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Canes fans arent bandwagon fans (SIAP)

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Good article. I've said this previously, but when it comes to fandom we're in a lose-lose proposition. If we show up to games, we're bandwagon fans. If we don't, we're also bandwagon fans.
 
Every **** city, sport, and team has bandwagon fans. I was in Philly when the Phillies won their first World Series in decades, the entire city jumped on the bandwagon. I was in Nashville when the Preds went to the Stanley Cup. There was so much media attention, it was so much fun. We are basically getting a new soccer team because of how supportive the city is.

Idgaf if you just started like the Canes. Jump on board, plenty of space for new fans. Generate more revenue so we can build that IPF. Give us more publicity so recruits see how much the media loves to hate us. Keep winning and the bandwagon never ends.
 
There's two sides to every coin. I was one of those people who actually showed up for every home game during the Shannon/Golden years but I get why people didn't. I mean, you wouldn't go back to the same restaurant if they kept serving you bad food, why pay money to see bad football?
 
Miami is a National brand and has strong following all over the country. In my opinion we travel very well too away games also. **** it, haters gonna hate.
 
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I have NO problem whatsoever about "bandwagon" fans. That's how you get new fans in the first place! I, myself am a bandwagon fan. I didn't start cheering on the team until 2000. In my defense, I was a Jr. in HS and only knew the local teams and I wasnt a fan. It was just something about being snubbed to play for the NC that year that rubbed me the wrong way. Since then I havent looked back. I even donate to our causes and I went to a different school.

Point is, you never know where a fan is going to come from and I don't hold it against new fans. But what I really dont like are the fans who talk sh*t about the program in down years, and sing praises during up years. I hated, HATED the Shannon and Golden hires when they were just rumors. I just kept my mouth shut and rolled with it. I'm still not a fan of Richt being the playcaller (until the 4th qtr) but Im not gonna complain much, we're winning. I'm a fan, I play my roll and I hope all new fans do the same....even if you jumped off the wagon before.
 
After seeing georgia play a home game in south bend earlier this season and fsu's and uf's attendance numbers plummet, I don't wanna hear anyone talk about miami's attendance or fanbase ever again.
 
I think the writer sort of missed the real explanations for low attendance while basically the entire basis for his article (Miami fans will give their time when it's worth it) is in my mind another way of saying that Miami fans are bandwagon fans. I think the much bigger and important point is that Miami, as a private school, has a much smaller base of fans to fill the stadium on a game by game basis. As a private school, the number of students that attend games is obviously less than a state school, and the number of graduates yearly and over time is significantly less than state schools, resulting in fewer alumni to attend games. Also, as a private school rather than a state school, there are less students from Florida, which also results in more graduates going back to their home states.

And, to add to the smaller fan base, the stadium is way off campus. I went a big state school with an on-campus stadium. I could decide last minute if I wanted to go to a football game and be at the stadium in 10 minutes. Miami students don't have that luxury.

Along with the cliches of there being lots to do in Miami, etc., the reality is that the fact that Miami, as a private school, is able to fill a 65,000+ seat stadium as often as we do is nothing to be shamed of. Like the few other couple big city private schools with a successful football program (USC is one of the other ones that comes to mind), Miami has to rely more on fans that aren't students or alumni. Our fan base is much different than Florida, FSU and lots of other places, which is also why the OB was, and HRS is becoming, a much more difficult place to play. While it would be great to fill the stadium more consistently, to pretend that Canes fans are the same as fans of most other schools/teams in the country is just not true.
 
Like many have said everyone starts off a bandwagon fan unless you go to school there, which contrary to what many will have you believe, is irrelevant. My group has been going to games since the 50’s, we have some families that have four generations of fans from 8 to 84, only three of us actually went to school there.


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QuatroCane said:
Like many have said everyone starts off a bandwagon fan unless you go to school there, which contrary to what many will have you believe, is irrelevant. My group has been going to games since the 50’s, we have some families that have four generations of fans from 8 to 84, only three of us actually went to school there.


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keezer. Since 1950s, amazing.
 
As a fan who goes to almost every home game and has over the last 20 years, Miami definitely has a very large percentage of their fan base that are bandwagoners. That entire article basically reaffirmed that even though his goal was the exact opposite.
 
UM fans are rabid - many of us have been following them since the early 80's and suffered two periods of bad football! Other miami teams I do think are bandwagon but UM fans are a special breed. You can take away the dolphins heat and marlins from me but you touch the canes and I am coming after you. I don't think I am alone when I say that
 
How many major cities support teams from all three pro sports AND a major college sports program? Until this year LA didn’thave nfl team. Our fans are the best there are when our teams are worthy. If you suck, we will move to other things waiting for signs of life. While the world said Canes were not for real, we pack The Rock and turned it into the OB for VT and since.
 
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Miami is USC, but smaller area, smaller crowds when not relevant. The Coliseum is empty as **** too when they aren't relevant in comparison to size of schoiol and population. More per game than Miami? Yes, but also a 3x the student count (also relates to alumni), 50% bigger stadium and 3-4X the number of overall peeps in LA County vs. Dade County. Unless it's a HUGE game, they fill 65%-75% of capacity. Given the local and alumni population, they should EASILY be selling out every game regardless of its capacity being 93K. But, we never hear about USC numbers not being great vs. student count and local population.

Media just hates The U.
 
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Hemsleysalmons said:
QuatroCane said:
Like many have said everyone starts off a bandwagon fan unless you go to school there, which contrary to what many will have you believe, is irrelevant. My group has been going to games since the 50’s, we have some families that have four generations of fans from 8 to 84, only three of us actually went to school there.


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Click to expand...
keezer. Since 1950s, amazing.
Click to expand...

I know right, I actually have a picture of three generations in their Turnover Chain shirts, seeing 80yr olds rocking that shirt is classic!


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It's not bandwagon fans as much as fair weather fans, perhaps? Like an earlier poster, I have been a season ticket holder through the Shannon/Golden doldrums, but I can understand people not wanting to come out and support a losing regime.
 
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I like to bring up the Chicago Cubs example, there was very little outside pressure to the organization for improvement because Wrigley would always sell out and the fan support would always be there to enjoy the game in an iconic stadium to a team with the slogan “loveable losers”.

If the product is substandard, consumers of that product have every right to limit consumption ($) of that product in order to illicit improvement.
 
I think the pro teams get more band wagon type fans than college teams. College fans tend to be more knowledgeable about the particular sport. Knowing this, I cringe inside when I tell people I'm a NY Yankee fan, because most people will think I'm a bandwagon fan because the Yankees are like the cowboys. But I grew up watching the Yankees spring train in Ft Lauderdale.
 
Instead of spending money to go to watch a **** product, we save the money and scream at our TVs at the **** product.

Dont slight us because Ohio is such a **** state that the only thing to do to prevent suicide is to go to Ohio State games, especially when your two NFL teams are the Browns and Bengals.
 
Everybody loves to follow when you are WINNING and the hottest name in the sport right now!! BUT ppl don't want to go waste their money to go watch "garbage", fans filling the stands will not help a "garbage" team WIN!! Miami had Larry Coker who had a good fan base, then Randy Shannon who ppl thought could've fixed it then of course the clown with the tie, he just destroyed and damaged the Miami fans.. The Orange Bowl was a different atmosphere, BUT even fans stop filling that up when RS was at Miami.. NOW Mark Richt, has come back and changed things up "Miami Is Winning Again" fans will come to represent for that!!
 
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