I don't dislike TSM

TurquoiseYoshi·Aug 10, 2015·5 votes·1,534 views

But I hate most TSM fans. I feel like esports are the only sports that you become a fan of a team just because they're good. TSM, CLG, and Cloud9, the three best teams in NA traditionally, have the largest fanbases by far. You didn't hear chants of TIP when they won their quarterfinal match 3-0. However, when TSM wins, they get humongous chants of TSM. The thing is, this won't stop. The three main reasons for people in other sports liking teams that aren't at the top don't exist in esports.

1: People living near a team and liking them because of that. In the NFL, I live in Virginia and most people near me are Washington Redskins fans. However, when every NA team lives in or near LA, there isn't much you can do there. So when somebody has to decide a favorite team, the best team there isn't a bad choice.

2: Favorite teams being passed on from parent->child, because the teams have been around for many years. The League of Legends esports scene has only been around for 5-6 years. So this just can't happen (yet).

3: Teams being static in existence in pro play. In the NFL, a team hasn't been added/removed/changed/moved since 2002 with the Houston Texans. On the other hand, LCS teams are added and removed regularly. If someone has been around since early Season 3, they still see TSM, CLG, DIG, and Curse, which is now TL. That's 4/10.

All of these, in combination, lead to TSM getting about 1000x more fans than most other teams (I wish this was an exaggeration).

25 Comments

MajestiAug 10, 20152 votes

Salt?

TurquoiseYoshiAug 10, 20152 votes

Some salt, but also some legitimate reasoning.

MajestiAug 10, 20151 votes

True true, I'm messing I don't like ban wagon fans anyways

xJLx MCHammerAug 10, 20152 votes

Well you have to understand. This is a game, kids are easily manipulated; they are also followers, not leaders. They like to stay in popular groups. For this reason plenty of kids shout TSM and like tsm.

It's just how it is. The combination of variables just make it that TSM has more fans who are...dumb

TurquoiseYoshiAug 10, 20151 votes

It isn't just kids and it isn't just dumb people. It's the way esports are.

Earl EulrichAug 10, 20151 votes

though if you look closer at your reasoning you might see that that´s exactly why TSM has a larger fanbase than other NA-Teams:

would be "feeling close to the team" that can be purly geographical, but with TSM it´s even more so how they have been marketing themselves from the very start. They basically invited any lol-fan into their house form the start - doesn´t get much closer than that. And in the internet-age that´s not really that much of a difference to having them in your geographical neighbourhood.
would be "tradition" and as far as lol-esports goes TSM is one of the few brands that had been there from the very beginning and made a name for themselves early on (not as huge as fnatic or we, not as furious as M5 during S2, but for NA they sure had been there for as long as it exists and most of the time as clear #1)
even here the argument goes for TSM, as they are on the top of NA since the beginning of LoL-esports. That´s just as static as it gets.

All that said...i´ve never been a fan of TSM, but i surly did appreciate Regis attempt to the game a lot - playing with lackluster mechanics, but doing it deceisivly and overcoming a lot of their mechanical weaknesses by just pure force of will. The current TSM unfortunatelly doesn´t really grasp that spirit (not saying they should get mechanically worse, but they could need a lot of their old deceisivness if they want to become a serious contender internationally).

TurquoiseYoshiAug 10, 20151 votes

This is all true. Those are the reasons why TSM has all the fans but NME and T8 have none. Thus, through the 2nd and 3rd "rules", TSM will have the most fans as long as they stay in the LCS.

Earl EulrichAug 10, 20152 votes

that really depends how all of that evolves...if it goes on for 50years and they drop out of the top for a prolonged time it might aswell end as with other sports, and they will only have a small fanbase that remembers the times when they had been strong fondly.

I personally e.g. have been a massive fan of M5 (now Gambit) and their playstyle during S2 and S3, but as they somehow lost their drive i don´t support them all that much anymore since the 2nd half of S3....though i´m still generally happy about them doing good (not to mention i really hope Alex makes it to the #1spot NACS with Renegades next week, so the NALCS finally gets to see what a really strong EU-mid looks like)

Edit: another example would be Unicorns that instantly gathered a massive fanbase when they first showed onto the Competitive scene, making a name for themselves with unique picks and a rather aggressive playstyle (not to mention they destroyed TSM). So a lot actually still comes down to how a team performs and presents themselves...fanbases are not set in stone (and given their massive performances during all of LoL the fnatic fanbase is probably a lot smaller than it should be in EU).

