<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(excytin @ 07-12-06 6:27 pm) [post=7156]Quoted post[/post]</div><div class='quotemain'>Also, die hards have to know some concrete facts. Starters, statistics, record, chances of making which bowl, NCAA tourney, etc.[/b][/quote] I respectfully disagree- strongly. I consider myself a die-hard fan. I go crazy at the games, cheering on the Cyclones or lamenting the other team's successful plays. I watch every away football game that is televised even though I don't have the means to actually travel to them; I watch every basketball game- home or away- that I can. I religiously read what the papers and the internet have to say about my teams and their opponents and my school in general. Hell, I joined this board and am pretty active in the middle of the summer, when there's NOTHING going on to fuel my interest from the outside.
And yet, I don't think I know a single statistic. I would be hard pressed to name more than three starters on our football team, and I don't think I could break a half-dozen in total. I have a moderately basic understanding of the rules in football, and I picked up practically everything that I know during this past Cyclone season. I know that there are five basketball players on the court at a time, and that's about it. I know the football team's record only because it matters for our bowl chances, and I know our bowl chances only because the marching band gets a free trip to wherever our bowl is, and we like to try and predict as does everyone else.
Now, I'm sure not saying that I wouldn't care about sports if I weren't in the band, but it sure helps a lot. I like cheering and yelling at the top of my lungs in fervent support of whichever of my Cyclone teams is playing, and I don't see that being able to recite off the height/weight/hometown/elementary school of an entire team will enhance my enjoyment of the game or appreciation of the sport. If stats are your thing, that's great. We need you guys around to combat the loudmouth stat-knowers from the other team. But I don't do it, and I don't see how that makes me any less of a fan.
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