I'm from New York, I'm a Yankees fan, I travel a lot. The last place I traveled was Seattle and there were a lot of people in Red Sox hats and I'm like these people cant be from Boston.
Also the Yankees have a similar problem. When I was in Colorado it didnt seem like anybody that was rooting for the Yankees was from New York.
2007-11-01 08:07:22 · 20 answers · asked by Anonymous in Sports ➔ Baseball
I say yes.
Of course you will always find fans from different teams everywhere you go, but I agree. I was in the woods of North Carolina and saw that stores had more Sox and Yankees hats than anything else. Same went for when I was in Vegas. It is true that some people might have migrated there, but for the most part they are bandwagon fans.
2007-11-01 08:18:09 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Great question. Yes and No, I run a website for Sox fans in southern California and most of the people on my page are from the New England area that are transplants. San Diego is filled with New Englanders and New Yorkers so you see a lot of Sox/Yankees gear. However there is a percentage of bandwagoners too, there are tons of people who wear Yankees stuff that have never been east of the Mississippi, let alone to New York and now it's happening to the Sox too. I guess thats the price we pay for being fans of the two best teams in baseball and the two largest fan bases (sorry everyone it's true.) We get to enjoy the great times but we have to deal with people stowing away on our ships... oh yeah and I'm from the Boston area so no I'm NOT a bandwagoner, 4th generation Sox fan.
2007-11-02 07:38:14 · answer #2 · answered by SoCalSox 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just because people aren't from Boston or New York doesn't mean they are bandwagon fans. There is no way to know if these people have been fans all their life or just for the playoffs. You are right in that there are many bandwagon fans...but in reality there are many states that don't have professional MLB teams. This doesn't mean that these people can't like baseball or like a particular team...for example I live in New Orleans....no MLB team here....but I am a die hard Red Sox fan...see in my case I was actually born in New York ...but my dad grew up in Boston ....therefore he raised me as a Sox fan...we never no what the reason is for someone liking a team....call them bandwagon fans only when you notice a real reason...in example...only watching the playoffs if their team is in them. I think after you talk to a fan you can tell if he/she is just a bandwagon fan..believe or not....there are even some fans that have never lived in the east but have loved a particular team since they were a kid.
2007-11-01 08:33:16 · answer #3 · answered by casagarber 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I grew up in upstate NY near the border of VT and I have been a Sox fan my entire life...I currently live in Chicago so no not everyone outside that area is a bandwagon fan...people move but don't change favorite teams...the other thing is a lot of people travel with the team to see them...when the Sox came to Chicago this year I went to a couple of the games and met a bunch of people that flew in for the weekend to see the Red Sox since it is hard to get home tickets.
2007-11-01 08:53:19 · answer #4 · answered by JT-24 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The New York Tri-State Area and New England both have large population bases that go out to everywhere.
They also have colleges that seek out national student bodies, so sometimes people go there and take up the new team and abandon their hometown squad. Example: Trenton, New Jersey native Bob Ryan, burned by the 1964 Phillies, went to Boston College and saw the 1967 "Impossible Dream" team, and decided to stay in Boston to look for work. He's been with the Boston Globe ever since.
On the other hand, there's also people who take up certain teams because of perceived coolness. You know how many people tossed aside their Jordan 23 jerseys for O'Neal 34s as soon as the Fakers started winning? (The counter to this is, how many Duncan 21s do you see?)
Once the Red Sox start losing again -- probably around 2010, since the contracts of the fat guy and the dumb guy will hav expired -- then you'll see those little hats with the little red Bs start to disappear.
2007-11-01 08:17:49 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
Not necessarily. I may be from Boston, but I've also moved elsewhere and back a few times (Florida, briefly to Houston, etc.) If I had become a "fan" of whatever team was closer to me at the time, I think that would have made me a bandwagon fan. I also have some friends here who are Yankees fans, as they are from NY. They are also not bandwagoners, but loyal fans.
2007-11-02 04:38:21 · answer #6 · answered by SoBox 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Live in Buffalo, grew up near NYC and went to many, many Yankee games as a kid, but for some strange reason have been a Sox fan for a long time. When I joined little league was on Sox and we lost for 3 straight years...Yanks were best team there too. We finally won my last year and have been Sox fan. Maybe it's the underdog thing (you have be when you live in small market Buff). Wouldn't have minded seeing Indians win (Buff's major league affiliate team)...Seems Yank fans have to win all the time or it's a disaster...that's what irks most people. For me the Sox don't have to win every year.
2007-11-01 08:44:52 · answer #7 · answered by Dragon17 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
If at some point fan x lived in New England and moved on to another area of the country - no. If it's the son or daughter of one of these people and grew up watching the Red Sox having been exposed to them by a parent - no. If it's a fan in Pittsburgh who doesn't want to pull for his or her hometown team and wants to root for a winner - yes.
2007-11-01 08:20:03 · answer #8 · answered by M.M.12 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes and No. I'm sure some of those people where only fans cause the sox were doing so well but some were probably legit fans.
Go Sox 08
2007-11-01 08:18:59 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
The Red Sox have had fans for years outside the NorthEast; they have always drawn well. That being said there are a lot of Bandwagon fans the past four years. You can tell them by when you mention Yaz and they have no idea who he is, a true fan knows who Yaz is.
2007-11-01 08:32:52 · answer #10 · answered by bdough15 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