Fan or Foe? GSoM lets you know...

by dj fuzzylogic on Apr 24, 2007 3:32 PM PDT in Hype Comment 28 comments

The upstart Warriors dominating win over Dallas Mavericks has got the streets watching! People are begging the bandwagon to slow down so they can join in on the all the fun. Being a Warrior fan has never felt this good or this popular.

Case in point, sporting my throwback "City" jersey, I had people stopping me on the street asking to take pictures and to sign their chests!

Just kidding...

Angela Hill over at the Oakland Tribune shot us an email wondering how she could become a real Warrior fan. In one of her articles today, "Stop the Bandwagon....I'm getting on!," featured on page 2 of the front page section, Hill draws on several sources, one of them being GSoM, to help transform her from fairweather to the real deal.

Here are some of our contributions...

3. A must for the fashionable fan is indeed a "City" jersey or commuter mug, key ring or doggie dish. "Nothing says 'fan' like spending 50-plus dollars in merchandise," according to the crew at the fan site http://www.goldenstateofmind.com.

5. You must know to chant "We want Foyle!" in a blowout game. After every big win you yell, "Unstoppable, baby!" After every big loss you yell, "Unstoppable, baby!"

7. Eat garlic fries.

We guarantee that doing these three things, specifically number 5, will make you a true fan... a true fan of our site that is. Just kidding!

Anyway, given the all the bandwagon chasing that has been going on lately, what do YOU think a new fan needs to do to prove their legitimacy as a fan of the hottest team in the NBA?

Thanks to KB for lookin out for us. She posted this earlier in her diary "How to be a Warrior fan (GSoM mentioned)"

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thanks

Thanks to KB for lookin out for us. He posted this earlier in his diary "How to be a Warrior fan (GSoM mentioned)

hey thanks for the credit. it was a great article. i didn't even know you guys gave them suggestions for it. number five was the real reason i posted it. hahahaha oh and btw...i know the name shows no gender...but im female... hehe thanks. =)

by kb on Apr 24, 2007 3:52 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Ooops

Sorry for the gendered assumption. But thanks so much for letting the rest of GSoM community know about this article!

by dj fuzzylogic on Apr 24, 2007 4:22 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't know...

I don't think that a new fan should really do anything to prove their legitimacy other than by just sticking with the team from here on out. You'll always have these fairweather fans come and go, and they usually go with the losing and come with the winning, but we'll know what kind of fans we really are and they'll know what kind of fans they are. I mean, who else could tell you that Clifford Rozier was our #1 pick from the 1994 draft? None of these fair weather fans... but hopefully they'll be able to tell their friends that Jason Richardson was our #1 pick from the 2002 draft.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

by mightymadskillz on Apr 24, 2007 4:14 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

EXACTLY...

...nobody every BECAME a warriors fan BECAUSE they sucked, so let's not get overly high and mighty about this...

...we were all drawn at some time to the team because they were exciting in some way, had a player we really connected with, are our HOME team, or, for people like myself who didn't grow up around here, inherited them from our fathers who were fans before us (and likely became such for all of the reasons listed before). break it down and you can cynically call nearly everyone's original attachment to their favorite team "bandwagon jumping."

...the difference between the true fans and the perpetual bandwagon jumpers is longevity. we've all stuck around. there's no artificial cap on folks allowed in. if you become a fan this year, for whatever reason drives you, and in 10 yrs. you're still in when the next bandwagon screaches out onto the open road, then you'll be sitting here drilling the newbies and forgetting when you yourself jumped on.

