Well, I've got a bit of a story here, it's been on my nerves a bit, actually, A LOT, lately.
I grew up in Adelaide. I was a Power fan from probably 2000-2004, until we moved to Melbourne in 2005. It was then when I completely ignored AFL. I didn't know a single thing about AFL during 2005-2012, didn't even know that Port Adelaide made the Grand Final until I saw it on the news. Fast forward and it's 2012 and my mate invites me to a football game. It's Richmond v Hawthorn, round 9, the one where Richmond won by like 70 points, and my friend says he sorta goes for Richmond, it's his 2nd team, so I'm like cool I may as well get into footy again. I decide I'm going to barrack for Hawthorn, because you know, I didn't want to go for the same team as my friend and they were a Melbourne team so I would be able to attend matches. Now, I didn't even watch any AFL games at all, didn't check scores, completely ignored it for weeks, nothing, never attended any more games again or bothered watching AFL. Heck, I didn't even know any Hawthorn players names, I thought Shane Crawford was still in the team. It wasn't until round 13 or so, 2012 when I decided I'm going to seriously follow football as an AFL fan. I figured I was going to buy my first piece of PAFC merchandise (my 2002 jersey didn't fit anymore) and start watching all Port Adelaide games. I was actually really getting into it, even though we were still pretty bad then, it was just good to watch footy again. I ditched the whole "I must now barrack for a Melbourne team" thing. As a kid in highschool, I was always insecure about this shit about having to adhere with norms. It didn't bother me that I would not be able to see many Port Adelaide games, so I decided I was going to be a Port Adelaide fan. I realised I loved PAFC after remembering the games I went to as a kid and after finding my small jersey, I really just remembered everything. It was my first team, how could I ignore that?
Now, 2013 begins, Port Adelaide are good all of a sudden. 2014, good again. 2015, my friend starts calling me a bandwagoner. I ask why? He says "you only support Port when theyre winning, you said you were a Hawthorn fan". I responded with "but if I was a bandwagon fan only supporting a winning team, why would I not have stuck with the team that has won the two premierships?". But, in 2012 towards the end of the season I would always boast about how Port Adelaide have the best tradition, best this, best that, etc. My friendship group was good like that, we could talk shit and move on a few minutes later. It's not like I suddenly turned into a Port Adelaide fan in 2013, 2014 or 2015.
So pretty much, I was a Hawthorn supporter for around 4-5 weeks (I didn't watch any games, know any players, keep up to date with anything, I just named myself one because I said I was going to get back into football) in 2012, when I wasn't even into AFL, and now my friend is using that against me as to being a bandwagoner. Really, even if Port Adelaide were winless in 2013, it wouldn't have changed anything, it was just perfect timing for my friend to have an excuse to feel better about himself because his team has fallen over the past few years.
So yeah, I just had to get that off my chest I guess. It's been pissing me off a bit, a lot tbh, and it's starting to ruin football for me. Idk why. It's been playing on my mind, because this friend of mine has been texting me shit for ages now and talks shit to other people behind me back calling me a bandwagoner, has the audacity to text me shit like "lel me and ***** know u r a bandwagoner", when my other friend doesn't even follow AFL so he must instilling false beliefs in him so he thinks I'm a shit bloke. Deep down I know I'm not a bandwagon fan, but this is really starting to ruin the footy experience for me, because I know now that there's no point talking to this friend of mine anymore if all that's in the back of his mind is "this guys a bandwagoner"
I've followed the struggling Newcastle Jets too always, not just a now-and-then supporter, a supporter with three jerseys and two scarfs and has attended games.
Anyway, I'm going to end this rant here.