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So, according to you and others--when I finally move to Austin, TX I can no longer call myself a Steeler fan. Is that right? Just curious....
Of course he's not. He brings up valid points though. You are from Pittsburgh so it's obvious you didn't jump on the bandwagon.
Steeler fans get so defensive when they are called bandwagoners. I understand why, but those who are from Pittsburgh have to understand the fans of the Steelers outside of Pittsburgh don't care that the team is from Pittsburgh. They care about the success they have had. Same with any other team. If the Steelers played in Slippery Rock, they would have just as big of a fanbase.
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Indianapolis Indiana
789 posts, read 1,133,548 times
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I have posted this a couple of times around these boards and it needs to be posted here. Yeah there are some "band wagon jumpers" but, there is also Steeler Nation.
OK, it's time for a history lesson. When the steel mills closed in the late 70s and 80s almost half of the population scattered about the country in search of employment. Many members of the next generation grew up in homes all over the country with parents who were (and still are if they're alive) rabid Steeler fans. The kids either grew up to be Steeler fans or were disowned (just kidding). It's not like that "America's Team" crap where everybody loves a winner in the 90s. This is why there are Steeler bars all over the country. I sat in a bar to watch a must see game between the Oilers and Steelers in 78. The winners went to the playoffs. The guy next to me grew up five miles down the river. He was from Aliquipa as are Ty Law, Mike Ditka and Durrell Revis. Ask Bill Cower, Marvin Lewis, Dave Wannstedt and Mike McCarthy about the Steeler Nation they all grew up in.
This is Part 2 of three parts. This explains STEELER NATION
You’re(edit) in denial if you think that a team from a city the size of Pittsburgh could possibly have so many fans without the help of a bandwagon. Let’s pull out our math books for a second. Do you realize that Pittsburgh isn’t that big right? But pardon me, if you want to keep(edit) believing that the Steelers are so big because of broke Pittsburgh transplants moving to other cities for jobs. Carry on then. I’d just like to hear your explanation for why the Pittsburgh Pirates aren’t so popular. Oh but I forgot, you’ll use the “Pittsburgh is a football town” excuse even though baseball historically used to be more popular than football right?
I think you guys are full of BS because the Bulls winning 6 titles didn’t stop the Chicago Bears from staying popular. So either those broke Pittsburgh transplants didn’t have the stamina to support two teams, or they were just frontrunners. I’d go with “front runner”.
The Steelers do have a big bandwagon due to success in the 70s and the 00s....to say its just mostly transplanted Pittsburghers is BS. The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area, 5 hours away from Pittsburgh on the other side of the state, is loaded with Steelers fans....and I can count all the Pirates fans I know on 2 fingers. And none of the hordes of Steeler fans I know around here ever lived in or around Pittsburgh. There's also a lot of Dallas fans here....yet another bandwagon. Otherwise there are a lot of Eagles and Giants fans here...understandable since Philly and NYC are the closest NFL cities.
Successful teams will create bandwagon fans...when I was a kid, the 49ers were the elite team, and somehow I went to school with multiple 49ers "fans." I doubt too many kids outside of northern California are wearing 49ers jackets or Alex Smith jerseys to school these days.
No reason to really. The Steelers and Cowboys haven't had long stretches of ineptitude that would make the bandwagoners jump off. Most of those bandwagoners who jumped on in the 70's for both these teams would not be fans of them today if they never sniffed another Super Bowl. Bandwagon fans of both these teams are lucky they picked a winner. It's easy to be a fan of a team that wins and it's easy to pick a team if only you were looking at wins. This is not an indictment of the Steelers, Cowboys or any other team. It's just the way it is. How many Chicago Bulls fans outside of Chicago do you see today? I saw tons in the '90's. None today.
Everyone knows there are true fans of all teams and everyone with half a brain can pick these people out. I don't argue with those who I perceive to be a bandwagon jumper. I laugh at them and I'm a frickin' Bengal fan!!
I'm still a Bulls fan, and I never stepped foot in Chicago.
The term "bandwagon fan" doesn't mean people who root for a team while living outside of it's city.
"Bandwagon fan" are those who ONLY root for a team when they are winning.
Saying people are "bandwagon fans" because they started to root for the Steelers in the 70's certainly doesn't make them that. That's nearly 40 years of rooting for the Steelers!
I know many Steeler fans who love the team regardless of if they win or lose who also happen to live sometimes in different countries if not different States or cities. They are the Steeler Nation.
The term "bandwagon fan" doesn't mean people who root for a team while living outside of it's city.
"Bandwagon fan" are those who ONLY root for a team when they are winning.
Saying people are "bandwagon fans" because they started to root for the Steelers in the 70's certainly doesn't make them that. That's nearly 40 years of rooting for the Steelers!
I know many Steeler fans who love the team regardless of if they win or lose who also happen to live sometimes in different countries if not different States or cities. They are the Steeler Nation.
Good post, but don't bother. People on here have their own definition of "bandwagon fan". It doesn't matter to them how long the Steelers, Cowboys, Packers have had a HUGE fanbase. They want to believe it's only when these teams are winning, and there's nothing we can say to change that.
Good post, but don't bother. People on here have their own definition of "bandwagon fan". It doesn't matter to them how long the Steelers, Cowboys, Packers have had a HUGE fanbase. They want to believe it's only when these teams are winning, and there's nothing we can say to change that.
I don't consider myself a bandwagon fan just because I first became aware of football in general in the 70's.
If you're not old enough to have been a fan earlier.....should I blame my Parents for not conceiving me when they were in their teens?
Then I waited a little over 10 years to get season tickets.
I suffered through all those years with guys like "Slash", Brister, and O'Donnell.
That suffering alone I think qualifies me as a true member of the Steeler Nation and it wouldn't matter if I lived in China!!
I'm not sure why anyone even cares. You like whatever team you want. And everyone else will like whatever team they want. Why does it even matter why someone likes a team?
I'm not sure why anyone even cares. You like whatever team you want. And everyone else will like whatever team they want. Why does it even matter why someone likes a team?
Basically...it boils down to jealousy.
Some folks have to find some way, any way, to attempt to put down others.
People who root for other teams just cannot fathom why the Steeler Nation is so huge. So they have to make-up reasons.
Personally, when the topic comes up that someone roots for another team (no matter what the sport), the first thing that comes to my mind isn't how LONG they've been a fan.
Some folks have to find some way, any way, to attempt to put down others.
People who root for other teams just cannot fathom why the Steeler Nation is so huge. So they have to make-up reasons.
Personally, when the topic comes up that someone roots for another team (no matter what the sport), the first thing that comes to my mind isn't how LONG they've been a fan.
Another great post. This "bandwagon" stuff gets so sickening.
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