What Kind of Vikings Fan Are You?
It is going to be a long season, so I thought I'd start it off with a little bit of humor. :D
The way I see it, most fans demonstrate a handful of traits, often times exaggerated by the anonymity of the internet. This is my over-simplistic attempt to categorize those traits...
The Blind Homer
No matter how bad it gets, the Blind Homer supports his or her team to the point that it defines conventional wisdom. They are the ones who think that they are only a couple of players away from turning a 0-16 season into a super bowl win. They also look for any and all measures of improvement and use it as evidence to support their belief.
The Blind Homer often refers to himself as an optimist, but in truth they take the concept of positive thinking to an extreme. True optimism (a very rare trait) combines a healthy dose of skepticism while hoping for the best. While a true optimist would say "IF Ponder can rise to the occasion, the Vikings stand a chance of finishing with a winning record.", a Homer would say "WHEN Ponder rises to the occasion, the Vikings stand a chance of making the playoffs."
It isn't ALWAYS sunshine and roses for the Blind Homer though. A Homer will stand behind a shitty player for a long time, but when they finally give up on him, that player is dead to them. Hell has no fury like a Blind Homer scorned.
The Negative Nancy
The polar opposite of the Blind Homer, the Negative Nancy is always complaining about something. It is often hard to understand why this person is even a fan of the team, because they are never happy. Similar to the Homer, they will look for any and every piece mistake the team makes to emphasize their point.
The Negative Nancy likes to call himself a realist. However, they are only "real" about the negative stuff. Perfection is an unattainable goal, so there will always be mistakes and weak spots. The Negative Nancy focus on those mistakes to the near exclusion of anything good.
Sometimes a Negative Nancy will go out of their way to offer a compliment, but it is always laced with some kind of complaint. "Ponder may have thrown for 275 yards and two TDs, but he was staring down his receivers all night and Harvin helped him out with a couple of amazing grabs." Or "Hey, I'm proud of the Vikings for winning, but they did it against a bad team. Let's see how they do against a division opponent..." These back handed compliments are not compliments at all, they are simply dropped in so the Nancy can claim that they aren't ALWAYS negative...
The I-Told-You-So
While the Nancy is always complaining, the I-Told-You-So (or the ITYS) only complains when the team is winning or a player is performing. When the team is losing or the player of choice is struggling, they reveal in being able to say "I told you so" to everybody who disagreed with them.
Most ITYS's fixate upon a certain player or position. With regards to the rest of the team, they are usually Nancies, complaining no matter what. But when that certain player fails, let's say an aging QB who they hate throws a pick in the red zone in the final minutes of a tied NFL Championship game, they almost hurt themselves with the ferocity and vigor of the I Told You So chubby that they get.
Homers can also go ITYS on a player, usually when they are forced to give up on a player they have supported for too long.
The Fair Weather Fan
When the Vikings win, they dye their hair purple and go screaming through the streets. When they lose, they claim that they never liked that POS team and the Vikes are headed for the basement.
Now it is healthy to be happy with a win and upset with a loss. But if your suport hinges on the win-loss record, then you are a fair weather fan. Once the team is eliminated from playoff contention, these fans disappear. These fans often miss large chunks of the regular season because they simply can't be bothered until they are sure the Vikings are winning.
The Ideal Fan
The Ideal Fan is optimistic and skeptical at the same time. They enjoy the wins and learn from the mistakes. They set realistic expectations for the team, and are happy when they achieve them, and disappointed when they don't. They are objective with both praise and criticism.
They also don't exist. Sure, lots of people THINK they are an Ideal Fan, but the truth is that most of us are too emotionally vested in the team to be truly objective. Anyone who says that they are an Ideal Fan are only kidding themselves. The best we can hope to achieve is recognition of what kind of fan we really are, and keep that in mind as we face the season.
Me? Well obviously I am an Ideal Fa.... I mean a Blind Homer. :) But at least I admit it! Skol Vikings!
What Kind of Vikings Fan Are You?
Fun post ND... I am a heartbroken (as a youth mostly), proud, die hard, optimistic, albeit realistic, fan. I guess that puts me in the Ideal category, although, I'm really not ideal at anything...other than ideally an example of what not to do.
