Can one really generalize about the fans of any single tennis player?

[Russeljones]

I have now come across several attempts at stereotyping fans whose lives are judged (guessed at) in accordance to the tennis player they have chosen to support.

Are Federer fans unsuccessful in life, needing his success to be lifted above the mediocrity of their own reality?

Or is this just bogus bad loser rationalisation?


Personally I think every fan looks to the sport and particular athlete for inspiration and positive emotions.

Fan:

Paul Dickson, in his Dickson Baseball Dictionary, cites William Henry Nugent's work that claims it comes from fancy, a 19th century term from England that referred mainly to followers of boxing. According to that unsupported explanation, it was originally shortened to fance then just to the homonym fans. However, Merriam-Webster, the Oxford dictionary and other recognized sources define it as a shortened version of the word fanatic, and the word did first become popular in reference to an enthusiastic follower of a baseball team. (Fanatic itself, introduced into English around 1550, means "marked by excessive enthusiasm and often intense uncritical devotion". It comes from the Modern Latin fanaticus, meaning "insanely but divinely inspired". The word originally pertained to a temple or sacred place [Latin fanum, poetic English fane]. The modern sense of "extremely zealous" dates from around 1647; the use of fanatic as a noun dates from 1650.) However, the term "fancy" for an intense liking of something, while being of a different etymology, coincidentally carries a less intense but somewhat similar connotation to "fanatic". The word emerged as an Americanism around 1889.

Supporter is a synonym to "fan" which predates the latter term and as such is still commonly used in British English, especially to denote fans of sports teams. However, the term "fan" has become popular throughout the English-speaking world, including the United Kingdom. The term supporter is also used in a political sense in the United States, to a fan of a politician, a political party, and a controversial issue.

Discuss.

[Colin]

No, you can't ... and only a Nadal fan would say so.

But, truthfully, with the top men I think you can find a spectrum of fans, good and bad. Even though I'm clearly flying in the clouds with the Golden Eagle (and it's not just the economy-size bottle of wine I consumed while I watched DVR'd Olympics matches), there are some fans of Roger on this forum that are clearly more annoying than some Rafa fans (though they're an exception to the rule, thankfully!). No, we don't necessarily need another thread on how Roger holds the record for most consecutive matches won while wearing a red polo, though I personally would become giddy over that statistic.

For example ... guys like MichaelNadal who can applaud a good performance from his favorite's rival or Mustard, who can provide some cool objective stats on an array of players, past or present. From the merits of their posts, I can respect their affiliation, even if I don't root for their tennis hero. But then they're sometimes overshadowed by someone who will create 20 alternate accounts so he can spam the board with obsessive posts about how Nadal will win the next 52 French Opens without dropping a set. (I'm not naming any names, but that's mainly because I'm not positive of the moniker of the latest alias).

[MariaRafael]

In my native tongue I have an equivalent for "fan" and an equivalent for "supporter" which is much more commonly used than "fan". These two words clearly explain the difference.

Supporter is all about sports. S/he loves tennis, and s/he would enjoy watching nearly every player (except for the least liked on a personal basis).

Fans are running after a player/team, and don't notice anything else. When they come to the tournament, their main goal is to make 1000000000000000000000 pics of the centre of their universe, get his autograph (at least 5 times), mob him every time he leaves the protected area, run around the stadium for hours to find his practice court, etc. They are interested in the other players only as opponents of their idol, or DC team partner.

You wouldn't belive me, but I saw lots of these psychos in the tournaments where they bought fairly expensive tickets, came to the tournament from some other country, wasted money on their airtickets and hotel, and ... they would watch ONE MATCH PER DAY. Played by their idol. Though in a slam you can watch 5-7 matches per day(incomplete, but at least you see a lot of players, and can assess their level which is very amusing in the forst few days of the tournament). And in the masters events five matches are guaranteed in the Centre Court, and you can grab another couple of them peeping in the outside courts.

I am a Rafa Nadal supporter, and I could describe a typical day in the stadium of a typical Rafa fan.

[Russeljones]

Good post. In terms of statistics, isn't it inherently more probable to find more "bad posters" among the largest portion of fans on here? Are there any discrepancies in such a theory? Let's keep it civil (to everyone).

[Zarfot Z]

Both Federer and Nadal fans are fond of generating piles upon piles of irrelevant stats in an attempt to inflate their idol's achievements.

[DRII]

I have found certain corelations between some fan bases and particular personality traits/world views.

Of course its not 100%, but they do exist...

[rovex]

It's always been a damming indictment of all sports nevermind tennis.

