The True Fans

Here’s a Wednesday blog as Thursday is Turkey Day and I don’t know if I’ll be in the office on Friday.  Plus there are some football games played on Thursday – all between division rivals.  So the topic might be appropriate.

As you may know, I’m on the Book of Faces and a fan of the Minnesota Vikings, which I have been since the late 1970s, a time when their quarterback was the much-beloved (at least by Vikings fans) Fran Tarkenton and the team had just lost its fourth and final Super Bowl.   Notwithstanding its 6 NFC Championship losses since then, a few of them agonizingly close, I still support the team and hope it will finally win the Big One.  That is, win the NFC Championship and THEN beat the Chiefs, Dolphins, Raiders or Steelers.   Or whichever AFC team it’s up against, possibly even the Patriots.  Hey, Eli Manning is 2-0 and Nick Foles is 1-0 against Tom Brady, so it can be done.

Anyhow.

Obviously there are Vikings pages on the Book of Faces and us Vikings fans might have cause to dispute things between ourselves.   In observing and participating in these spirited discussions I’ve observed three types of fans.

Type C:  The Fair Weather Fan.   We all know the type:  sporting team gear when the team is competitive but oblivious to the sport itself otherwise.  We love to wrap ourselves in the warm cloak of self-righteous contempt against such fans.   Of course.  Not sure how many Vikings fans are like that now, as the team isn’t exactly dominating its division.  Actually, with both the Bears and Lions getting competitive, along with our hated rivals the Packers, no one team can be said to have a lock on the division championship.  It may well get down to the wire this season, with the losers not even guaranteed wildcard slots.  We’ll see. 

Then there’s the Type B:  The Fanatic.  No matter how poorly the team is doing and how strong its opponent, regardless of whether we’re playing an away game and our star players are all injured, this fan loudly proclaims, with utmost conviction and sincerity, that we’ll win the game.   More to the point, this fan accuses anyone who doesn’t share his optimism as a Type C fan.  Huh?  Come on.   We’re Type A.

Type A:  The Realist.  We support the team even if it’s 0-16 (fortunately the Vikings have never been that bad, unlike our pals in Detroit) or if the coach is obviously a moron.  We’ll cautiously support the team against all opponents but feel free to express skepticism when the opponent is relatively stronger.  Our worst fault is Monday morning quarterbacking.   I try to avoid this, and stick to simply making observations I know are supported by the facts and evidence, because I can’t claim to know nearly enough to exceed the skills of even our most incompetent coach.   

Ideally we should all be Type A, supporting the team through thick and thin but not mindlessly cheering when the team does stupid things or loses games it should win.  Personally, the Type B’s strike me as the same type to support popular demagogues – how many Type B Vikings fans not only voted for Trump but still support him even now?  No clue, but I have my suspicions.  

Now, repeat this for the other 31 teams in the NFL, all the MLB baseball teams, the NBA teams, the NHL (probably quite a few Type C Capitals fans nowadays, Ovechkin being far more ubiquitous than he was before), and so on.   And knock yourselves out this Thursday.   Hopefully Mike Zimmer has a plan to beat the Packers next Sunday.   Or perhaps tie again?