What makes a fan?

Sitting here watching Monday Night Football on Fox. The two teams competing are Penrith Panthers and Canberra Raiders. Stilgs, one of the other bloggers on this site, has been a Penrith boy since the day he was born. One of my other best mates Wesley, started going for Canberra last weekend. His choice of team was not born out of any particular affinity with Canberra or their mascot/emblem the Raiders. His choice was derived from whether anyone else went for them. Now I must give Wes some credit here, he could've jumped on a band wagon and started supporting a 'bigger' or more successful club like the Roosters, Manly or Broncos. But he didn't, he chose the Raiders. And after tonights performance he can be mightily pleased with his choice. And I'm sure he and Stilgs will have some words over it.

But anyway. Wes' new found love of the Raiders got me thinking. What does it take to be a fan?

Want: to feel a need or a desire for
You have to want to support your team. You have to have an interest in the sport. There is nothing more annoying then a game coming on tv and someone asking 'Whose playing?' 'Raiders and Panthers' 'Oh right. I go for the Raiders' 'Oh yeh? How come' 'Cause my dad/brother/uncle/primary school teacher went for them' 'Whose your favourite player then?' 'Oh I used to like Mal Meninga. Does he still play?'. Thats not good enough. Sure, that my might be a good enough reason to start going for a team, but there needs to be more there.

Commitment: means to show loyalty, duty or pledge to something or someone
You have to be committed to your team. There are going to be good times and bad times. And that can be week to week or season to season. But a true fan is loyal to their despite these times. Myself as a Cronulla Sharks fan, have had to learn that 'there's always next season'. The commitment to your teams carries on despite sometimes even the promise of improvement. But also gives you the right to gloat in the successes as you can then spout lines like 'I was there when we only won 4 games in the 2007 season but now look at us! Champions! You little ripper!'. And you also earn the right to sit around and say what your team needs to do better, what players they need to sign or release if they aren't performing.

Passion: a strong or extravagant fondness
There is a passion or love required to be a supporter. You have to stand up and say that you're team is the best. You may not always believe it but its something that you say none the less. The performance of your team lifts or deflates your spirits. Through their triumphs you experience elation and joy. But their defeats can cause you sadness and even depression, which I live with as both a Sharks and Liverpool FC fan. This passion can cause you to love a player when he/she plays for your team, and then to despise them the next season when they're wearing the colours of the opposition.

Those in my opinion are the three key features in going for a team in any sport. Of course you can then demonstrate your support and passion by wearing jerseys, t-shirts, shorts or any other item of team wear. Or even decorate your car, house or shed with memorabilia and/or colours.

So congrats to Wez on the success of hos Raiders tonight. The Green Machine were certainly on a roll! Hopefully they can keep it up and make the finals. As for the Panthers, I'm sure tonight was an anomaly and they'll be back to their winning ways next week.