i think people, on the whole, take their fan status far too seriously. people inherently have a desire to gravitate towards larger groups. it's why we're all here at kingsfans.com, because we have a common interest and would prefer a larger group of people to talk about it with. we're kings fans, and for the vast majority of us, that is a distinction that falls under a larger categorization: nba basketball fans. and for many of us, that also falls under a larger categorization: basketball fans, in general. we root for the kings because they're our favorite team. for most of us, that means they're the home team. but even the "die hard fans" who had to put up with the suckage of the 90's often went to the home games to see the away team play. basketball fans appreciate good basketball, and the kings played good basketball under rick adelman. even as things fell apart under adelman, the basketball was still good enough to see playoff success. if someone wants to root for another basketball team because they appreciate a style of play or a team composition that's more appealing then the trudging-through-the-mud ways of the current kings roster, ya can't crucify them for it. they aren't calling themselves fans of another basketball team. they're just appreciating what is, ultimately, a more exciting style of play. it all boils down to entertainment, therefore it is all selective. if you wanna argue that being a fan of a sports team is more than entertainment, then go right ahead. basketball on the whole is a bigger concept, but a single team changes so much that one can't hardly expect to keep up unless one chooses to make that team a part of their personal identity. and that's dangerous territory. you never want to let someone else--greedy millionaires especially--dictate who you are.
really, what i'm saying is that "bandwagon" is a term that has an unnecessary negative connotation in this instance. if you've lived in boston your whole life, and never attended or watched a celtics game, but suddenly began watching this season because of the team's return to relevancy...well, then that's an instance in which the term "bandwagon fan" has a negative connotation. nobody likes the people who take notice when things get good and remove themselves when things go bad. but if you're talking about rooting for a team in addition to the one you typically root for because the latter has lost it's luster, i don't think there's anything wrong with that. if you abandon your team entirely, then you deserve the "fair-weather fan" distinction, which is a nasty appendix attached to the "bandwagon fan" term. i'm a kings fan, but i'm certainly going to do a fair share of rooting for houston this season, and i'll likely be rooting for whatever team chris webber lands on, as well. boston, charlotte, portland, seattle, and utah are all teams i'm interested in this season for the simple fact that they've accomplished what the kings have not: change and progression towards a viable future.
i've definitely never jumped on the bandwagon of another team for an entire season, and that's primarily because i can't afford league pass and i've got a home team mentality. that is, i root for the team that's closest to me. once again, that appeals to my desire to affiliate myself with a larger group of people, preferably those who are closest to me in terms of proximity. i'm thinking about doing post-graduate work in oregon or washington, where the weather is much cooler. i was born a northern californian, but i'm a pacifc northwester at heart. i love the coastline up there. if i settled in portland or seattle, let's say, i would become a trailblazers or supersonics fan. it's sheer coincidence that those two states are now home to two of the most promising young teams in the nba, and that's fortunate for me. if i moved to atlanta--nba purgatory, by all accounts--i'd become a hawks fan. if i moved to new york, i'd become a knicks fan. and yes, if i moved to la, i'd become...well, i'd probably become a clippers fan.