So how are you dealing with the Bandwagon Fans?

[Shake n Blake]

(02-11-2022, 02:31 PM)Awful Llama Wrote: I would have to think that's probably pretty accurate.  Some here have expressed that they came onboard in the Shula years/1990s, but I can't see a large percentage of people establishing their fandom during the bad times. I myself started watching them in the late '70s but didn't come on board full time until the '81 SB run.  

So, some of these new fans will stick around permanently while some will hang for a year or two and then follow the next new shiny team. You may know such a person and one day you'll say, "I thought you were a Bengals fan?" and they'll reply "Well, yeah, I was until the Jags went 14-3 and beat the Bengals in the AFCCG and went to SB 59."  Such is fandom in all sports.  

I'd say most people around Cincy became fans because it's Cincy's team...not because they were a great team. Before now, the only true greatness we saw was 1988. I'm sure some hopped on in 2005 or 2011-2015...but we've had way more dry years.

If we didn't pick up tons of new fans during those spans of losing and no playoff wins, the team probably would've had to move at some point.