How did you become Heat fan?

[DWadeno3]

I'm here because of Lebron.

I actually wasn't fond of Lebron coming down here to team up with Wade and Bosh because I wanted him to get all of the credit instead of possibly sharing with Wade. In 2012, it was clear that it was his team though and all of the credit would go to him due to the injury and decline of Wade. I've embraced it because of all of this.

I know I'm not liked here on this boards due to the fact that I've vehemently defended Lebron to a point where I've almost ripped everyone on the Heat. Heat fans have a right to be upset since Wade was easily the greatest player this team ever had and brought them their first title here. I ripped on Wade a lot especially in the post-season but I understood that he wasn't healthy but it was still frustrating watching him play like that. He is a great player at full health, probably 3rd best player in the league but it doesn't seem to be common for him to be healthy.

I really do like and appreciate this team and the fanbase though.

Miami Heat fans are great especially. I don't get why Heat fans receive so much hate and how they aren't great fans. They have great fans especially the ones on RealGM. They have some bandwagoners and front-runners obviously but every team has them especially when they start to win and when they have stars on their team. Basketball is the only team sport I can think of where players are followed opposed to teams. I'm assuming the closest one other than that is Soccer.

In soccer, most fans follow teams not players. The ones following players are mostly kids who idolize them. Grown men usually have their clubs and would kill before they rooted for somebody else.
I can't speak for basketball in general, but the NBA fans I know mainly root for teams as well, not for players. They love their superstars, but don't follow them to another squad. Depending on where you live, a great player might draw you to a team, but from my experience you usually end up rooting for that team. I guess it's a mixture of player fans and franchise fans though.

As far as others hating Heat fans, that's easy. It's partially because we're in the way of their team winning a championship, but it's also because a lot, the bandwagoners in particular, overreact to the slightest bit of adversity while being extremely cocky when things are going well. Other teams' fanbases most likely don't wanna hear it when they root for their team no matter how things are going.

[whitehops]

I followed Cleveland closely when LeBron was there and 'moved' to Miami when they got him.

[wadeallday1]

Played with the Heat on NBA Live 04 and never looked back.

[Rock Hardy]

Moved to Miami before the franchise. I was a Lakers fan because of Magic and Pat. When Magic retired, I was a Knicks fan, because of Pat. Then when he came here, I became a Heat fan, and never looked back.

Understand that it took me at least 5 years to adopt any of the Miami teams, as I started as a fan of other cities while I grew up in the islands. I didn't really gain any affinity for the city of Miami until I moved to upstate N.Y. to get my undergrad degree. Once there, I realized how much I loved Miami and finally started calling this place home. But it was Mr Pat Riley that drew me to the team.

[Rock Hardy]

I'm here because of Lebron.

I actually wasn't fond of Lebron coming down here to team up with Wade and Bosh because I wanted him to get all of the credit instead of possibly sharing with Wade. In 2012, it was clear that it was his team though and all of the credit would go to him due to the injury and decline of Wade. I've embraced it because of all of this.

I know I'm not liked here on this boards due to the fact that I've vehemently defended Lebron to a point where I've almost ripped everyone on the Heat. Heat fans have a right to be upset since Wade was easily the greatest player this team ever had and brought them their first title here. I ripped on Wade a lot especially in the post-season but I understood that he wasn't healthy but it was still frustrating watching him play like that. He is a great player at full health, probably 3rd best player in the league but it doesn't seem to be common for him to be healthy.

I really do like and appreciate this team and the fanbase though.

Miami Heat fans are great especially. I don't get why Heat fans receive so much hate and how they aren't great fans. They have great fans especially the ones on RealGM. They have some bandwagoners and front-runners obviously but every team has them especially when they start to win and when they have stars on their team. Basketball is the only team sport I can think of where players are followed opposed to teams. I'm assuming the closest one other than that is Soccer.

In soccer, most fans follow teams not players. The ones following players are mostly kids who idolize them. Grown men usually have their clubs and would kill before they rooted for somebody else.
I can't speak for basketball in general, but the NBA fans I know mainly root for teams as well, not for players. They love their superstars, but don't follow them to another squad. Depending on where you live, a great player might draw you to a team, but from my experience you usually end up rooting for that team. I guess it's a mixture of player fans and franchise fans though.

As far as others hating Heat fans, that's easy. It's partially because we're in the way of their team winning a championship, but it's also because a lot, the bandwagoners in particular, overreact to the slightest bit of adversity while being extremely cocky when things are going well. Other teams' fanbases most likely don't wanna hear it when they root for their team no matter how things are going.

I think it depends on where you're from. Many fans don't have a team in their home cities, so have to real connection to a team. That was the case for me in the islands. I didn't even live in the country, so to me, it was the players and coaches that drew me in. As a result, I would follow them to new teams.

We're spoiled down here with all the sports teams, so it's easy to rep the city. However, before the Heat, Marlins and Panthers were here, we were all fans of other cities' teams.

