EPTe-Sports Fans Fighting!
We are coming to a point in SC2 e-Sports which is showing us that this can contend as a legitmate e-Sport for many years to come.
The fans are the most important part of e-sports without them there would be nothing. After just over a year of released SC2 I have come to acknowledge what type of fans we have and this is great for the future.
The Die Hard: This is the fan that will drop everything to make sure they do not miss a game or any new information on their favourite team or player(s). The knowledge of the game and players will be almost 100% known. This is the fan that will be quiet if all is well for their favourite team or player(s). If someone needs to know something he will calmly let them know the answers. If their team and player(s) are struggling they will be letting people know what needs to be changed and why they are struggling. Most of the time these will be intelligent and well thought up.
The Standard Fan: This is a fan that will have their team or player(s) to cheer for. They will not go overboard on the results, but they will try to watch and read up on as many of the games as possible. The excitement of watching a game is still in their veins and they will be very knowledgeable about what is happening and will not be confused by how their team or player(s) lost the game.
The Optimist: This fan will follow a team or player(s) no matter how well or poorly they are doing. If the player is on a massive loosing streak this fan is still loyal and always telling us that it is just a slump and eventually he will break out of it. If anyone complains about the team or player(s) this fan will be on them and arguing that the law of averages state that this player is due to win a game. They have all the patience in the world and will not put up with people complaining about how the player should have been replaced.
The Pessimist: This fan will follow a player(s) or team that is doing well, but will always jump on the mistakes and losses. The player could be on a huge winning streak and be the best player at the time. When this player loses or messes up a game, this fan will be complaining about it. They will probably go off on a rant about how they knew this player or team was just overhyped or overrated. Complaining about it makes this fan feel awesome.
The Fan who is
The Stats Fan: This fan will most likely be following the games through a fantasy league and only care about those who can net them the most points. They have no long term favourite just who gets them the most at the current time. The good news is that they are very knowledgeable about the game and players and are very easy to talk to about the hot players and teams.
The Bandwagon Fan: These fans will love the sport but will always cheer for the hot team and players. If a team or player are the topic of conversation they will feel a bit left out and start cheering for them. They will do all of the research about the players and teams that do well so if anyone questions their devotion they have the knowledge to back it up. They will jump ship when the teams and players they were cheering for were doing bad and move onto the next hot player or team. There is nothing wrong with these fans, they help the atmosphere and anyone doing research to learn more is always a good thing.
The Fanatic Fan with too much zeal: These fans follow their favourite player(s) and/or team to a more extreme extent than die hard fans. They will know almost everything outside of the game about their favourite player(s) or teams. They will redicule other fans choices and they will always have the excuses ready to fire off when their player(s) or team does poorly. They will never have their thoughts changed and are always right in their own mind. These fans are stubborn but also lead to the players and teams having interesting fans.
There are many other types of fans. From spending some time on these forums reading LR's and other topics I have come up with this opinion on some of the type of fans we have on board. What are some of your observations on the fans we have in the games and on the forums?
Other TLer's Fan Types
sob3k's
The One Player Fan: This fan was introduced to esports by a single personality, and has never outgrown them. Will follow said player till the ends of the earth and watch every second of airtime and streamed practice available. They know with 100% certainty that this player is the next coming of Jesus Christ and write on that players FB wall frequently to this end, usually with liberal use of emoticons. This fan does not even realize that the esports community exists outside of their player, and will respond to any mention of a tourney or competition by asking if the player attended. Within the next year their player will go to Korea and totally own everyone. This fan does not know of any Korean players other than Fruitdealer from season one of GSL.
Logo's
The Regurgitator
This fan has never had an original thought about Starcraft 2. Every single thing they say is something said by a caster or SC2 personality. No matter how funny or lame a joke is from a commentator, they will repeat it. These fans typically don't hold strong opinions of specific players, but will root for anyone that a commentator shows bias towards. These players also have the habit of making and laughing at BW jokes and references when they've never played BW before.
Corbie's
The Casual Fan
This is a fan who enjoys watching professional Starcraft II, but does not actually play the game himself.
Chairman Ray's
The Fangirl: Doesn't put in a large amount of effort to understanding the game or playing the game. They watch the game to cheer on the player who they are the most attracted to. They are often seen holding up signs denouncing their affection towards a certain player, while hiding their face. Fangirls are usually female, but male fangirls exist as well.
Probe1's
The PBU
Rekrul's
The Succubus Fan Girl: Who knows if she's actually is into SC/SC2 or has even played the game at all. All she knows is that she's hot and found a niche where it isn't hard to gain easy access to these pro-gamers who are successful yet relatively inexperienced with girls due to age and/or being in front of the computer all day.
She usually gets her start by aggressively approaching and dating a lesser accomplished pro-gamer who is well connected and friends with all the top pros. Whether it was all premeditated or not is irrelevant. Due to her new boyfriend she ends up in social situations whether they are simply going out and drinking or gatherings at gaming events. During these social situations she will go after the most successful pro-gamer behind their boyfriend's back, get the numbers, and repeat the aggressive seduction process.
The Succubus's presence in her pro-gamer boyfriend's life will invariably lessen his focus on being a pro-gamer and will almost always result in a slump for the pro-gamer. But as the Succubus knows, whether it be consciously or subconsciously, her current ensnared pro-gamer losing his throne due to slump will only mean that a new target will have acquired the throne. Succubus fan girls are generally older in age and target pro-gamers younger than themselves. Succubus fan girls always have a dominant position in the relationship.
