Are you embracing the bandwagoners?

JeffGollin

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Bandwagon people come in all forms.

A few of them are legitimate converts. Make them feel welcome so that the fan base continues to grow.

More fans mean more money. More money means better cash flow, more qualified scouts and front office staff and higher player bonuses. Higher bonuses mean more good players. More good players mean more playoff wins like the ones we've just enjoyed - and maybe just maybe a Super Bowl or two.

The object is to win. Fans - and the revenue they generate - help make this possible.

Here in NJ I want to root for a winning team and it would be nice be able to high-five more than one Cardinal fan a year.

Make the tent bigger and bring in all but the most obnoxious bandwagoners. We'll teach 'em how to be good fans.
 

Faithful

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On the other hand, I feel like this was a really great restaurant that only a few people knew about. Now the words gotten out, prices have gone up and you can't get a seat in the place to enjoy your favorite meal.

Another thing that irks me is the knowledge that once the shine wears off people will retreat back to their unsupporting ways.

Love it!!! I honestly thought my daughter and sister were nuts when they started telling me they didn't like the "new" fans a few weeks ago. They are really annoyed, and I mean really annoyed, with all the bandwagoners.

As for me, I'm just glad the Cards finally have a true home field advantage. I don't like the fact the bandwagoners will abandon ship the second the team starts to struggle again. But oh well......I don't expect the same type of struggles for our team in the future anyway.

GO CARDINALS!! :thewave:
 

earthsci

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I don't like the fact the bandwagoners will abandon ship the second the team starts to struggle again.
Not all of them will. The hardcore fan base has grown. If the Cards keep succeeding after this year it will become a large, solid hardcore fan base.
 

MadCardDisease

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All of my friends and coworkers all know I'm a huge Cardinals fan. Most of the time I'll get questions on how I think the Cardinals will do. Then of course I get the usually Cardinals jokes. However the last couple of weeks have changed that.

Walking in the halls at work, people see me coming and they get a huge smile on their face. People are congratulating me left and right and say I desevre it the most for sticking with this team for so long. Then they say they will be rooting for the Cards come Sunday.

I welcome all new fans with open arms. We all know who the Die Hard fans are and we have the scars to prove it. Now we need to fill our stadium with Cardinal fans. Even if it means those who are just now jumping on the band wagon.
 

justAndy

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I said this on another thread - I'm hoping for some rich bandwagon fans to outbid Eagle fans for agency tickets. One agency guy did tell me that the Eagles franchise allotment was 8,000 - not gospel, but sounds plausable.
Agency guy said most of his sales were credit card over the phone or internet and MOST but not all CC's has AZ addresses.
 

D-Dogg

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There is a little sports shop in the AZ Center by my office, and I just strolled in there to see how it was going (I go in there weekly and browse). The place is usually dead, or one other person than me. Today? 10-12 deep, ALL of them buying Cards gear. They were doing crazy business. And most of these people buying cards gear were already WEARING cards gear!

Unreal. I've never seen anything like that in my life.
 

Mulli

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There is a little sports shop in the AZ Center by my office, and I just strolled in there to see how it was going (I go in there weekly and browse). The place is usually dead, or one other person than me. Today? 10-12 deep, ALL of them buying Cards gear. They were doing crazy business. And most of these people buying cards gear were already WEARING cards gear!

Unreal. I've never seen anything like that in my life.
Bizarro sports shop. Wow.
 

Mulli

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There is a little sports shop in the AZ Center by my office, and I just strolled in there to see how it was going (I go in there weekly and browse). The place is usually dead, or one other person than me. Today? 10-12 deep, ALL of them buying Cards gear. They were doing crazy business. And most of these people buying cards gear were already WEARING cards gear!

Unreal. I've never seen anything like that in my life.
You work near the downtown Los Dos?
 

Zeno

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I'll embrace a bandwagon fan if I have a feeling the bandwagon fan won't jump off at the first sign of trouble. We had one guy from AZ on here a week or so back saying he wouldn't support the team if Warner wasn't back.

Like the saying goes its about the name on the FRONT of the jersey not on the back..of course that mostly for ego driven players but it applies to fans as well.
 

WisconsinCard

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I am not a greeter of these bandwagoners. I say earn your strips, like we all did. I am glad they are following the team, but I'll wait to greet them with open arms after a few years, if they are still around. I see a lot of poeple who are just here because of Kurt (mokler not included), and again I welcome them but not with open arms. The ones that have KW handles, but claim to be fans for years well I'm not buying it.

The reason Mokler is not included is he has been here through a few lean years. He almost gets a hug...:D

There is plenty room, for us all, but like Zeno said lets wait to see what happens if there is a little trouble.
 

Spielman

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I see a lot of poeple who are just here because of Kurt (mokler not included), and again I welcome them but not with open arms.

You definitely shouldn't welcome me with open arms. I'm a damn dirty Rams fan, and I'll revert to form as soon as possible. :D

Seriously though, this board gives me some of the best football talk I've found in a long time. So I'm probably not going anywhere for awhile.
 