[kyphi]

followed Riley and was curious as to how he and Zo (new to Heat as well) would interact. Then I was hooked.

[daniel3]

Alonzo Mourning bandwagon fan and I just never jumped off since . Not to mention they are my local team.

[heat4life]

I moved to the U.S. sometime around the end of the 87-88 season. Prior to that, all you ever heard in South America was Michael Jordan/Chicago Bulls or Magic Johnson/Los Angeles Lakers (yeah, no love for Larry Bird in South America ).

I remember MJ winning MVP that season and the Lakers beating the Bad Boy Pistons. Every time I would open the newspaper you would read about the great Miami Hurricanes and Dan Marino/Dolphins, even in the offseason. No Baseball, No Hockey or Basketball. Until one day I read about how Miami was starting a franchise the following basketball season and how lucky the city was to be able to watch MJ, Magic, Bird, Isiah etc in person now.

I didn't understand much in regards to expansion rules, but I got excited about the expansion draft thinking that just MAYBE we could nab one of the greats for my new city . You could understand my disappointment when some white dude named Kramer was picked 1st and there were no big names on the list of possible picks. It was explained to me at that time how the expansion draft worked.

Needless to say, I started following the team and the new cast of unknowns. I would try to find out who each player was - learned a bit about the college game in the process - and been following the team since.

My passion for the team grew with each season, each win, each loss. I basically started my life in this country almost at the same time the Heat organization started theirs in the NBA, hence why I picked the name heat4life!

[xMADEinDADEx]

I'm here because of Lebron.

I actually wasn't fond of Lebron coming down here to team up with Wade and Bosh because I wanted him to get all of the credit instead of possibly sharing with Wade. In 2012, it was clear that it was his team though and all of the credit would go to him due to the injury and decline of Wade. I've embraced it because of all of this.

I know I'm not liked here on this boards due to the fact that I've vehemently defended Lebron to a point where I've almost ripped everyone on the Heat. Heat fans have a right to be upset since Wade was easily the greatest player this team ever had and brought them their first title here. I ripped on Wade a lot especially in the post-season but I understood that he wasn't healthy but it was still frustrating watching him play like that. He is a great player at full health, probably 3rd best player in the league but it doesn't seem to be common for him to be healthy.

I really do like and appreciate this team and the fanbase though.

Miami Heat fans are great especially. I don't get why Heat fans receive so much hate and how they aren't great fans. They have great fans especially the ones on RealGM. They have some bandwagoners and front-runners obviously but every team has them especially when they start to win and when they have stars on their team. Basketball is the only team sport I can think of where players are followed opposed to teams. I'm assuming the closest one other than that is Soccer.

Me personally, I rip on any player on the heat that's hurting us INCLUDING lebron.

I went crazy in 2011 finals on lebron lol
And was disgusted with the heat when they joined until that amazing run they went on in November.

I'm one of the fans that's more loyal to the team and wants to see the success of the team rather than give players passes.

If wade sucks, I'll bitch about him I don't give a **** if he's injured. He should be smart enough to stay healthy.
It's funny cos everyone down here give wade a pass like how laker fans do with Kobe and its annoying.

I think the only player I wasn't that aggressive with was Mike Miller.. I just loved that dude. No homo.


Sent from my iPhone 5 using RealGM Forums mobile app

[BrianMcLaughlin]

I'm not a Miami fan and I think it's funny alot of fans became fans when lebron came to the team. Bandwagon fans much?

[EscapoTHB]

I'm not a Miami fan and I think it's funny alot of fans became fans when lebron came to the team. Bandwagon fans much?

You're the first person ever to say that.

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2

[BrianMcLaughlin]

That's what I thought

[Heat fan06]

born in Miami.

[lbjmiami]

been a lbj fan, so yeah. plus i visit miami often since my girl lives there.

[LoveMyHeat]

I'm not a Miami fan and I think it's funny alot of fans became fans when lebron came to the team. Bandwagon fans much?

Imagine actually being surprised that an improved team would gain fans.

[DWadeno3]

I'm not a Miami fan and I think it's funny alot of fans became fans when lebron came to the team. Bandwagon fans much?

Some Kobe fans pretend to be Lakers fans, some Melo fans pretend to be Knicks fans, it's the same everywhere. Success brings bandwagoners and superstars bring player fans on board. Some end up actually rooting for the team, others just want their player to shine and even root against the other players on the same team. That principle takes places everywhere, not just in Miami.
The difference is, we're the first polarizing team in the social media era, so the bandwagon jumping will be more obvious now than it was earlier. Look at the other teams that have been successful in the past five to six years. The Celtics and Lakers have always had a huge following due to their success, the Spurs had success in the early 2000's already and aren't considered an interesting team by most sports fans and other than that, there hasn't been a really dominant team in the time when social media has become more a stronger presence.