They're loud. They're opinionated. They'll type at you in all caps.
The Jock Sniffer
This fan lives in a world where teams don't matter or even exist. They are fans of the individual. When LeBron left Cleveland for Miami, they were most upset about the fact that they had to buy a new jersey. Though some of these people can be intelligent and bring a unique perspective to sports (see: the late FreeDarko), many of them are trolls you can find in the comments section of most ESPN articles. And if you thought YouTube comments are annoying, you haven't spent enough time in the ESPN comment sections.
Alternatively, they could have grown up in a place without a team.
Source: img.gawkerassets.com
The Nerd
(Photo by Randy Stewart, blog.stewtopia.com.)
this fan tells you that his group is called "The Stat Head" but you and I know better. Though advanced statistics are an amazing tool that allow us to know more about the games we love than ever before, these guys also have a tendency to suck the fun out of everything. Is your favorite baseball player kicking ass every time he comes to the plate? That BABIP looks inflated. Regression is coming. A pitcher you like playing well? Check out that xFIP. Regression is coming. Your team on a magical run? Regression is coming.
If you've ever wondered why Tim Tebow is a thing, I think it's at least partially because he is a walking middle finger to advanced stats. Also because he's Jesus.
Source: stewtopia
The Veteran
This guy was all-conference in high school, and might have even had a shot at playing D1 ball if his knee didn't give. So sure he's an insurance salesman now, but that doesn't mean that his experience doesn't make him way more knowledgeable than you. It must be true, he keeps saying it over and over and over and over and...
The Local Jingoist
The other day, I wrote a story about Andrew Bynum's recently haggard appearance, jokingly attributing the hangover eyes and suddenly gray hair to his move from LA to Philadelphia. You know how you know I was joking? Because it's nonsensical to believe that the city of Philadelphia turned Andrew Bynum into a homeless guy over the summer. That didn't stop the Philly fans from flooding my inbox with vitriol about how it was just a bad picture of him, and that their city was innocent. I actually had to write the phrase, "Obviously, Philadelphia didn't make him ugly" multiple times. The lesson? Don't make jokes about The Local Jingoist's city. He loves his town, and he's sensitive.
