Fandom is amazing.”

Caitriona Balfe, Actress

Advantages & Disadvantages of Being a Fan

advantages and disadvantages of being a fan

Being a fan can be quite exciting.

For instance, if you love soccer, you can watch soccer matches on a regular basis together with other like-minded people and have a great time together.

Yet, apart from the many advantages of being a fan, there are also some problems with fandom.

In this article, the pros and cons of being a fan are discussed in detail.

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Advantages of Being a Fan

  1. Feeling of community
  2. You can make trips to away matches
  3. Being a fan can improve your confidence
  4. You learn to deal with emotional highs and lows
  5. Can give you the opportunity to celebrate a lot
  6. Fandom gives you the opportunity to hang out with like-minded people
  7. You may learn a lot
  8. You can release stress
  9. Your overall quality of life may improve
  10. May help you in difficult periods of your life

Feeling of community

One important upside of being a fan is that you can experience a real sense of community.

If you are in a sports stadium or at a concert of your favorite band, you will have many people around you that have similar interests and you can really feel like a valued member of a group.

Especially if you are a rather shy person who has difficulties to connect to other people, fandom can give you the opportunity to hang out with other people who will accept you as who you actually are.

You can make trips to away matches

Another advantage of being a fan is that you can make trips to away games.

During the season, you will have the opportunity to make many trips to different cities all around the country and can get to know many different cultures and lifestyles.

Hence, if you are a quite curious person and like to see many new things, fandom can definitely also help you to give you the motivation to get around a lot.

Being a fan can improve your confidence

If you are fan of a sports team, you can also greatly improve your overall level of confidence.

Since you will hang out with your favorite people and you will support each other in difficult times, you will become more confident over time.

Moreover, people will also show you respect if you take the effort to support your favorite team and if you invest plenty of hours in your passion.

You learn to deal with emotional highs and lows

Fandom is a great way to learn how to deal with emotional swings.

Since you will experience many losses and wins, you will be on an emotional rollercoaster once in a while and through those experiences, chances are that you will also be able to deal with your emotions in a much easier way.

Controlling our emotions is not only important for fandom, it is crucial in various parts of our life and therefore, being a fan can also indirectly help you to succeed in life in general.

Can give you the opportunity to celebrate a lot

In good times when your team is successful, being a fan can also give you the opportunity to celebrate a lot and to participate in legendary parties you will never forget in your life.

I still remember some of the biggest victories of my favorite sports team and I am sure I will remember them until the end of my life.

Thus, fandom also gives you the opportunity to celebrate a lot and to make memories for a lifetime.

Fandom gives you the opportunity to hang out with like-minded people

Another advantage of being a fan is that you will often hang out with like-minded people who have quite similar interests and attitudes towards life.

In fact, if you join a fan club, chances are that you will be able to make really good friends over time, which may even last for a lifetime.

Hence, if you currently looking to make new friends, chances are that fandom may give you a great opportunity to do so.

You may learn a lot

During your fan career, you will also make many new experiences and you will also learn a lot in general.

If you travel to away games on a regular basis, you will get to know many new cultures over time.

Moreover, you can talk to many different people in your fan club and make many new connections.

Additionally, you will also get to know the local fan culture, which can be quite interesting and you can expand your view on the world quite a bit.

You can release stress

Fandom is also great when it comes to lowering your stress level.

Many people in our current society work quite long hours.

Moreover, many of them also have a family and have to organize their family life at the same time.

In turn, this leads to high stress levels for many people.

In order to lower your stress level, being a fan can be a great way to do so since once in a while, you can go to the stadium and express your opinion and release pressure, which may be quite healthy for your overall mental state.

Your overall quality of life may improve

Since being a fan can give you the opportunity to make many new friends and to participate in something that is far bigger than you, chances are that you can also significantly improve your overall quality of life through fandom.

In fact, being a fan is quite important for many people and going to the stadium on a regular basis is a must for them.

May help you in difficult periods of your life

Everyone of us has periods in his or her lives which are quite difficult and if fate hits hard, fandom can really help you overcome bad periods in your life since your fan club will be there for you and help you overcome those dark times.

Hence, in order to have support when it is urgently needed in your life, fandom can be a great way to help you live through those difficult times.

Disadvantages of Fandom

  1. Being a fan can be exhausting
  2. High ticket prices
  3. Souvenir costs
  4. You may need additional streaming packages
  5. Fandom may turn into obsession
  6. Many people take it too seriously
  7. Fandom can lead to conflicts among family and friends
  8. Conflicts between sets of fans
  9. Rivalry may get too big
  10. Many people neglect other hobbies
  11. May trap you into the hooligan scene
  12. Social media hate
  13. Some fan chants may not be politically correct

Being a fan can be exhausting

Apart from the many advantages of being a fan, it can also have serious downsides.

