Bandwagoners, you have my heart; the most underappreciated fans in sport

It might just be one of my hottest sports takes to date, but there is something so desperately underappreciated about the bandwagoners.

They're late to the party, and they probably don't know the rules, but god they're fun.

And they should be allowed to have fun, and we should be grateful that no matter how fleeting they are, they want to share in our joy.

When we throw the term around, it is typically an insult, but I think it's high time bandwagoners get their moment in the sun.

I think there's something special about them.

I think I might even be one myself.

When someone starts to be vocally enthusiastic and supportive of something after it has hit the mainstream, we call them a bandwagoner.

Think of the rise in membership sales after an AFL grand final win or how Matildas merchandise was selling out across the country during last year's FIFA Women's World Cup.

People buy into the hype of these teams' success and inflate their popularity even further.

This often overlooked and underappreciated group of fans are imperative to sports success.

Prior to the Women's World Cup I had never heard a conversation about women's football in the wild.

It wasn't part of the Monday morning office catch up or something that was regularly appearing in my social feeds, it simply was not on my radar.

But bandwagoners love to talk, and I couldn't walk through a supermarket or attend a job without someone asking about Sam Kerr's ankle. Their buy-in brought women's soccer into my everyday interactions.

It was the buy-in the Matildas received from them that improved the reach of the tournament and by extension women's sport.

Bandwagoners helped the sale of Matildas jerseys surpass those of the Socceroos four-fold. They were the ones who packed out stadiums and live sites.

We thank those who had been fighting the long fight, but we know they needed us as much as we needed them to explain what offside means.

It was, if you please, the pure joy of the bandwagoners who helped make the tournament as special as it was.

Everyone wants to be the 'first' and a bandwagoner simply isn't.

Long-time fans are renowned across codes for their dismay towards uneducated fans. Many older or long-time fans think they are superior. What a joke.

It's an issue that has been running rife since the World Cup, particularly in relation to England's Women's Super League.

My social feeds have been flooded with videos from 'fans since birth' touting that those who have started watching the league post-World Cup do not deserve tickets, player interactions, or access to events.

It feels very much like listening to people say 'I suffered for this, so now you should too'.

I mean, what even is a fake fan? I'm not sure people are out here in a cost of living crisis buying soccer tickets if they don't want to attend.

This isn't to speak poorly of those who have worked hard to uplift their chosen sport and suffered through times of poor scheduling, low attendance numbers, and searching high and low for non-existent merchandise.

But shouldn't those who weathered the storm be welcoming the influx of fans, viewers, and most importantly, money to their sport?

You are not inherently better because your parents enjoyed a sport and you grew up in that environment.

If we want to get really deep, new fans know they enjoy the sport, long-term fans were simply taught to like it by their parents.

I admit, I joined the women's soccer bandwagon somewhere around the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. And unlike many, I've stayed on.

But it's actually okay to be on board for a good time, not a long time.

In a time where there are so many outside pressures on us all, why can't we escape for a month or two down a sport-flavoured rabbit hole?

My family joined the World Cup bandwagon and by every sense of the word they made that entire experience for me better.

They were listening and learning and riding a wave of emotion that they would have missed out on had they not jumped on board.

And from those millions of Australians who got behind the Matildas, even if just one stayed on the train post-World Cup, that's one more fan than women's soccer had before.

There is no wool over my eyes, I'll never be the world's biggest soccer fan, there are plenty of sports I love ahead of that, but I don't think I am worth less than those fans who grew up in soccer-loving households.

Nor am I worth more than those who have never attended a game.

Or those who haven't thought about soccer since the Matildas semi-final loss.

Life feels overwhelming a lot of the time, and I think there's something special about sharing our joy.

So go to a game, buy yourself a scarf, and enjoy a new experience, because even if the elitist fans don't want you there, I do.

And I can even explain the offside rule to you now.