During the summer of 2015 I wrote a piece at our old home detailing the 20 ways a person can come to start hating their own team. Consider this a companion piece.

In modern parlance an anti-fan is usually described as someone who is staunchly critical of a piece of work and sets out to build consensus about the dangers/absurdity/immorality of said work. The most common examples today are the anti-fans of Harry Potter and the Twilight series in the United States.

With sports, we’ve seen the emergence of the anti-fan in numerous communities across many different athletic competitions. In fact, the sports-based anti-fan network pales in comparison to any other in the world in many ways.

Still, the TV/Film/Novel anti-fan has been well covered by the U.S. media. Here are some anti-fan ploys that transcend the arts and are prevalent in the sports realm too:

Accentuate the Negative- Assigning negative values on everyone who likes the team.

Broken Base- Hating loyal fans who won’t give up on the team.

Complain, Didn’t Watch- Express opinions on things they didn’t watch.

Internet Backdraft- Negative piling on for bringing up positive aspect to the team.

Nostalgia Filter- Immediately hating something because it is new.

The key here is that it’s just as much, if not more, about the fans than it is the team/program itself. This is an important distinction that is crystallized in the Observer ads from several months ago. They were done knowing it’s a futile attempt for change but more to gain the moral high ground over other fans.

You may be thinking that the term anti-fan is derogatory but that is not the case. In reality, it is perfectly apropos and in most cases a badge of honor for anti-fans. That’s because, as the name suggests, the group is staunchly against the trappings of modern-day fandom.

For example, what are the words that jump out to you when you think of a sports fan?

Fanatic

Supporter

Passion

Cheering

These are all positive monikers when you think about devotion but there are some negative ones associated as well: rabid, blindly loyal, and overly optimistic.

What’s interesting is the relationship between the anti-fan and homer. In many ways, the former’s identity is forged by the latter’s presence. The anti-fan takes this incredibly small portion of a fan base and builds an entire culture in opposition. Further, the anti-fan constantly assigns homerism to seemingly regular fan activities–like simply attending a game–and uses that to build consensus against the homers. Look at how many people are going to the games, after all!

Not to scale.

This is ultimately why the anti-fan is lost, and essentially transcending sports and into something that is controlled by message board tribalism. When you stop being a fan things become less and less about winning and losing. When you start actively disliking your own team you start paying attention more and more to the people who don’t share your hatred.

If you’re curious why the controversial ndnation.com became the place that it is today it’s primarily because the bulk of the posters and moderators embraced the anti-fan philosophy for the football program many, many years ago. Take a handful of very simple things such as…

Saying, “Go Irish!”

Discussing highlight videos

Buying team merchandise

…all of this is intensely ridiculed. It’s “internet backdraft” on steroids. It’s institutionalized mockery of being a fan.

This alone has driven hundreds of people away from sites like NDN which of course creates an echo chamber, but perhaps more importantly, going back to the argument above allows ridicule of “homers” with zero reprisal. Once this happens a funny duality occurs–you can be hyper-critical without any push back AND speak for “homers” who aren’t there to defend themselves, or in some cases, just make up homerish opinions then rally against them.

“The staff is still celebrating a Pinstripe Bowl.”

“Unbelievable the things they will stoop to now.”

“We’ve officially lost all dignity.”

“It’s clear they don’t have standards.”

For the anti-fan these kinds of perverted never-been-said-can’t-be-disproven-pile-on arguments are pervasive throughout the sports community. They are layered on top of each other day after day to provide the foundation of the anti-fan agenda.

In my opinion, the world needs homers. Hope is a good thing. Even if it’s sometimes crazy there’s a jovial sense of comfort knowing in the back of your mind you could win the big game, or hire the big coach, or sign the big recruit. If that doesn’t occasionally make you smile than it’s time to hang it up and log-off forever.

The anti-fan loves nothing more than painting the homers as irrational, yet there’s at least some rationality to sticking with your team–it is sports after all. Conversely, the anti-fan is by definition irrational and therefore deeply hypocritical and sanctimonious.

At its core the anti-fan movement is led by hatred of its own team, but supposedly wrapped in a love for its own team. It’s living on both sides of the fence like a corrupt pastor. If Notre Dame ignores history and tradition that’s criticized, if they embrace it that’s living off the back of the past and attempting to distract people from the present. There’s no right, only wrong.

It’s complete self-identification through disownership. It’s a couple trashing their family on Facebook, cheering their kids to fail, and trying to convince their friends they’re still good parents. In large communities anti-fandom is unchecked narcissism patting each other on the back.

If you know someone who is becoming an anti-fan please get them help.