...if you were born and raised in East Oakland, or have been following them since Philly, you're exempt from the argument. otherwise, you jumped the TMC bandwagon, or were worn down by the horrendous play of the Kings and needed something within broadcast distance to root for, or wanted to cheer alongside your pops for the team he came to love in their last glory days.

either way, true joy is only derived if your intentions are pure, so the truth unites us all now. go Dubs!

by 321 IN n OUT on Apr 25, 2007 10:45 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

good point

but what if you became a fan when they sucked in the mid eighties? i started watching the warriors (and cutting out their boxscores and general team stats from the newspaper after everygame at one point) in the days of winston garland, terry teagle, tellis frank, Joe Barry Carroll, and Ralph Sampson (god damn him).

i think your theory that we were all bandwagoners is pretty interesting and valid, but i think there are deifnitely some exceptions like myself...tho i find myself bandwagoning in a lot of other ways (i.e. grey's anatomy, entourage, and then crispy creme when it first arrived in the bay...just to name a few)

by dj fuzzylogic on Apr 27, 2007 3:51 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Know how

to pronounce Mickael.

And know that Junior Harrington and Stephen Davis are not members of the Warriors. (Hi, TNT.)

Be a drinsch!

by Dactyllic on Apr 24, 2007 4:17 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Just

Stick around from here on out. If we go on another 12 year drought, man it out with us.

You'll be back.

by WHYarenasWHY on Apr 24, 2007 4:17 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

agreed

It's a binding, no-out clause contract once you choose your team.

by Caught Backcourt on Apr 24, 2007 4:23 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

haha

don't be like Randy Hill from FoxSports.com and say the Warriors won the season series 2-1
don't be like Mr. Hill again and put a picture of Ryan Gomes next to a JRich quote

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/6692700

by nativeson on Apr 24, 2007 4:31 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

jerseys

i think if you have a jersey from anyone who played on the warriors between 94-06 but is no longer on the team, you can easily fool others into believing you're a real fan.

with that said, any bandwagon-jumping chumps interested in a nick van exel city jersey? i'll give you the special playoff price for this highly sought after, no longer available collectors item....

by yuta tabuse for prime minister on Apr 24, 2007 4:55 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I have

an Arenas Warrior road jersey but IT'S MINE!!!

You'll be back.

by WHYarenasWHY on Apr 24, 2007 9:48 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

A new fan needs to...

go through the DARK times of the team. Not necessarily 12 season of it, but long enough that it would have fairweather fans jump ship to Sacramento or LA.

In my opinion, that shows you are true fan of the team, rather than buying a $200 jersey which just shows you have deep pockets.

Anyone can buy a jersey, but who can stick w/ a team that was bad for over a decade? "We'll get it next year" was like our slogan.

Learn the history of team, remember the greats such as Rick Barry all the way to Mitch Richmond. Find out who we could of drafted in history.

In general, just know what happened to our team. IE: '75 Championship, Run TMC, Spreewell/Carlesimo, the Arenas rule, Murphleavy and how we got into the playoffs.

by MVP on Apr 24, 2007 5:25 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

what do YOU think a new fan needs to do

" to prove their legitimacy as a fan of the hottest team in the NBA?"

Pin their hopes on Mike Dunleavey for about 10 years?

by Skeptic con Urquell on Apr 24, 2007 5:53 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

aye man

those are all good things on how to be a good dubz fan, but your not a fan unless you've been grinding it out these past years with the team

by travisl212 on Apr 24, 2007 7:00 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

aye who remembers

when coma called zorgon a reverse fairwheather fan.. hahahaha... nothing against zorgon, but that was just funny

by travisl212 on Apr 24, 2007 7:02 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Nice article

I guess it does require a certain level of dedication and loyalty to want one of those uber-kitschy City jerseys. :P

Honestly, I'm just glad that we have the NorCal b-ball spotlight again. I'm willing to give amnesty to any returning fans who spinelessly jumped ship to Sacramento over the past decade, as long as they're willing to stick around from here on out.

I said it before and I'll say it again: the only thing that should be required to be a fan is a desire to see the Warriors succeed. Fairweather fans are one thing, but nothing annoys me more than people who say they're fans but always talk like they want the team to lose.

Whoever marries the zeitgeist will be a widower soon.

by J-Triumf on Apr 24, 2007 7:48 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

losing culture...

