Knee Jerk Fans

+ OH MY GOD, DID YOU SEE THAT?

Lately, I have had a few encounters with people I classify as ?knee-jerk fans.? These are fans that completely overreact to a play or a game without thinking. They take one small event, blow it out of proportion and then make hasty judgments which they believe to be fact. There is no place for these types of fans in sports. All they do is make complete asses out of themselves, however, since what they are reacting to makes the headlines, nobody notices. One day LeBron?s antics are fun loving and genuine and the next day LeBron is arrogant and disingenuous.

Two weeks ago, the Boise State Broncos did the impossible by beating the vaunted Virginia Tech football team at a neutral site, (although it was considered a virtual home game for VT) or at least that is what ESPN would have you believe. All I heard that week was how great of a team Boise State is and how this win will catapult them to the BCS National Championship game. But let?s fast-forward to this past week where this vaunted Virginia Tech team got beat, at their real home, by lowly James Madison. (calling them lowly is being kind) While Boise State does have a very good team, let?s not crown them national champs after barely winning one game against an always disappointing Virgina Tech team.





In another case, the Dallas Cowboys lose one game on national television and all of sudden people I haven?t heard from in a while contact me to let me know they suck or they aren?t a super bowl caliber team. Now if it is a friend saying these things, it is a different story. There is nothing wrong with good-natured ribbing, but it?s when neutral people on forums, facebook, etc. start shooting off at the mouth is where the problem occurs. Just because the Colts were beat soundly by the Texans, does not mean the Colts are now trash or the Texans are now the Super Bowl favorites. It?s just one game and throughout the course of an NFL season, many teams experience momentum shifts. Just ask the Broncos.

Last season, they got off to a quick 6-0 start, but managed to finish a meager 8-8. If you listened to ESPN, you?d think the NFL renamed the Lombardi trophy to the Josh McDaniels trophy. But as I had predicted after their 6-0 start, the Broncos were frauds. Their subpar offense and overrated defense finally came crashing down to earth. If you are a mediocre team, the law of averages will always get you. The people out there need to remember that no MVP award, super bowl, world series, etc. is determined in one game, let alone one play.