'Bandwagoner' vs 'True supporter' - What's the difference?

[Rach20]

Good point Joffa. Im with you.

[joffa_the_man_in_gold]

A bloody bandwagoner is a person who will not go and support ( i.e read my lips GO AND WATCH ) there club when they cant win a bloody game..no more theory's or cry stories please !!!!!

COLLINGWOOD FOREVER NOT JUST IN GOOD TIMES!!!

[johnny@]

Was that response to my post Joffa?

[Joel]

klf,

Do you notice how it gets such a varied response? It is a very heated topic. BTW, I'm not knocking you. It's great to hear everyones opinions.

[joffa_the_man_in_gold]

Look its nothing to do with granny dying or doing shiftwork or some personal tragedy...

Its a persons decision that he or she will not go to the footy today because he or she thinks the pies will lose..Thats a bloody bandwagoner!!!!

And there were plenty of them about not so long ago..does every one comprehend the meaning now!!

[Swanny21]

Once again the bandwagoners are almost invisible. If I remember right, our crowd figures for 1999 were quite good for a team that won the spoon. Can anyone point me in the direction of some stats?

[klf]

I think we're getting a bit carried away. I don't think anyone here is throwing stones at anyone else and trying to say they are bandwagoners.

Each and every person has their own opion which they are well entitled to and if someone is offended by something, or doesn't understand something then by all means clarify yourself.

We are all here because we are Pies supporters, we aren't meant to turn on each other. If you dislike bandwagoners so much why don't you just pity them instead of getting so agressive about it. Think about it.. they obviously lack something if they are willing to walk away from a team because things aren't going the way they like. They obviously know nothing about commitment and about what it's like to support people, or in this case, a team, when things are a bit tough.

Wouldn't it be best to focus on the positives.. YOU are passionate, YOU always support your club, just like thousand of others do. Bandwagoners come and they go, their support is support nonetheless, instead of getting so worked up over them and arguing so vehemently, just put that emotion into your continued support of the Pies.

Do you really think that such narrow minded, uncommitted people deserve the time it takes to argue about them? Just laugh it off because you know what they're missing out on!

And Swanny21, I wouldn't class you as a bandwagoner for those reasons you stated.

[Swanny21]

Well I think we've narrowed the bandwagoners down to an insignificant number:) They are not worth even mentioning then, so why get upset about them? I got to one game last year, and it was the Grand Final. And yes, I did feel guilty about taking a "true" supporters seat, so much that I almost gave my ticket away to a total stranger. The only reason I didn't give it away was the fact that the person never showed up at the time and place I asked, so I went in and watched the game.

[klf]

[Yobbo^LuKa]

[DidakinthePocket]

Hello Everyone,

From an outsider looking in to Melbourne, much like u klf.

I seriouslly started supporting Collingwood only this year. Living in Sydney, we dont get much, but now we get to see the pies every year which is great...

Anyway, the first time I really sat down and watched the pies, watched a full game, was at the start of the season. I cant remember who we played, but i really enjoyed it.

In 1998 i went to melbourne for a holiday. We visited Vic Park, and although I only got to stand outside the entry gates and look in, there was something special about the place.

Then, I supported Rugby League. The Western Suburbs Magpies were my pride and joy. At the end of 1999 they were forced into a merger. I still support them in the lower competitions, but its not the same.

Then, i saw the light. It was logic, I supported the Magpies in the league, so of course, follow them in the AFL. I didnt know the rules of the game, nor did i know how many premierships were won. But I knew there was something going on.

This year I joined the SAydney Collingwood supporters Club. It is great to get to see the pies play with a group of people who also support them.

Ive been called a bandwagonner here in sydney, and I just tell them, who did you support when Sydney were at the bottom. They seldom say the Swans.

Go the Pies!

[London Dave]

Assuming Collingwood is a religion....

Is the person who goes to 'church' every Sunday 'holier' than the one who goes once a month, or rarely, or never?

Are the strength of their 'faith' any different?

Is the person who stands up the front of 'chuch' singing hymns the loudest any 'holier' than a person who skips church to mow the lawn?

Is the person born into the 'faith' any holier than one who has undergone a Damascene conversion?

Everyone has their own style. Not going to every game possible when we were in the wilderness makes someone less of a supporter? (which is what I assume a 'bandwaggoner' to be in many peoples eyes)

I think Swanny raised the point about not being a 'jump up and down etc' type of supporter..doesn'y mean they don't hurt when we play poorly, or feel the same 'buzz' when we do well.

I'm not a ra ra type myself, been to half a dozen games in a decade, so maybe I'm a bandwaggoner? Doesnt matter what anyone thinks, support the pies in your own way, with your own passion.


PS....I've still 'attended' games in Australia, UK, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, UAE, India, Ecuador and Ireland to name a few, and at any time of the day or night, now, I reckon that makes the rest of you lot bandwaggoners!!!!!!!

Like beauty, it's all in the eye of the beholder!

[Kenno25]

[Pied Piper]

Great post London Dave.

One of the many strengths of the Magpies in the McGuire era is its inclusiveness. The club springs, as others have noted, from working-class origins, but it would surely not have survived today if its supporters were confined to the urban poor living in the area immediately surrounding Victoria Park. Given the laws of gentrification, I doubt those inner-city suburbs can be classed as working class any more.

But knowing we come from tough stock and hard times means we accept all-comers. There should be no place for elitism in this club. Elitism is for Carlton, where you can instantly become a club "legend" - if you have the money to pay for the title.

Supporters are the social fabric of a club, and a club is part of the social fabric of a society. I'm proud that our club (and this bulletin board) boasts among its supporters the Pink Magpies; that the team has just made its second trip to Aboriginal communities to spread the faith and repair the damage of the McAlister years.

In reaching out to all sections of the community around the country, it's inevitable that we will attract many different kinds of supporters, not all of whom can join the cheer squad or get to the games - in good times or bad.

Let's not start eating our own for not being just exactly as we think a supporter should be. That brings to mind another club again - Richmond. Collingwood fights like a family at Christmas. But at the end of the day we're still a family.

The Weed

[johnny@]

Ok reading into Joffa's post i understand where he is coming from and I agree. I have been following the pies for 33 years now, and even when we were down I still went and supported them ... But I agree that those that suddenly become proud Magpies when the team is winning are undesirable's.