[Gorecki]

Originally Posted by DRII

I have found certain corelations between some fan bases and particular personality traits/world views.

Of course its not 100%, but they do exist...

you mean like the self-agrandazing of Nadal's fans??? i agree!!!

[DRII]

Originally Posted by Gorecki

you mean like the self-agrandazing of Nadal's fans??? i agree!!!

Time to search your closet again, Gorecki...

[Hood_Man]

Members of a particular players fanbase are going to share some things in common, they did after all find something in their chosen favourite player that appealed to them.

I'm saying yes. Not all generalisations are true, but neither do they have to be negative.

[ollinger]

Fans of any athlete or team can generally be grouped by age: younger = idolizing and idealizing, older = cynical and skeptical. Younger fans have heros as an attachment to their own ego and self image, so they have a greater need to see that person/team in more absolutes, i.e. he can do no wrong, I must wear what he wears, etc. Older fans have been around the track a few times, generally don't have their own egos and self image attached to a hero, have less need to see the person as infallible, may in fact feel competitive with him and have a need to put him down once in a while. There are of course exceptions to these generalizations (such as Breakpoint and Federer).

[Sid_Vicious]

Originally Posted by ollinger

Fans of any athlete or team can generally be grouped by age: younger = idolizing and idealizing, older = cynical and skeptical. Younger fans have heros as an attachment to their own ego and self image, so they have a greater need to see that person/team in more absolutes, i.e. he can do no wrong, I must wear what he wears, etc. Older fans have been around the track a few times, generally don't have their own egos and self image attached to a hero, have less need to see the person as infallible, may in fact feel competitive with him and have a need to put him down once in a while. There are of course exceptions to these generalizations (such as Breakpoint and Federer).

And about a half a dozen posters from the former pro player discussion section and Laver.

[MichaelNadal]

Originally Posted by Colin

No, you can't ... and only a Nadal fan would say so.

But, truthfully, with the top men I think you can find a spectrum of fans, good and bad. Even though I'm clearly flying in the clouds with the Golden Eagle (and it's not just the economy-size bottle of wine I consumed while I watched DVR'd Olympics matches), there are some fans of Roger on this forum that are clearly more annoying than some Rafa fans (though they're an exception to the rule, thankfully!). No, we don't necessarily need another thread on how Roger holds the record for most consecutive matches won while wearing a red polo, though I personally would become giddy over that statistic.

For example ... guys like MichaelNadal who can applaud a good performance from his favorite's rival or Mustard, who can provide some cool objective stats on an array of players, past or present. From the merits of their posts, I can respect their affiliation, even if I don't root for their tennis hero. But then they're sometimes overshadowed by someone who will create 20 alternate accounts so he can spam the board with obsessive posts about how Nadal will win the next 52 French Opens without dropping a set. (I'm not naming any names, but that's mainly because I'm not positive of the moniker of the latest alias).

Agree with your post and thanks for the shout out

[YellowBall77]

Originally Posted by Russeljones

I have now come across several attempts at stereotyping fans whose lives are judged (guessed at) in accordance to the tennis player they have chosen to support.

Are Federer fans unsuccessful in life, needing his success to be lifted above the mediocrity of their own reality?

Or is this just bogus bad loser rationalisation?


Personally I think every fan looks to the sport and particular athlete for inspiration and positive emotions.

Fan:

Paul Dickson, in his Dickson Baseball Dictionary, cites William Henry Nugent's work that claims it comes from fancy, a 19th century term from England that referred mainly to followers of boxing. According to that unsupported explanation, it was originally shortened to fance then just to the homonym fans. However, Merriam-Webster, the Oxford dictionary and other recognized sources define it as a shortened version of the word fanatic, and the word did first become popular in reference to an enthusiastic follower of a baseball team. (Fanatic itself, introduced into English around 1550, means "marked by excessive enthusiasm and often intense uncritical devotion". It comes from the Modern Latin fanaticus, meaning "insanely but divinely inspired". The word originally pertained to a temple or sacred place [Latin fanum, poetic English fane]. The modern sense of "extremely zealous" dates from around 1647; the use of fanatic as a noun dates from 1650.) However, the term "fancy" for an intense liking of something, while being of a different etymology, coincidentally carries a less intense but somewhat similar connotation to "fanatic". The word emerged as an Americanism around 1889.

Supporter is a synonym to "fan" which predates the latter term and as such is still commonly used in British English, especially to denote fans of sports teams. However, the term "fan" has become popular throughout the English-speaking world, including the United Kingdom. The term supporter is also used in a political sense in the United States, to a fan of a politician, a political party, and a controversial issue.

