediately greeted by a comment like this:

Is there a point here? "Don't worry, be happy". Is that it?

For those of us who pay our money, ESPECIALLY thos eof us who invested in the team via PSLs', we damned sure have the right to express ourselves anyway we see fit. I admit that I have no use for fair weather fans, and Charlotte has an abundance of them. The 'wine and cheese' crowd just has too many members here. But as paying fans, it's their right. I can't argue that.

You completely and utterly missed the point of the article. It's not about fair weather fans nor is it about your right to express yourself. It's about your own personal experience as a fan, and if your choice to remain negative and miserable or not.

[frash.exe]

vicarious existence is a fuging waste of time

[Lilsmitty09]

sorry too long for me..

:cheers2:

[Jangler]

I'm with this guy 100%.

You loooooove him.

[88 Bronco]

f**k him! BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[KatsAzz]

I thought the following statement summed up the articles point very nicely.

"I choose to find satisfaction with my team, whenever I can. I can only suggest you do the same. It makes for a better experience."

However, this shouldn't be taken to the extreme where a fan wouldn't be able to express situations of concern that need to be addressed about their team.

[frash.exe]

This guy really spent all that time analyzing fan psyche

this is the most pointless article I've ever read 20% of

[Zcustom]

You loooooove him.

for some reason I'm hearing Sandra Bullock say this :eek:

[cookinwithgas]

One of the best times I've had as a Panthers fan is partying after the Cardinals kicked our ass.

[guyinchesapeake]

A lot of good points in there.

Too bad it's immediately greeted by a comment like this:

You completely and utterly missed the point of the article. It's not about fair weather fans nor is it about your right to express yourself. It's about your own personal experience as a fan, and if your choice to remain negative and miserable or not.

Excuse me, genius, but one's "choice to remain negative and miserable or not" has evrything to do with EXPRESSING YOURSELF! Sorry that that goes over your head!