Real Talk: Fair Weather Fans

Riot·8/4/2016, 8:26:02 PM·0 votes·5,681 views

Zirene is back with some more Real Talk.

This week he's talking the fair weather esports fans that you've all met at some point or another. The ones who are more than happy to cheer for a team when they're winning but when they're losing they evaporate into thin air.

It seems to be a condition that is more prevalent in esports than traditional sports -- as we don't have geographical ties to the teams that we're cheering for (international competition excluded). So what made you support your team? And will you still be a fan when their current roster is long gone? Let us know in the comments below.

12 Comments

Kritya8/4/2016, 10:02:50 PM3 votes

YES!!! So glad they did this because as a traditional sports player/fan (also from SD and also a Chargers fan so that kinda cool, i cheered a little lol) it's frustrating to see people jump onto other teams as "their team" when that team does well and their former team was not.

That being said, i think one issue with the current way eSports are run within league is, the teams always change. If it's not TSM or CLG, (hesitantly saying C9) then your team may not even exist next year. Hell we even lost DIG who was around for a hot minute before they too disappeared. Luckily the people who got me into eSports in season 2 were TSM fans, and so i've gotten to ride the TSM roller coaster for the last 4 years but always been a fan, and I think the reason you can be a TSM fan through and through is because you know your team isn't going anywhere.

Riot, find a way to at least keep the names the same every split. Even if the players coming in are new rosters, keep the names the same, and people CAN commit.

Starstro648/7/2016, 11:21:40 PM2 votes

Echo Fox in relegation but i still holding on go Rick Fooooooox!!! Teemo

JungleChimp8/5/2016, 6:27:46 AM1 votes

For what feels like a long while now I have been a fan of Team Liquid. When Curse merged with the TL organization, esports had become a very good thing in my life. As many of my friends fell out of interests with their own favorite teams, I couldn't help but wonder "how is it even possible that you go from being a die hard fan to not caring at all?" It went from longing to see my friends to talk about the last nights games to being mocked and ridiculed to even say anything about esports as if it was taboo to talk about. At that point i knew i had to make a decision in my life. Love Team Liquid and all of league's competitive scene, or have things to talk about with friends in real life. Lets just say I haven't talked to my friends in a long while. Thank you TL for making memories which last a lifetime. #TLWIN

Gideon Kain8/5/2016, 6:57:04 AM1 votes

This was by far one of the best "talks" about choosing a team and keeping it forever. I would like to say though that it can be important to let friends and future generations choose their teams and learn to love a team not just because you do. My dad was raised in San Jose, Raiders fan. My brother was raised in Colorado, Broncos fan. Picking your own team based on what you like and your circumstances is the best thing you can do, regardless of who family and friends follow.

As for me, raised in San Diego. Go Chargers! Maybe this will be the year...

hotarse8/6/2016, 1:40:20 PM1 votes

I had a little laugh at this Real Talk... It was a nice little speech and one well written, but come on, it is such propaganda! And it's dripping with emotional appeal. Hate the be the token serious character here but come on! Like many others here I have preferences for certain teams. Used to be a Curse fan, now a C9 fan. There's a reason why it changed and there will be a reason why it might change again. Teams who do great things deserve to win over more fans, including those of other teams. I used to love curse because of who played on the team, not because of who owned it or the name or the logo. Are any of those players still playing for that team? No. Did players get removed from the team in a way that I disagree with? Yes. I hated the way elementz was treated by their management and the overrated saintvicious. I didn't like how they kept Piglet in when the team was winning with Keith. And even if I kind of like Dardoch and enjoy watching him play, I can't help but feel that he gets it too, that liquid's manager, Steve, is actually a bit of a doggie bag and has repeatedly ruined great teams and players. Hai and co. won me over for C9. This season's been a bit weird watching Hai play on the challenger team, but that means I have two great teams to watch, each with players from teh original roster that I grew to love. It's not the teams that I care about. It's the players. It's the better way to enjoy the game. Having to derive pleasure from a single team winning or losing is exactly as you explained it, childish and dumb.

Eleshakai8/6/2016, 1:43:19 PM1 votes

Very good article. Personally, I tend to be more of a fan of players than organizations... players like Hai, Kiwikid, Visi, Peke, Crumbz, Scarra. So I will cheer for the teams they're on, since players move so often and organizations in e-sports aren't really tied to anything. There's a laundry list of players that I follow, and as long as some of them are playing, I'll keep cheering. :)

III BAKURYU III 8/8/2016, 12:03:41 AM1 votes

I understand the "jumping teams and "their team" but what I think ZIrean is trying to say is Korea is going to win worlds again but we as fans shouldn't let that stop us from supporting our losing regions.

4th Place is up for the taken once Korea gets the 1st-2nd and 3rd place.

woodvsmurph8/8/2016, 9:56:55 PM1 votes

I agree with most of this. You should stick with your team/players through thick and thin. Nothing is better than having your faith rewarded; especially when so many others doubt. I think there is a possibility for confusion here though with some people. For instance, some people are a fan of a team for the players it has or the way the organization is run -- showing respect and concern for their players, building them up instead of knocking them down or trading them back and forth on a whim. Some might interpret Zirene's talk to mean that these fans are "fair weather fans" if they change their favorite team to some other team that is doing better. I don't think that's ALWAYS the case, but sometimes it is true that they are "fair weather fans". For instance, you might have been a fan of c9 because of Meteos or Hai but also liked tsm. When Meteos or Hai was no longer playing for c9, your favorite team might have changed to tsm and c9 be your second favorite. This is not really being a fair weather fan in my opinion. If it changed due purely to winning or losing, then yes.

woodvsmurph8/8/2016, 10:09:15 PM1 votes

I'd like to take a moment here to say that some people's negative comments about a team or a player are done more out of frustration for them/their organization than out of actual dislike. For example, I have said multiple times that tsm wouldn't get anywhere in worlds or that they would be a mediocre team in NA when they drafted Doublelift. For most of the spring split they proved me correct -- just as they did at worlds in the past seasons when I made that claim. However, now they have shown that Bjerg and Doublelift are both more mature players and ON A CONSISTENT BASIS don't need the entire team to revolve around them. As a result of this, a jungler that is more proactive early, and their conscious effort as a team to stop feeding their toplaner to the wolves every game, they are the scariest team in NA. I am happy for them and hope they make worlds this year again. I'm not going to bandwagon and say I'm a TSM fanboy or claim they're my team, but I will gladly root for them at worlds. I think there is a difference between calling out a team's flaws & cheering when they fix them and being a bandwagoner. At the same time, I do agree that people who claim to be fans of a team need to be supportive of their players as Zirene said -- especially after a loss. Ex: Instead of claiming Huni sucked after they failed to reach the finals in spring split, I claimed (before the first game even started) that they had a bad draft. Going all adc's, a squishy support, and just jungle for a tank wouldn't work and I was correct. I thought the team was making a stupid decision for not adjusting from that type of draft during the whole series, but I never claimed that any one person on the team was trash or anything like that. If you are going to be critical of a team, I feel that's the way you should do it -- analyze WHAT wasn't good (comp, playstyle, etc.) rather than just claiming some PERSON or TEAM isn't good.

FlyingSkeleton8/5/2016, 1:58:37 AM1 votes

I have always been a Team Dignitas fan through and through. From the days of Qtpie and Scarra to the disappointing final season of the team's tenure in the LCS. My love for Dignitas started back in the time of Qtpie trolling his way to beating strong teams and Kiwi's funny post game interviews. The players personalities really made me like the team. Even though they are no longer in professional League of Legends, I am still following their news and supporting the organization. As always, #DIGWIN