Fan Perspective: Understanding the Rabid Fan
John Klaers
Thursday April 12, 2001
Like most of my kind, (we are spread out in arenas all across America and now in Canada) I wear odd items of what can only loosely be called clothing. I have a general theme, but basically there are no guidelines, so almost anything goes. Some of us paint our faces and even attach things to us that weren`t meant to be worn as clothing.
One thing`s certain though. You know who our favorite team is, and to us that`s the most important thing. None of us really care what anyone thinks while we`re at a game. It`s our turf and if you come in here and you aren`t showing support for your team then you are the screwball as far as we`re concerned.
Like most of the players, we too have jobs outside the arenas. Some of us have jobs that require suits or uniforms, a professional appearance, and professional attitude. Dressing wildly, yelling and screaming, and generally acting foolish are forms of release. Although we may look crazy, doing this once a week keeps us sane. My wife often feels the need to explain to people: "He really is a nice guy, he works in a hospital and helps save the lives of sick children!" I love that!
It`s easy for Arena Football fans like us to go overboard about our teams. The players are accessible, likeable, and feel like one of us. (Maybe. Maybe not -ed.) We can identify with them. The league itself is looked down upon and its many good qualities are often ignored. We can identify with that too. The public's disdain just breeds our support, and often, rabid support.
So go on, point, stare, laugh, whatever. We don`t care. It won`t stop our dancing, prancing, yelling, or sign-waving. Fans like myself in Orlando, Snakeman in AWA, Hailstorm in Tampa, and the wild and crazy in every AFL city, we know you only wish you could be like us! Wooooohhhhooooooooooo! We`re number one baby!
John Klaers was a writer for ArenaFan Online from 2000 to 2001.