One disadvantage of being a fan is that it can become quite exhausting in the long run.

You will live through many highs and lows and some people are simply not able to deal with those emotional swings.

Moreover, driving to away games on a regular basis can be quite demanding and can cost you quite a lot of time and money.

High ticket prices

Depending on the kind of fan you are, ticket prices can also be quite expensive.

For instance, if you support your local soccer team, you may have to pay high prices for a season ticket and especially when you are still young, you may have a hard time to afford those tickets.

Souvenir costs

Over time, chances are that you will also spend plenty of money on souvenirs.

You may want to have a new jersey or other accessories on a regular basis and in the long run, many people spend a small fortune for their fan hobby.

Hence, make sure that you are willing to invest some money for your fandom over time.

You may need additional streaming packages

In order to watch your favorite team on TV on a regular basis, you will often also need to buy additional streaming packages.

Those streaming services can also be quite costly and may lead to significant expenses in the long run.

Fandom may turn into obsession

While many people are able to practice their fandom in a healthy manner, others may develop a real obsession with their favorite team or their favorite artist.

Obsessions are never healthy in the long run and if you are one of those people who are really obsessed with fandom, chances are that you should slow down a little bit.

Many people take it too seriously

Another problem with fandom is that many people simply take it too far.

For instance, some people may even stalk their idol and in such a case, being a fan turns into unlawful behavior which can lead you into serious trouble.

Hence, it is a good idea to stay moderate instead of taking fandom too seriously.

Fandom can lead to conflicts among family and friends

In extreme cases, fandom can even lead to conflicts between family members or friends.

If your friends support different clubs, chances are that there will be conflicts sooner or later since everyone thinks his or her club is the best.

In the worst case, friendships may even cease to exist due to rivalries related to fandom.

Conflicts between sets of fans

There are also fans out there who are willing to engage in serious conflicts with different sets of fans.

Quite often, when different sets of fans clash, there will be disputes and even physical conflicts which can also turn into serious injuries for some fans.

Rivalry may get too big

In general, the rivalry between different sets of fans can become way too high and this may lead to a state where the sport will no longer be the priority.

Instead, the whole goal may become to engage in conflicts with other fans and the true meaning of being a fan will be lost.

Many people neglect other hobbies

Some people also make fandom their priority in life and neglect other hobbies.

In some extreme cases, people may even quit their job so that they are able to follow their team to every away game.

However, this is quite dangerous since if you build your whole life around your favorite team and your team may cease to exist at one point in time, chances are that you will not be able to deal with this fact in a mentally healthy manner.

May trap you into the hooligan scene

Another downside of being a fan is that you may get trapped in the hooligan scene.

In many sports, there are fans who are willing to do almost everything for their team and some of them may even engage in unlawful behavior.

If you join those groups, this can bring you into serious trouble in the long run and may hurt your future prospects quite a lot.

Social media hate

In our current state of the world, information can be spread on social media by everyone of us.

Unfortunately, those channels are also used by people who actively try to hate against members of other fan clubs or players from other teams.

In fact, many comments on social media are quite insulting and you may become victim to those haters yourself if you are not careful.

Some fan chants may not be politically correct

In stadiums around the world, there are also often fan chants that are not politically correct at all.

Thus, if you have problems with those chants, you may not become a fan since you will simply have to deal with those chants on a regular basis.

Top 10 Being a Fan Pros & Cons – Summary List

Being a Fan ProsBeing a Fan Cons
Being a fan can give you a community feelingBeing a fan can be time-consuming
You can find new friendsYou may get into the hooligan scene
Can expand your horizonSome people take fandom too far
You can travel a lotStalking issues
Fandom can increase your confidenceSome people build their whole life around it
You learn to keep your emotions at bayHigh ticket prices
You can release stressExcessive spending on souvenirs
Being a fan can teach you a lotHate on social media
May help you in difficult times of your lifeNeglection of other hobbies
Overall quality of life may improveFan chants can be politically incorrect

Should You Become A Fan?

From the previous discussion, it becomes obvious that there are many advantages and disadvantages of fandom.

In the end, you have to decide whether the pros of being a fan outweigh the cons for you or not.

If you are not sure, you should definitely give it a try since many people really like this lifestyle and you may miss out on a lot of nice experiences if you don’t become a fan in my honest opinion.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fandom

http://sociology.iresearchnet.com/sociology-of-culture/fan-culture/

About the author

My name is Andreas and my mission is to educate people of all ages about our environmental problems and how everyone can make a contribution to mitigate these issues.

As I went to university and got my Master’s degree in Economics, I did plenty of research in the field of Development Economics.

After finishing university, I traveled around the world. From this time on, I wanted to make a contribution to ensure a livable future for the next generations in every part of our beautiful planet.

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