Real VS Fake; What Makes You a Real Fan??

Recently, I was told to "stop pretending to be a fan". You can call this part of the post a subtweet or sub-blog, whatever. Joking or not, it pissed me off. Baseball is one of the few things I am truly passionate about. I get offended and take it personally when someone doesn't like baseball. So to basically tell me I'm not a real fan because I criticized a player's performance at a moment in time where he was doing poorly, really pissed me off. I am not an idiot. I know my baseball. I've been going to games since I was in diapers, literally. I know which players are the best on the team and which are the worst on the team. If a player is having a bad game I'm not going to sit there and pretend that everything is alright and praise him because he's usually on point. So unless you really want to piss me off, do not call me a pretend fan. Between that, seeing other "arguments" on twitter about this, and the start of a new season less than 24 hours away, I thought his would be a good time to go over what does or doesn't make you a real fan. So let's get into it!!

• Does going to every game make you a real fan??
  
  You'd think the obvious answer would be yes. However, if you're on your phone the majority of the game, I'm going to go with no. I don't care that you are in attendance if you're not focused on the game. Seriously, what's the point of being there if you're not going to pay attention?! I hope you get hit with a foul ball.

• Does criticizing a player make you a fake fan??
  
  No. In my opinion, as this entire blog is, I don't believe criticizing a player's performance makes you a fake fan. If anything, I believe it makes you a real fan because you refuse to settle for a shitty performance. Obviously players are going to have their bad days but a bad day could just as easily turn into a couple bad days, then a bad week, and then a full blown slump. Are we supposed to smile and act like everything is okay when this happens?? Hell no. We will be frustrated that we aren't getting the production we want from the player but that doesn't mean we're fake fans. The players for damn sure aren't sitting there thinking "Oh well. I had a bad day, I'm one of the best players though so everything is fine.". You know the players are going over film to see why they had the game they had so they can try and prevent another day like that. So why should we act like everything is fine?!

• Are you a fake fan if you sit at home and watch the games instead of going to Petco??
  
  Hell no. Obviously not everyone has the means to go to Petco and cheer on the team during the season much less everyday but that doesn't mean you're not a real fan. Now if you're not paying attention to the game, well then, I don't know why you'd even have it on. Just go ahead and put the Kardashian's on and live your sad misguided life.

• Does taking the day off work to watch every Opening Day game make you a real fan??
  
  I'm going to give this a hell yeah!! And I'm not just saying that because that's exactly what my brother is doing. That is some serious dedication. I have most definitely spent entire days watching any and every baseball game whether it was Opening Day or not. When the season starts, I don't care who I'm watching, I'm just glad there is 4860 games for me to try and watch... not counting the College World Series games.

• Does going to Spring Training make you a real fan??
  
  Now, that one can go either way. Girls going to Spring Training can be real fans but let's not kid ourselves, A LOT are cleat chasers. And like I heard last night when a chick showed up to the game in heels "she's looking for her future husband". Now that doesn't mean that if you are hoping to get a player that you're not a real fan but it sure doesn't make you look any better. But seriously, what girl. that is a real fan, wouldn't love to have a player to come home to and share that experience with. Though that can border on creepy. Some guys going to Spring Training are most definitely real fans. Others, are fans of collecting and selling autographs. I suppose girls can do the same but I've never seen a girl having a ton of things for a player to sign. 

• Does traveling to see the team make you a real fan??
  
  I'd have to go ahead and say yes BUT there are some Spring Training crossovers. If you're a chick that's traveling to see the team, I'm going to assume you're either a real fan, a dedicated or insecure wife/fiance/girlfriend or are working on becoming a professional cleat chaser. If you're a guy traveling, I'm going to assume the majority are real fans and not autograph seekers.

And the final question,

• If you don't go to Opening Day are you a fake fan??
  
  So this is basically the same question as the "staying home" one and the "going to every game one" but Opening Day is a much bigger deal.... It's like Christmas, only better. Not going to Opening Day doesn't change your fan status. You're not a better fan than someone else if you're there. Again, not everyone has the means to do so. Besides some people prefer to watch all the festivities from the comfort of their own couch and not have to put up with Dodgers fans. Believe me, that is a perk of it's own. 

I'm sure there are plenty of other questions that I can throw in here but my brain is fried... as if you couldn't tell by the lack of profanity. Now that I've said my peace, let's all enjoy Opening Night tomorrow and pray that we beat Satan's Spawn.