Do we have the best fans in the game?

[RalphWiggum]

From home attendance to road attendance to viewership to social media and Internet traffic are we clearly the gold standard of what an ownership would want from their fanbase or am I seeing things through rose coloured glasses and this is happening in a few other cities the way it is here?

[The_Hater]

Considering Jays fans disappeared for 20 years, I'm going to tick the NO box.

[RalphWiggum]

Considering Jays fans disappeared for 20 years, I'm going to tick the NO box.

Let's be honest here, for a long time they never gave fans a reason to get behind them. One time in 20 years they were in contention for a playoff spot (3-4 game out for a wildcard spot) and that dream was done around labour day.

I'll rephrase, when given a team that is a realistic contender does anyone have better fans?

[dagger]

Most of us don't get to see enough of other teams to know how their fans support them on the road. Quite a few KC Royals fans seemed to be in Boston and New York over the past week. And the NL? Who knows unless you've lived in an NL city because we only get to see a few games of each of those teams over the course of a season unless we have paid for extra viewing.

[RalphWiggum]

Most of us don't get to see enough of other teams to know how their fans support them on the road. Quite a few KC Royals fans seemed to be in Boston and New York over the past week. And the NL? Who knows unless you've lived in an NL city because we only get to see a few games of each of those teams over the course of a season unless we have paid for extra viewing.

You can watch our road games and get the vibe it's different. The only other fans where I watch highlights and sorta get the same thing in many cities are the Red Sox and Cubs. Surprisingly the Sox fans in Seattle were noticeably out in force. We live in an age where we see almost everything and maybe it is bias but with us it's basically everywhere every night. I'd bet big money that no fans travel as well as ours do.

I also wasn't just talking about road attendance. Viewership and social media are big factors.

[dballislife]

maybe for this season, but yankees has had this type of fan love, for like forever...sox arent far behind...and even when they not doing that good the support is there

[Hoopstarr]

Considering Jays fans disappeared for 20 years, I'm going to tick the NO box.

Can you think of any losing franchises that have consistently had good attendance? I can think of the Cubs and the Red Sox pre-2004, who are historic teams that play in national historical landmarks, although even Fenway and Wrigley selling out is a relatively recent thing. This whole "bandwagon" label is ridiculous. We have had one of if not the best online presences since the beginning of the internet; we have a great traveling fan base; and we broke attendance records during the few years when we had what could be called a good ballpark, which is like 6 years out of our 40 year history.

[The_Hater]

Considering Jays fans disappeared for 20 years, I'm going to tick the NO box.

Can you think of any losing franchises that have consistently had good attendance? I can think of the Cubs and the Red Sox pre-2004, who are historic teams that play in national historical landmarks, although even Fenway and Wrigley selling out is a relatively recent thing. This whole "bandwagon" label is ridiculous. We have had one of if not the best online presences since the beginning of the internet; we have a great traveling fan base; and we broke attendance records during the few years when we had what could be called a good ballpark, which is like 6 years out of our 40 year history.

While you make a good overall point about the fans of losing teams, you also picked out two groups thst don't meet your argument hence suggesting that those teams almost certainly have better and more loyal fans than the Jays.

As rabid as Jay's fans look now it's hard to call them the best in the league when they only started showing up again 13 short months ago. I'm sure other fan bases that suddenly contend for 1-2 seasons have had similar spikes in both the number and the craziness of their fanbase. maybe this is a new and improved Jays fanbase but we'll need a few more seasons including some non contending years to judge that. N

[whysoserious]

From home attendance to road attendance to viewership to social media and Internet traffic are we clearly the gold standard of what an ownership would want from their fanbase or am I seeing things through rose coloured glasses and this is happening in a few other cities the way it is here?

Why do we obsess over trying to say we're the best fans in the game or something? This is always a constant debate on the Raptors board too. Does it really matter? Is there some sort of award for it?

Every city has some level of great fans and depending on ownership's willingness to invest in a winner, is what turns in to sellouts and more fans.

[hsb]

From home attendance to road attendance to viewership to social media and Internet traffic are we clearly the gold standard of what an ownership would want from their fanbase or am I seeing things through rose coloured glasses and this is happening in a few other cities the way it is here?

Why do we obsess over trying to say we're the best fans in the game or something? This is always a constant debate on the Raptors board too. Does it really matter? Is there some sort of award for it?

Every city has some level of great fans and depending on ownership's willingness to invest in a winner, is what turns in to sellouts and more fans.

Eh, the nature of sports fandom relies partly, probably most importantly, to social bonding. We build a connection with the community through the sports team we cheer for locally. So that's why it can be a discussion point, because it's something we do together.

Also, it's just all part of having fun, which is well represented in an article by Gregg Doyle of the Indiana Star.