...is a vicious cycle! the culture of losing and mediocrity runs so deep in the waters of norcal, generations feel it years back.... i think feeling that the team is going to lose just comes from getting expectations overamped only to get the sideswiped 20 games into the season already thinking about who is the flavor in the year in the upcoming draft.

by dj fuzzylogic on Apr 24, 2007 8:06 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

One thing to keep in mind

As much as all Warriors fans understand suckitude (which is certainly a kind of suffering) few of us have really experienced abject heartbreak in the way Giants or Red Sox or Cubs or even Sacramento Kings fans have. We've just never been good enough to have our hopes raised to the point where our hearts could really be shattered.

So. I'm thinking maybe this year might be a good year for that to happen. Our hearts aren't quite past the point of no return, but they're probably getting close. What do you think: are you all ready for our very own Giants/Raiders 2002 or Red Sox/Cubs 2003? Really, I think it'd be the perfect way for Warriors fans of all stripes -- the "diehards," "noobs," "bandwagoners," "fairweatherers" "reverse fairweatherers" etc. -- to pop our cherry at the same time. Sound like a plan?

Alternately, we could just win it all this year, which would be a pretty cool bonding experience too, but um (cover your eyes, young impressionable ones) ... that ain't happening.

Either way, I think everyone who's on this site right now will be a "True" Warrior fan soon enough.

by Sleepy Freud on Apr 25, 2007 7:48 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

It's all gravy from here on out

Heartbreak, for me, is impossible, because heartbreak implies that you actually have some expectations worthy of dashing. And my expectations for this club have been so low for so long that the entire squad could organize a sit-in on the sidelines tonight and forfeit this and every other game of the series and I'd consider it a thrilling victory to have come this far. Beginning the season, I just wanted a .500 record. Even the playoffs seemed an impossible dream. Instead, we've had this amazing late season push, and amazing Game 1 victory. It's all gravy from here on out. Seeing the Warriors simply MAKE the playoffs has been a thrill to (nearly) rival any of the five Niners' five Super Bowl victories--speaking of my other Bay Area sports obsession.

The only way they could break my heart even conceivably is if they pulled an '02 Giants (or better,'04 Yankees) and somehow made it all the way to the Finals, went up 3 games to nothing, had a 30 point lead in the third quarter of Game 4, then managed to lose the whole thing.

Even then, this year would have been a great ride.

by Cheese Johnson on Apr 25, 2007 9:31 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

i have to admit...

some of these newly founded warrior fans are kind of bothering me. but hey, you take the good with the bad yanno?

here's what bothers me when i go to games. when i'm screaming my lungs out at other players/ex warriors/great plays/etc etc...don't tell me to sit down so you can watch, or if you're in front of me don't turn around and give me the eye as if you're trying to "hint to me" that i need to sit down. i get your point, but dammit i'm a fresh out of college kid who earns his money just so he can go to the games. you wanna see then stand up.

there's a really long list, i don't particularly like any "fan" that doens't really know what they'r etalking about, but it's nice to finally feel how teams like the kobes and lebrons feel. so this is what a bandwagon is. a little crowded, very annoying, but boy it's really fun.

btw, my first warrior game i ever watched was when i was in 7th grade at the san jose shark tank against the sonics. that's a moment people forget also. i still have my "welcome to san jose, warriors" sign they gave out at that game. i've been hooked ever since.

by sandstorm on Apr 24, 2007 10:17 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

kinda funny....

I've been seeing a bunch of people starting rocking J Rich jersey's on campus in San Diego...

Socal is the capital of fairweather fans....

by ThermoElectro on Apr 24, 2007 11:05 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I Know I'm Legit...

because I got a Webber jersey that I still pull out on special occasions, but I don't mind the bandwagoneers.

The Warriors are clear underdogs and play a great style, which makes them likely to have a lot of admirers from fans without a strong rooting interest in the playoffs.

