Patrick Diamond, Sports Blog Editor
@diamond_courant
Every season, there seems to be at least one professional sports team that has a new herd of fans once they make it to the playoffs. This bandwagon of fans usually become fans of the team because of the team achieving success that they haven’t had in years past, and in the young generation’s case, their lives. This year, those teams are the Golden State Warriors, the Carolina Panthers, and the New York Mets.
Before 2015, the last time the New York Mets made the playoffs was 2006, which was the second longest playoff drought in franchise history. For Mets fans everywhere, it was a tough 9 years waiting for their Mets to turn it around. Generally, the Mets have been known as the little brother of New York baseball to their cross-town rival, the New York Yankees. When the Mets made the playoffs this year and eventually the world series, people throughout the New York and Tri-State area became part of what had become the new baseball “bandwagon.”
Junior Scotty Luntz has been a Mets fan ever since he can remember and it’s a safe assumption that he is one of the biggest fans in the school. He, like many Mets fans, have very mixed feelings about the Mets recent increase in fans during the playoffs. “It’s good for the team after all the money they lost from the Bernie Madoff scandal,” Scotty said. “However, it brings a bad attitude from other fanbases to Mets fans, which they already had in the first place.” As you can see, all it takes for a bandwagon to be created is a little success.
Next stop on the bandwagon is Golden State. Coming off one of the best seasons in the history of the NBA, capped off by an NBA Championship, the Golden State Warriors are only improving. Having not won a championship since 1975, you can imagine that interest in the Warriors was slowly diminishing. But then came the NCAA Tournament star, Steph Curry. The 7th pick of the 2009 NBA is one of the biggest reasons for the Warriors success in 2015, as he won the MVP of the league last year, and is somehow only getting better.
Watching the Golden State Warriors start off the year on a 20 game winning streak has definitely been one of the reasons for fans to come running to the Bay Area to see the Warriors play. Although Junior Matt Evans is not a Golden State Warriors fan, he enjoys watching them. “The Warriors are just flat out fun to watch,” Matt said. “The way Steph Curry plays is something you would see in a videogame.” Whether it’s throwing up half court shots or making dazzling passes, Steph Curry is a sight to watch and has brought fans attention to Golden State throughout the country.
Finally, the last stop on the bandwagon is the NFL. The Carolina Panthers, like the Warriors, have started out the year undefeated. A team being undefeated is an obvious reason for a team to gain fans, but it is not the only reason. Cam Newton, the quarterback for the Panthers, is famous for his “Dab” celebration when he scores. It is not only the celebration that the fans like, but what he does after. After every touchdown, Newton likes to hand the ball to a kid in the stands. All of these factors amount to their fan base growing each week as they continue to win over their fans.
Every year, bandwagon teams will come and go, but having these sudden bursts in popularity is what builds fan bases for years to come. These years of success build a foundation for a team’s popularity for the rest of their franchise’s history.
