The People In The Stands Are The Same, You Mooks

Inside Sources

Oh, the end of this NFL season is just the gift that keeps on giving...

In my time on the planet, I've lived inside the major metro regions for the following football fans.

> Syracuse Orangemen
> Seattle Seahawks
> San Francisco 49ers
> Oakland Raiders
> New York Jets
> New York Giants
> Philadelphia Eagles

I've been at home games for the following teams.

> Green Bay Packers
> Chicago Lions
> Cleveland Browns
> St. Louis Rams

And if you want to continue the exercise, I can add 14 other teams (four NBA, five MLB and five NHL) to the mix, and literally dozens of other home games for other teams. I also know fans of teams that aren't in any of those geographic regions.

And here's what I've learned from all of those dozens of close contact moments with fans of laundry that is not mine...

We're all pretty much the same.

Fans want their teams to win. We get mad when they don't. We don't react well to players that are overpaid and under-productive. We have unreasonable expectations for our teams to win a championship. We get bent out of shape when the team suffers bitter defeats, boo when we want, and maybe even chant mean things. The horror!

The point, not that this is terribly surprising, is simple.

If you hear someone in the media, either national or local, talk about how a team has such and such fans or media or unique circumstances that dictate some condition that you need to keep in mind...

Well, you're being sold a load of bull squat.

And you don't have to buy it.

But you do have to wonder why the writer is selling it...