Discuss.

Yes, Fed Fans=living vicariously thru their 'classy' hero. Often times the beta and omega males, living sadly thru their 'white knight' hero, defending his honor tirelessly and lashing out at anyone who questions his tenuous hold on GOATdom. Most Fed fans I meet in real life at the bars etc...are nice guys who don't have the guts to challenge me when I point out some flaws in his 'omg best ever' resume...smiling politely and then asking me to help them pick up women LOL...I see where they all go after the night is over to vent their frustrations. Fed's appeal lies in that he is a great success but relatable to many dorks; Mirka looks like a Star Trek fan.

Nadal fans=often times lacking logic. I think the average IQ of Nadal fans online might be lower than any other segment. Some are decent online, but a strikingly large amount seems to be nice enough but rather dim-witted...much like their hero.

Djokovic Fans= Honorable, courageous, and dedicated individuals. The alpha males in life who realize that being such is all about living life with heart, passion, dedication...not being afraid to cry...working hard and playing hard. Djokovic fans embody their icon's legacy of 'Similing at Adversity.' Djokovic fans probably do well in business, with the opposite sex, and have rich and variegated personal lives.

[billnepill]

Originally Posted by YellowBall77

Yes, Fed Fans=living vicariously thru their 'classy' hero. Often times the beta and omega males, living sadly thru their 'white knight' hero, defending his honor tirelessly and lashing out at anyone who questions his tenuous hold on GOATdom. Most Fed fans I meet in real life at the bars etc...are nice guys who don't have the guts to challenge me when I point out some flaws in his 'omg best ever' resume...smiling politely and then asking me to help them pick up women LOL...I see where they all go after the night is over to vent their frustrations. Fed's appeal lies in that he is a great success but relatable to many dorks; Mirka looks like a Star Trek fan.

Nadal fans=often times lacking logic. I think the average IQ of Nadal fans online might be lower than any other segment. Some are decent online, but a strikingly large amount seems to be nice enough but rather dim-witted...much like their hero.

Djokovic Fans= Honorable, courageous, and dedicated individuals. The alpha males in life who realize that being such is all about living life with heart, passion, dedication...not being afraid to cry...working hard and playing hard. Djokovic fans embody their icon's legacy of 'Similing at Adversity.' Djokovic fans probably do well in business, with the opposite sex, and have rich and variegated personal lives.

You really shouldn't extrapolate your features over your fellow Nadal fans.

[Shaolin]

I imagine the average Nadal fan as a hyperactive, scrawny 12 year old with severe ADD and a closet full of matching purple or pink headbands and wristbands.

[kragster]

Originally Posted by Shaolin

I imagine the average Nadal fan as a hyperactive, scrawny 12 year old with severe ADD and a closet full of matching purple or pink headbands and wristbands.

That is just ridiculous. First off I am 13. Second of all, pink does not suit my complexion.

[Gorecki]

Originally Posted by DRII

Time to search your closet again, Gorecki...

do you think i will find there some sense and logic to help you understand some basics about coherence?

[Clarky21]

Originally Posted by YellowBall77

Yes, Fed Fans=living vicariously thru their 'classy' hero. Often times the beta and omega males, living sadly thru their 'white knight' hero, defending his honor tirelessly and lashing out at anyone who questions his tenuous hold on GOATdom. Most Fed fans I meet in real life at the bars etc...are nice guys who don't have the guts to challenge me when I point out some flaws in his 'omg best ever' resume...smiling politely and then asking me to help them pick up women LOL...I see where they all go after the night is over to vent their frustrations. Fed's appeal lies in that he is a great success but relatable to many dorks; Mirka looks like a Star Trek fan.

Nadal fans=often times lacking logic. I think the average IQ of Nadal fans online might be lower than any other segment. Some are decent online, but a strikingly large amount seems to be nice enough but rather dim-witted...much like their hero.

Djokovic Fans= Honorable, courageous, and dedicated individuals. The alpha males in life who realize that being such is all about living life with heart, passion, dedication...not being afraid to cry...working hard and playing hard. Djokovic fans embody their icon's legacy of 'Similing at Adversity.' Djokovic fans probably do well in business, with the opposite sex, and have rich and variegated personal lives.

The bs in this post is so strong I can smell it from here. Lol.

[Funbun]

Murray fans tend to be very humble, hopeful, and exceedingly optimistic even against the greatest of odds.

We.

Are.

Murray.