Do fans secretly hate their teams?

[chicolby]

Brian Rosenthal opines that fan bases hate their teams and it's a complete shift from 20-25 years ago.

I don't know if I'm equipped to validate or invalidate the claim as 25 years ago a) Nebraska was on the verge of reeling off an amazing dynasty and b) I was a bit younger, so definitely all-in on Husker football.

But I think he brings up an interesting topic. I'm not sure if it's due to social media, or the money involved with athletics these days, but it does seem as though it's much easier to hear all the bitching, moaning, and "expert" opinions these days that has polluted what cheering for your team really meant.

Now because these coaches are paid in the millions, we feel that they need to perform at extremely high levels or be fired. Back in the day, I'm not so sure a coaching career was all that lucrative, and people certainly weren't as critical.

 

[Toms Wife]

Tom Osborne might disagree. That dude was catching it in both the late 70's and late 80's and he was performing at a much higher level then we have seen recently. If from here on out Riley keeps his losses at a max of five per year and takes home a B1G championship or two then he's golden.

 

[Truehuskerfan]

I think I know what he is trying to get at, but I wouldn't put it as fans secretly hate their teams. That makes no sense. In fact, that statement is a contradiction in terms. If you hate a team, they by definition aren't "your" team. But one could definitely think it's true based on how people talk about them. I've been saying for a long time that a lot of people on here at times sound like they hate the Huskers. But none of those people would ever say that it's really true. They think they're showing how much they care. It''s not like they're harboring some secret hatred that they don't want to reveal to everyone. I also don't think this is anything new. It's just that with social media and sports talkradio it's so much easier for people to get out their feelings than it used to be. The opinions that 20-25 years ago were only shared with a few people around you now can be easily disseminated to a much larger audience.

 

[Harry Caray]

They don't hate their teams, it is the coaches they are critical of. And I think a lot of it has to do with the incredibly high salaries coaches are making these days.

 

[bg red planet]

Fans have always been critical but it was only heard around the watercooler or bar.... Now the voice is bigger it's all over the boards / social media / sports talk radio then it turns into a pack mentality. Plus the ability to hide behind a screen name allows you to be more vicious than when you had to sign your name in a letter to the editor.

 

[chicolby]

The world is also quick to paint evil intentions - in this case alone, people opined that Riley was just here to collect pay checks, that coaches didn't care etc. as soon as we as a society stop inferring evil intentions we will be much better off.

This is the same in the political spectrum. When someone has a different opinion, we instantly go to "you hate the country."

It's all toxic to me.

 

[jay-cheese]

They don't seem to mind when they win and they all feel their team should never, ever, lose a game...

GBR

 

[NikkiSixx]

It's just a platform for people to argue about.

 

[kaz36]

25 years ago there was no such thing as social media and message boards that gave fans the voice that they have today. With the instant access that fans have today, they feel like they know more than they do. JMO.

 

[chicolby]

25 years ago there was no such thing as social media and message boards that gave fans the voice that they have today. With the instant access that fans have today, they feel like they know more than they do. JMO.

They feel they know more and they feel the power to play pretend President and pretend Athletic Director, etc.

The more I think about the positive power of social media, I think the negative power wins out more often. But the genie is out of the bottle. There is no going back.

 

[kaz36]

They feel they know more and they feel the power to play pretend President and pretend Athletic Director, etc.

The more I think about the positive power of social media, I think the negative power wins out more often. But the genie is out of the bottle. There is no going back.

These message boards and social media sites used to be coffee shops, bars etc. Biggest difference is, back then only the people in the room heard them gripe about the backup QB not playing.

 

[c2o]

Brian Rosenthal listens to a lot of XM radio.
Brian Rosenthal determines that all fan bases everywhere hate their own teams because he listens to XM radio.
Therefore, Brian Rosenthal is an idiot.

 

[cornhustler]

Brian Rosenthal opines that fan bases hate their teams and it's a complete shift from 20-25 years ago.

View embedded media

The people that call into radio shows and hang out on message boards like this one are not fans, they are fanatics. Go to a game, talk to normal people and you will not get the vitriol. Repeat, we are not fans, we are fanatics.

 

[chicolby]

The people that call into radio shows and hang out on message boards like this one are not fans, they are fanatics. Go to a game, talk to normal people and you will not get the vitriol. Repeat, we are not fans, we are fanatics.

Um, fan is an abbreviation of fanatic. And I think the fanatics feel way too much power behind their keyboards today.

 

[hddude55]

Brian Rosenthal listens to a lot of XM radio.
Brian Rosenthal determines that all fan bases everywhere hate their own teams because he listens to XM radio.
Therefore, Brian Rosenthal is an idiot.

He may not be an idiot but if he expects to keep his job, he'd better improve his skills as a journalist. What a load of crap.

 

[Mack In Motion]

Of course not.

Having said that, I can name several people who post on this board who absolutely cannot stand anything positive that happens within the program and quickly, predictably, show up to try to shart all over those kinds of developments.

Makes you wonder.

 

[Huskercigar]

They don't have their team. They hate the results when they are extremely poor.

 

[chicolby]

They don't have their team. They hate the results when they are extremely poor.

I'd challenge that slightly. I have friends who are fans of Ohio State. You can't have a more "successful" team that OSU. They were screaming mad because of ONE loss to OU. They wanted JT Barrett to lose his job. Questioned if Meyer has a clue what's going on. Same happens at every team that falls short of perfection.

That is not reasonable and certainly not being a fan.