Dabo Swinney’s comments stir the pot with Clemson Football fans

Myth 1: The negativity comes from bandwagon fans

Per Dictionary.com:

"“Bandwagon fans only show interest and support for a sports team based on recent successes or popularity, e.g., when their city’s football is going to or has won the Super Bowl.”"

It doesn’t have to be their city. There have been some funny memes about fans bouncing from one NFL team to another based on who was competitive.

There has been a belief by some Clemson fans that the negativity that we see these days on social media is usually because of bandwagon fans or young fans. Fans who haven’t been dedicated to the program through thick and thin are perceived by long-time fans to be the problem.

The logic used is that if you ever lived through some of the down days of Clemson Football you would have more perspective and wouldn’t overreact just because something didn’t go Clemson’s way.

This has never been a fair and accurate explanation for negativity in the fanbase. I have seen plenty of longtime fans act negatively and say insensitive things about coaches, players, and other fans. I’ve been called a ‘sunshine pumper’ by long-time fans enough times to know this is true.

Even long-time fans get emotionally invested in the performance of the team and exercise poor judgment.

I would say I’ve seen just about as much of the opposite. Real bandwagon fans often don’t have an urge to vent on social media. They just kind of walk away and find something else to focus on. Fans who feel the need to get on social media and vent usually do so because they care.

The bandwagon theory isn’t as solid as some people think, but I don’t think Swinney is referring to bandwagon fans in the same way.