Being a fairweather fan = neither difficult nor rewarding

Being a true fan of a sports team is an honorable thing.  You generally have more loyalty than the players and staff, which is a matter of confusion for people who just don't understand the sports culture.  The thing is, personnel changes are part of the game and sports fans pay a great deal of attention to them.  In fact, even on their own they are a popular topic of speculation and discussion amongst sports fans, especially when a trade deadline approaches or a transfer window is about to close.  But the true test of loyalty comes when the fan's team becomes mediocre.  Any sports fan worth their salt can pretty easily wrap their head around personnel changes but only the most loyal fans will maintain an interest in a team that is just not that good.

Now losing interest is understandable.  For many fans, their team becoming mediocre just means they pay less attention to what's happening.  We all have a lot of things going on in our lives, not all of which are sports-related.  However, there are other "fans" who will not only pay less attention to their old team but will go as far as to jump on the bandwagon for an entirely different team.

In some ways these fairweather fans have it easy.  They never have to endure the trials or difficulties of losing seasons or other mediocre years.  They don't even have to deal with perennial postseason or end-of season disappointments when a certain team is pretty decent.  For them, "their team" never falls short.  On the other hand, these "fans" never experience the elation associated with their team winning a coveted trophy.  They take it for granted that they have chosen wisely and that "their team" will win a trophy pretty regularly because that team's name is constantly changing.  On the contrary, a true fan fully understands how rare an opportunity it is for their team to win, or even contend for, a trophy.  The trophy-winning campaign is thus much more rewarding for a true fan than it is for a fairweather fan.  Although a fairweather fan does not experience as much difficulty or frustration as a true fan does, he also does not get to fully experience the special moment when the trophy is won the way a true fan does.

John 6: 60-69