(SportsRadio 610) -- What is a, "real fan," exactly?
You know what you are among these five categories. Be honest.
As the Texans enter an altogether unknown world with new faces in management, on the coaching staff and on the field, variations of these five categories seem to be surfacing more than ever.
Which one are you? And which is “real?”
The Halloween Fan
This is the one who dresses up, accessorizes, paints their face and has every piece of clothing logo’d from the official team store.
They pander and pose, buy seats in the most likely places where they will be seen on TV or the Jumbotron and live for selfies with anyone and anything associated with the team.
But they really don’t know a lot about the team or the game.
The Drinker/Talker
This is the one that tailgates hard outside and hangs out at the bar, or back of the suite/club level.
They talk as if they know everything about the team, but after a five-minute discussion you realize they don’t know half of what they’re talking about and skew a lot of facts.
They like to call players by their first name, as if they’re friends. They also tell you how long they’ve been season-ticket holders, as if that makes them more of an expert. And they have unreasonable predictions about winning the championship literally every year.
The Armchair GM/Coach
They played high school football and tell you all about it, usually embellishing every detail.
They always had a knee injury that kept them from playing college ball.
They know enough football to fool themselves into believing they know every move better than the GM.
They also know why every play that failed, failed. And they know why every play that was successful, was successful.
They drop a lot of key words that they know nothing about, but sound good. Things like, “leverage,” “good hips” and “quarters.”
The Blind Faith
That backup third-year cornerback just acquired that hasn’t started a game in his career? He’s a stud.
Why? Because he just put on the home team’s jersey.
That fifth-round pick that stands 6-foot-nothing and started six games in college? Hidden gem. Just you watch.
The Blind Faith fan also cringes and squirms at any criticism tossed in the direction of the team, writing it off as, “haters” and “not real fans” because, well, you know, it’s criticism.
The Blind Faith fan also is very good at I-told-you-sos when things go well and disappearing when the club starts out 1-8.
The Realist
Usually, this is someone whose PTSD from so many near-misses and heartbreaks has them questioning everything.
Players and coaches from other teams ALWAYS are better than theirs. And players and coaches from their team ALWAYS have very obvious -- to them -- holes in their game.
They often know enough football to back up their complaints with knowing nods when the games go the other way.
When things are great, they are over-the-top loud and proud, but in their hearts they always are waiting for something to go horribly wrong.