TurquoiseYoshiAug 10, 20151 votes

The thing is, I think the EU community is different from the NA community in their approach to sports and team favoritism.

Earl EulrichAug 10, 20151 votes

that might very well be the case, American culture seems to center a lot more around "popular culture", while Eurpopeans still somewhat favour "high culture" (albeit that´s somewhat changing). This might lead to a more closer look at how a team approaches the game when deceiding whom to favour for EU, while for NA it might come down more to a "how the team gets approached"...to really simplify the matter down, as I´m sure you could easily write a thesis of 200pages+ about the cultural differences. And bear in mind that this really is not meant judgmental at all, neither approach is better - it´s just different.

TurquoiseYoshiAug 10, 20151 votes

Well, time to wait for an appropriate school project and make this my topic.

TheDuelist999Aug 10, 20151 votes

I just like TSM because Dyrus reminds me of one of my friends. So I enjoyed the series today.

TurquoiseYoshiAug 10, 20151 votes

I said most TSM fans. Some just like TSM because of specific players or because of their playstyle (?) or something like that. But many fell into the awkward trap of having TSM as one of their only choices.

SuperJediNinjaAug 10, 20151 votes

I feel like esports are the only sports that you become a fan of a team just because they're good.

Sooo you expect people to just hop on the T8 bandwagon?

XantakAug 10, 20151 votes

{quoted}

I feel like esports are the only sports that you become a fan of a team just because they're good.

Sooo you expect people to just hop on the T8 bandwagon?

Professional Wrestling has instances like this, with either stables(themed groups of wrestlers such as Bullet Club), or tag teams(such as Legion of Doom, American Wolves/The Wolves, or Young Bucks), there is also the same instance with many organizations for the various sports in the United States.

SuperJediNinjaAug 10, 20151 votes

{quoted}

Professional Wrestling has instances like this, with either stables(themed groups of wrestlers such as Bullet Club), or tag teams(such as Legion of Doom, American Wolves/The Wolves, or Young Bucks), there is also the same instance with many organizations for the various sports in the United States.

JOOHHHHN CENAAA

TurquoiseYoshiAug 10, 20151 votes

TL and TiP are both very good teams with relatively small fanbases.

ShandrakeAug 10, 20151 votes

I like Dyrus cause he's a big nerd who shares a lot of anime interests with me. His tumblr is also a great source for Saber arts and stuff.

SinatraZAug 10, 20151 votes

I hate TSM fans too. They always chant TSM even where it don't belong...

TurquoiseYoshiAug 10, 20151 votes

I don't really hate them all that much. The beginning of the post was slightly driven by salt. However, I do hate the number and rowdiness of them.

o0O Madoka O0oAug 10, 20151 votes

Winnings get you to know about a team, and it's the only reason you will like a team until you know more about its individual members and build emotion connections with them.

Mat7itanAug 10, 20151 votes

The three teams you listed (TSM, CLG, and C9) have also been in the NA LCS for a long time compared to TIP or Gravity. So regardless of how well they do they will always have a larger fanbase.

TurquoiseYoshiAug 10, 20151 votes

Exactly. So it end up in a bit of imbalance. Unless this goes on for a long time, and unless these teams stay in the LCS nearly exactly as they are, it will stay that way.

RyzeReworkAug 11, 20151 votes

i rooted for tsm a long time but i also rooted for complexity black because they were trolly and i rooted for tdk because seraph and kez were like my favorite players, i dont have favoirte teams i like players from each team and its not based on skill i think its based on there personality like if i had to pick a team of people id like id have to say wild turtle lustboy keane impact and domniate. i dont knoow them personally but i think they have the most personailty in the lcs

NilinorAug 11, 20151 votes

I know im a fan of TSM, I dont like many other fans because they are only fans when TSM does good, Ive been a fan for a long time. It actually pains me to watch them lose, so much so if I know the game is over, I stop watching because it bothers me to see them do bad. When I watch other teams, I dont get that way, when TSM lose I get sad/angry over it, instead of whatever.

--- I only get mad like that if it is versus teams I know they should be able to beat, if its a close game (AKA old C9, CLG etc) I dont feel that way at all unless they are playing super ultra bad..