The Definitive Fan #10 – The Player Fan
Welcome to The Definitive Fan – The online guide from PowerPlayGoal.com to the types of fans who you’re likely to meet (or not meet) at a hockey game.
Most of these fans enjoy everything about the game, while a small few only seem to be interested in a particular person on the ice…
Fan Type #10 – The Player Fan
We all have our favourite player(s), but this fan type takes it to a slightly different extreme
Bio:
Not necessarily a ‘bad’ fan by any means, unlike most of the fan types we have previously covered. As the name suggests, the Player Fan generally seems to be more interested in a particular player than anything else when it comes to their chosen team – whether they have been actively following the player since his junior league days or said player caught the fan’s attention at their first hockey game are among various reasons why the fan develops their liking of said player.
This fan type is, again unlike many we have covered before, usually quite knowledgeable about the game of Hockey, and generally even more so about their favourite player’s career and position, so they will provide good conversation should you happen to come across them.
It’s not as easy to identify a Player Fan in real life as it is on the internet: you will know instantly whether a member of a team’s forum is of this fan type if they have the player’s photo in their avatar and/or signature, or they will have a username which will usually be something like, for example, “Selanne8” or “ModanoFan”. As previously mentioned, they will still provide good conversation even when online, but whether the fan is generally biased towards their favourite player or is capable of being critical will depend on their personality.
Sometimes, the Player Fan will take part in the sport themselves, usually taking up the same position and modelling their play style after the player they idolise – some of these kinds of players are likely in the NHL today.
Characteristics:
No distinguishable characteristics – they seem to blend in. However, they may be seen around or at games in a custom jersey with their favourite player’s name and number on. As for internet forums, the dead giveaways have already been mentioned above.
Favourite Team:
Generally depends on which team their favourite player is on. Player Fans have had this writer asking himself the question of what they do once the player retires for whatever reason, or where their loyalty lies when he is traded to another team. Chances are they may still like the team he previously played for, while still following the player on his new team.
Other:
Due in part to the NHL overhyping certain players, an extremely annoying variant of the Player Fan also exists, which we will cover another time. In keeping with the current times, we shall refer to this other fan type as the dreaded Crosby Fanboy.
I’m Wildwing64, and this is the Definitive Fan.