SECTION 11

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This day had to come, didn't it?
I say the more the merrier.

The adult transplants that live here will never change teams, but their kids will. We're about to make a whole generation of lifers this Sunday. We're almost one full generation of them being in Arizona, and Generation Two is going to get shot out of a canon about 40 hours from now.
 

Gee!

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I got everyone pissed off at work at the bandwagoners there.. They are starting to really annoy me.. They are sooooo happy that they are apart of this historical run like they deserve it for all they trials and tribulations this team and its fans have gone thru.. Its disgusting.. They are just pleased as punch and when I walk by with all my Cards gear I have been sporting all week, they smile and think Im one of their brothers and expect me to run up and bear hug them out of joy just because they have on Cards gear too.. I just shoot them dead stares.. Ok, them folks really piss me off if ya cant tell..
 

earthsci

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I got everyone pissed off at work at the bandwagoners there.. They are starting to really annoy me.. They are sooooo happy that they are apart of this historical run like they deserve it for all they trials and tribulations this team and its fans have gone thru.. Its disgusting.. They are just pleased as punch and when I walk by with all my Cards gear I have been sporting all week, they smile and think Im one of their brothers and expect me to run up and bear hug them out of joy just because they have on Cards gear too.. I just shoot them dead stares.. Ok, them folks really piss me off if ya cant tell..
They know Gee. They know. It's good to recruit.
 

cardsfanmd

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The bottom line here is that there is strength in numbers. A bandwagoner may only be 10% of the fan that you are, but their voice can be just as loud in that stadium.
 

Gee!

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The bottom line here is that there is strength in numbers. A bandwagoner may only be 10% of the fan that you are, but their voice can be just as loud in that stadium.

Ya but I put zero effort into someone who will most likely turn tail when the times get bad.. Theyll be in the wind.. Not a trace of them ever again.. They are here for the good times and think they have every right to brag and boast right now.. But in reality, when the Cards dont make them feel like they are something anymore, they will move on to something else.. Soooooooo.. screw em!
 

splitsecond

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The problem with bandwagoners in this state is that really, they are not completely at fault for the previous apathy. This is a young population, with a ton of people who moved here from other places, with their favorite teams already chosen. Of course this doesn't really count for the idiot cowboys fans that inhabit the desert, but that is probably for another debate...

I know for me personally, I grew up on Montana and Rice and then Young and Rice. My family came here from the bay area, and my grandparents were diehard niners fans, as I was for a very long time. I have always supported the cards as the home team, but it has been difficult to let go of where my family came frome. Honestly, the last 4-5 years have been a slow turning point for me. I watched as the 49ers ousted Eddie Debartalo, and dismantled their dynasty. And as that happened, I saw the Cards organization start to really work towards building something here, and I guess the rest is now history.

I know I am not the only person who has gone through this, so I think we should all be careful when we label people bandwagoners. Unless of course they were Cowboys fans before. They don't get a free pass.
 

earthsci

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Ya but I put zero effort into someone who will most likely turn tail when the times get bad.. Theyll be in the wind.. Not a trace of them ever again.. They are here for the good times and think they have every right to brag and boast right now.. But in reality, when the Cards dont make them feel like they are something anymore, they will move on to something else.. Soooooooo.. screw em!
They won't all turn tail. Like you said, it sucks to watch everyone enjoying as much as you when you are the one who was there...but that's the nature of the beast. This is how the team builds a fanbase.
 

cardsfanmd

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Ya but I put zero effort into someone who will most likely turn tail when the times get bad.. Theyll be in the wind.. Not a trace of them ever again.. They are here for the good times and think they have every right to brag and boast right now.. But in reality, when the Cards dont make them feel like they are something anymore, they will move on to something else.. Soooooooo.. screw em!
Yeah, but you've gotta take into account that that is the majority of people. I know it doesn't sound good, but most folks are *******. It isn't just an Arizona thing, all teams have tons of them. Fair weather fans are like haters, you WANT to have them. That means you are doing something right. I am not saying to openly appreciate or thank them for showing up when it's convienient, but they do help IMO. Plus, this winning will build some real fans too, especially in the younger demo.

I would rather have a pansy Cards fan go silent in the stands if the iggles go up by a few points than a damn Philly fan who will start hollering their brains out.

All in all, they are the ones that you high 5 at the game and then call out at the bar afterwards. :shrug:
 

Gee!

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Yeah, but you've gotta take into account that that is the majority of people. I know it doesn't sound good, but most folks are *******. It isn't just an Arizona thing, all teams have tons of them. Fair weather fans are like haters, you WANT to have them. That means you are doing something right. I am not saying to openly appreciate or thank them for showing up when it's convienient, but they do help IMO. Plus, this winning will build some real fans too, especially in the younger demo.

I would rather have a pansy Cards fan go silent in the stands if the iggles go up by a few points than a damn Philly fan who will start hollering their brains out.

All in all, they are the ones that you high 5 at the game and then call out at the bar afterwards. :shrug:

Your dam lucky your a Cards fan or I would have killed you by now.. ha ha :D
 
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