They are loud, and they are coming. Those basketball fans in Toronto, they’re not normal. They are NFL fans with an NBA team. They travel. They drink. They scream.

And they’re headed this way.

http://www.indystar.com/story/sports/columnists/gregg-doyel/2016/04/28/doyel-indiana-ready-raptors-return/83600040/

Anyways, the answer is probably. It all boils down to the same thing, Toronto is the third biggest market in the continent and first in it's own country. When you poke the bear - management produces a good team - you wake the bear...

[whysoserious]

Eh, the nature of sports fandom relies partly, probably most importantly, to social bonding. We build a connection with the community through the sports team we cheer for locally. So that's why it can be a discussion point, because it's something we do together.

Also, it's just all part of having fun, which is well represented in an article by Gregg Doyle of the Indiana Star.

They are loud, and they are coming. Those basketball fans in Toronto, they’re not normal. They are NFL fans with an NBA team. They travel. They drink. They scream.

And they’re headed this way.

http://www.indystar.com/story/sports/columnists/gregg-doyel/2016/04/28/doyel-indiana-ready-raptors-return/83600040/

Anyways, the answer is probably. It all boils down to the same thing, Toronto is the third biggest market in the continent and first in it's own country. When you poke the bear - management produces a good team - you wake the bear...

But that doesn't address the constant need to then compare our fanbase to everyone else and why it even matters. If it's about bonding with your community, who cares how other fans are of other teams?

I'm not denying we have a great set of fans, for both the Raps and Jays and even the Leafs. But what does it matter if we're the best or one of the best?

[hsb]

Eh, the nature of sports fandom relies partly, probably most importantly, to social bonding. We build a connection with the community through the sports team we cheer for locally. So that's why it can be a discussion point, because it's something we do together.

Also, it's just all part of having fun, which is well represented in an article by Gregg Doyle of the Indiana Star.

They are loud, and they are coming. Those basketball fans in Toronto, they’re not normal. They are NFL fans with an NBA team. They travel. They drink. They scream.

And they’re headed this way.

http://www.indystar.com/story/sports/columnists/gregg-doyel/2016/04/28/doyel-indiana-ready-raptors-return/83600040/

Anyways, the answer is probably. It all boils down to the same thing, Toronto is the third biggest market in the continent and first in it's own country. When you poke the bear - management produces a good team - you wake the bear...

But that doesn't address the constant need to then compare our fanbase to everyone else and why it even matters. If it's about bonding with your community, who cares how other fans are of other teams?

I'm not denying we have a great set of fans, for both the Raps and Jays and even the Leafs. But what does it matter if we're the best or one of the best?

It's part of the same sense of social connection, a common discussion for every team's fan base, of how much support they have in their community. Nothing wrong with acknowledging where this team stands in that regard, which is probably the best, but not the hardest feat considering the scale of the city.

Why frame it in this sense when it's not a unique discussion in the world of sports? All a matter of perception I guess. Not a big deal to me, but you don't like it, doesn't matter either way lol.

[whysoserious]

It's part of the same sense of social connection, a common discussion for every team's fan base, of how much support they have in their community. Nothing wrong with acknowledging where this team stands in that regard, which is probably the best, but not the hardest feat considering the scale of the city.

Why frame it in this sense when it's not a unique discussion in the world of sports? All a matter of perception I guess. Not a big deal to me, but you don't like it, doesn't matter either way lol.

I see where you're going and it's more of a case of agree to disagree. I just look at it more like, let's talk about how awesome the Jays fanbase is or the Raps. I just don't think we need to connect it to are we better than other fanbases. What's the criteria for being a better fanbase? I mean, other cities probably look at the Jays situation and are probably saying look at all those bandwagon fans jumping on a first place team, where were they when the team wasn't contending? There's no way to actually settle this debate.

[hyper316]

no, but perhaps the biggest bandwagon nation in the world

[Potential]

We definitely have the loudest crowd.... and arguably the most craziest crowd atmosphere when it comes to throwing things onto the field lol.

[metafisical]

If the stadium is close to packed when we are at the bottom of the AL for a few seasons, then I would say we have among the best fans.

[Raps in 4]

I'd say most cities have good fans when their team gives them something to cheer for. I'd also assume that the bigger markets are more educated and can better appreciate a well-built team than redneck markets.

[0 - 100]

We are definitely top 5. Maybe even top 3. For those arguing that we neglected the team for those horrid 20 years, just look at the NY fans last year and this year. Even with all their success, their fans cut off the team when they know they don't have "it". I don't have a problem with that either, keeps the pressure on the owners.

[LLJ]

When the cards are stacked in our favour, yes.

[Spicy P]

We have the best bandwagon fans in the game