Bandwagon fans are reviled because their seeming opportunism calls into question their authenticity, or their capacity to maintain hope through the downtimes. This, in the mind of the “real fan,” translates to some kind of fundamental untrustworthiness inherent in a bandwagon fan’s character. It’s a ridiculous thing to believe, yes, but fandom is inherently ridiculous, if you let yourself think about it all. In fact, thinking about it is antithetical to sports fandom itself. If you take time to consider it, following the ups and downs of a group of men wearing color-coordinated clothing makes very little sense. Fans have no actual agency regarding wins or losses — it’s a trick of the light played on our bone-deep instinct for tribalism.

That’s why I’ve never felt any particular animosity toward — for lack of a better word — the “dumb fans.” The Kobe stans, the count-the-ringzz types, those poor souls who really think the Knicks are one player away. Teams sell hope. That some people buy in to the hope more than others is less interesting to me than the fact that we all, on some level, need to buy in to it in the first place. The 8-year-old fan might spend two hours drawing a favorite player on the back of a notebook. The 28-year-old fan might spend two hours researching game film and breaking down that favorite player’s on/off numbers. That one expression of fandom seems more intellectual than the other does not change that they are both basically the same thing.

The accrued weight of the franchise’s failures and lost gambles means the team’s fans have been forced to really think about what they’re doing, and thinking is the death of fandom. I’m not talking about arguments over stats and players and salary cap figures — that’s thinking within the framework of the social construct of sports fandom. I’m talking about thinking to yourself, “Why am I doing this?”

DrAlphaeus wrote:Relevant excerpt from today's Grantland
The New York Knicks: It’s the Hope That Kills You in the End
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/the-new-york-knicks-its-the-hope-that-kills-you-in-the-end/

Bandwagon fans are reviled because their seeming opportunism calls into question their authenticity, or their capacity to maintain hope through the downtimes. This, in the mind of the “real fan,” translates to some kind of fundamental untrustworthiness inherent in a bandwagon fan’s character. It’s a ridiculous thing to believe, yes, but fandom is inherently ridiculous, if you let yourself think about it all. In fact, thinking about it is antithetical to sports fandom itself. If you take time to consider it, following the ups and downs of a group of men wearing color-coordinated clothing makes very little sense. Fans have no actual agency regarding wins or losses — it’s a trick of the light played on our bone-deep instinct for tribalism.

That’s why I’ve never felt any particular animosity toward — for lack of a better word — the “dumb fans.” The Kobe stans, the count-the-ringzz types, those poor souls who really think the Knicks are one player away. Teams sell hope. That some people buy in to the hope more than others is less interesting to me than the fact that we all, on some level, need to buy in to it in the first place. The 8-year-old fan might spend two hours drawing a favorite player on the back of a notebook. The 28-year-old fan might spend two hours researching game film and breaking down that favorite player’s on/off numbers. That one expression of fandom seems more intellectual than the other does not change that they are both basically the same thing.

The accrued weight of the franchise’s failures and lost gambles means the team’s fans have been forced to really think about what they’re doing, and thinking is the death of fandom. I’m not talking about arguments over stats and players and salary cap figures — that’s thinking within the framework of the social construct of sports fandom. I’m talking about thinking to yourself, “Why am I doing this?”

HAHAHAHAHAH
“Why am I doing this?”

thats it for me... too many other things to keep myself going instead of dealing with years of poor product. i still pay attention, it just isnt what it was when i was a kid.

playa2 wrote:If Spike Lee still goes to the games and haven't given tickets away to friends or family then I will still watch.

No seriously I watch now to see what Woody and Melo do and how they react to guys giving half effort.

The players know what's going on behind the scenes in practice, Metta knows and so does Beno.

Somebody has to get the scoop from Metta World Peace brother ,or friend of his to find out the inside information.

+1

Here’s what being a Knicks fan means in 2014: If you care about the team, you’ve more than likely wondered if Ray Felton going to jail could possibly help New York’s cap position. It’s that dark. Being a fan of the New York Knicks is to grapple with these formulations where actual harm to a person’s quality of life is about the only avenue left for maintaining even the illusion of hope that this ill-constructed, capped-out team could improve in anything like the near term. Maybe Amar’e will suffer a career-ending injury. Maybe Ray will end up doing a bid. Maybe Carmelo cares more about money than he does about ever having a chance at winning a title. Maybe James Dolan … never mind.

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/the-new-york-knicks-its-the-hope-that-kills-you-in-the-end/