After the Final Four was secured and the basketball season gets more intense, I found myself without a team to root for.  I started out the championship season cheering for my usual teams: UVA and Michigan.  My dad is an alum of UVA and one of my sisters goes there, and I have another sister attending Michigan, so my loyalty makes sense.

Now that the majority of teams are eliminated from the bracket, Michigan and UVA included, there are two options available for me and many others suffering from a busted bracket.  We could stop watching altogether, but what’s the fun in that?  The only other option is to pick a team among the Final Four to cheer to victory.

Unfortunately, rooting for a random Final Four team causes the obvious problem of being a bandwagon fan.  Sure, bandwagoning is frowned upon.  Honestly, though, being a bandwagon is really not that bad, as long fans recognize a few guidelines.

Fans should be able to cheer for a new team when there’s no one else left, even if that team is destined for victory.  One of the major benefits of winning a major championship is getting the team name out and becoming more public.  Teams can gain fans when people see them in times of success.

But herein lies the problem: the bandwagon fan must admit and accept his/her status as a bandwagoner.  While it’s o.k. to cheer for the team in the final rounds, and even better to continue to follow its progress in the next season, the person shouldn’t claim that he/she is a HUGE fan, or “has always been rooting for them.” That would be an obvious lie.

Buying the jersey and hat right away is also a gutsy move and requires the commitment of a true fan.  Being a bandwagon fan and being a fairweather fan are completely different—one jumps on and either falls off for good or stays on, while the other jumps on and off at their leisure.  The latter is the worst type of fan and should be kicked out of sports games, face paint and all.