5 dumb sports fan behaviors that need to stop

Sports fandom doesn’t have to be defined by boorishness and immaturity.

There are many wonderful aspects about the culture of sports fandom. You have the camaraderie and the lifelong friendships spawned from a shared rooting interest. You have the playful teasing of rival fans. You have the early morning tailgates and the frenzied buzz of the local sports bar during the closing seconds of a tied game. You have the cheering and the memories.

On the other hand, there are aspects of sports culture from which you want to distance yourself; ones that make you feel deeply ashamed, that make you downplay your fandom when talking with non-fans. They are the aspects of sports culture that are unhealthy and embarrassing. They are the behaviors that can both cause non-fans to scoff at sports and, worse, scare away potential would-be fans.

This list will be a look at those bad behaviors.

Some of the entries on this list are harmless but obnoxious, while others are outright indefensible. What holds them all together is the way in which they not only give sports fans “a bad name,” but also discourage new fans by creating a culture that is exclusionary and unattractive. When you love a certain activity, you usually want others to participate in it, to get in on the fun and excitement, but so many fan behaviors create a barrier of entry to sports fandom. Some even create an environment that seems toxic, thus pushing people away instead of bringing them into the fold.

Are there any fans behaviors that particularly get your goat? (Perhaps holier-than-thou individuals who complain about other fans, maybe?) Let us know in the comments!

Next: 5. Shaming casual fans