fanatic |fəˈnatik| noun a person filled with excessive and single-minded zeal, esp. for an extreme religious or political cause. See note at zealot . • [often with adj. ] informal a person with an obsessive interest in and enthusiasm for something, esp. an activity : a fitness fanatic. adjective [ attrib. ] filled with or expressing excessive zeal : his fanatic energy. DERIVATIVES fanaticism |fəˈnatəˌsizəm| noun fanaticize |fəˈnatəˌsīz| verb ORIGIN mid 16th cent. (as an adjective): from French fanatique or Latin fanaticus ‘of a temple, inspired by a god,’ from fanum ‘temple.’ The adjective originally described behavior or speech that might result from possession by a god or demon, hence the earliest sense of the noun [a religious maniac] (mid 17th cent.).
My definition of a fan: not wishing the team you are a fan of any specific harm. Sorry, just lapsed into a Simpsons reference. I consider a "real fan" to be anyone who has a persistent (i.e. not just for one game or series) rooting interest. That's it. I don't think the motivations for rooting matter. If you like the Yankees because you like "the best team," you're a Yankees fan. Not a particularly brave or committed fan, maybe, but bravery or commitment doesn't necessarily have to be part of fandom. It's only sports, which is to say, only entertainment. Whatever entertains you will drive your fandom.
I don't define other people as fans or not. I follow the Blazers very, very closely but I am very unlikely to get very overtly emotional about anything good or bad that happens to the team. There are too many other things going on in my life to let a hobby get my goat. Ed O.
I would say it's somebody who sticks with their team thru good times and bad! Celebrates victories, dies when they lose!
When your team's game is on TV or radio, it's what you tune into. When your team is written about in the newspapers or on WWW sites, it's what you read.
crap I'm losing my fandom. I admit that since this whole Comcast deal, there are days I forget that the Blazers are playing because it is not available to me. F Comcast!
I would but those bastards keep trying to kick the ball, or hit it with a stick. Damn immigrants... maybe Maris is right.