The hardcore guys who still roll their eyes at the Jason Caffey contract, losing Arenas, trading the pick that became Jason Terry for Mookie Blaylock, etc. - we will savor this playoff appearance much more than the fly-by-nighters.

Still annoyed that we drafted Tod Fuller

by teagle on Apr 24, 2007 11:37 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Oh my god.

I mean, I know the Warriors' success is a good thing, but damn... I am seeing a lot of students sportin' Warriors' jerseys I've never seen them wore before. Since not many people rocked them back then, I remember who wore them and whatnot. Even saw this guy sporting a fresh J-Rich jersey when he admitted that he did not like the dubs back in December.

I guess it's just because some of us Warriors feel that we've gone through so much w/ the team, that we feel irritated by the other people who jumped on the bandwagon and haven't gone through anything yet. Just sportin' a jersey like were like "yeah, I LOVE the warriors! Fan since forever!" Does anyone know what I mean? I know not everyone is like that, there's some genuinely new fans that just saw a Warriors game and were so amazed, they started to become interested in them. I just can't stand the ones that talked trash about the warriors before, and then all of a sudden are in "love" with them.

Yes, that was my ranting, sorry if you didn't care, but it seems that some Warriors fan feel the same way. I am trying to embrace the new fans, though.
$0.02.

by MVP on Apr 24, 2007 11:59 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Yeah...

know what you mean. It's like, where the heck were you not a few months ago?? You don't deserve to be a real fan! My friend who's a Fakers fan... has now jumped wagons cuz he couldn't take Kobe anymore. LOL I'm sure when/if the Lakers become good again, he'll jump wagons again. Course, he doesn't even know 1/3 of the team... even though Nellie only goes 8 deep.

But you know, it's good in a way since people are recognizing the Warriors. Sometimes, you just want to keep them for yourself since, as others have stated, you've gone through so much with the team.

by yuletak on Apr 25, 2007 1:01 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

My Warriors Story

Growing up in New Mexico (aka no local sports teams), and having both parents grow up in Illinois, I have been a Bulls fan my whole life.

But when I moved to the Bay Area in 98, and found out that the Warriors were actually the closest team, I became a fan simply because I could actually go to the games. And because they had an awesome mascot (I was just a kid. Thunder is still awesome though).

99-02 was pretty depressing though, due to Ultimate Suckage from both of my favorite NBA teams. But still, I played as the Bulls through 2-3 seasons in NBA Live every year, and as the Warriors (featuring MOOOOOOKIE with 10+ steals a game) after I got bored of winning every game with the beefed-up Bulls.

Following my uggh periods that accompanied the Jamison and Arenas departures, the 2005-2006 season seemed like the beginning of a new era. Too bad I was one year early on my 50 dollar dubs-playoff bet with a friend.

2006-2007 has been awesome though, with many entertaining games and exciting moments. ELLIS TO THE RIM is a non-sequitur that me and a friend often use in awkward situations, often resulting in laughs from our guy friends and quizzical looks from our female ones. One particular random blurt of the GSoM motto led to the quote in my signature, which I am forced to think of every time I see UNSTOPPABLE BABY

It's a good time to be a Bulls & Warriors fan, and even with the fair-weather fans changing their tone from mocking to bandwagoning, it just feels good for people to get excited when they hear the word Warriors.

I don't know where this came from, I was planning on talking about fair-weather fans at my high school and then this whole splurge of text somehow manifested.

Go Warriors!

Female friend: Unstoppable babies?

by sam urai on Apr 25, 2007 1:04 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Hahaha...

That's pretty sweet. I started yelling "Unstoppable baby!" after every Warriors win or loss after reading this blog about a year and half ago.

When we got killed by the Spurs at home a couple of weeks ago, I was surrounded by Spurs fans and even though they were killin us, after every Warrior made basket, I would yell out

"Unstoppable Baby!!"

The Spurs fans slowly started leaving their seats around me, they shot me dirty looks, they must have thought I was crazy! Ahahahahaha

by ritchie on Apr 25, 2007 7:48 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs