Now that another holiday has come and gone and the wave of pumpkin spice lattes and The Nightmare Before Christmas marathons have nestled into the trends of seasons past it’s time for yet another bandwagon opportunity.

Ah yes; now welcoming the arrival of the bandwagon fandom.

Every so often these fans or persons impersonating fans of popular sports teams, music, or even movies emerge from the eerie lagoon they dwell in to suck the life and fun out of the things real fans know and love.

The actions of these so-called fans are almost parasitic like.

They hop from team to team, movie to movie, or even band to band exploiting that mediums richness and awesomeness until well, it becomes a trend that slowly evolves into a boring, overplayed, or over talked about phenomenon.

It’s almost as if these bandwagoners intend to drive true fans away from the very thing they love.

They pick up that thing and throw it in front of a bus so no one else can enjoy it.
Their lack of undeniable support for these “trends” disappoints me to no end.

However, despite my growing annoyance with these “fans” I’ve noticed that I’m being a bit unfair with them.

There is an underlying meaning to the term bandwagon and it isn’t just a way for people to ruin great things like the Blackhawks or the Star Wars Universe.

It’s a desire for a person to be a part of the in crowd or to be popular for once.

If there’s one thing that bandwagon fans and real fans share it’s that everyone wants to fit in because the thought of being alone frightens us.

It’s no wonder people want to be apart of the craze that is a popular sports team or band.

Die hard fans, like myself, eloquently stroll around campus, our pride for our teams or bands worn on our sleeves for the world to see.

We walk with a sense of meaning because we know what we stand for and what we will defend.

People want to be in that aura of victory and success.

It’s an intoxicating feeling to know that you’re a part of something grand and that’s what people crave the most, something to be proud of.

We “real fans” engulf ourselves in the teams, music, and movies that we had the luxury of growing up with and act like some sort of elite country club filled to the brim with pretentious, plastic surgery victims just waiting to stick up their noses and say, “you don’t belong here.”

We are so quick to point the finger at suspecting bandwagon cronies and say, “you aren’t a part of us” simply on the premise that they weren’t born a fan.

However, neither were we.  You can’t be born a fan but you can be born into a family of fanatics that influence your choices in pop culture.

Whether we admit it or not, at some point in our lives we were all bandwagon fans.

So let them buy the gear with our beloved teams stamped on or let them wear the shirt with our favorite band plastered on the front because not only are they supporting what we love (though it may be for a short amount of time) it’s what makes them feel happy and who are we to revoke that feeling from them?

Once that trend leaves the popular eye, however, that’s when we will pick up what’s left of it and enjoy it for what it really is, a beautiful masterpiece that will live on forever in our minds and hearts.

Analicia Haynes is a freshman journalism major. She can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].