There’s no entry test you have to pass if you’re going to become a sports fan. If you want to get involved, then all you need to do is show some enthusiasm, and you’ll be welcomed into the fold. However, it is true that there are different levels of sports fandom. While you can technically say that you’re a sports fan no matter how much you know, if you’re going to be treated as the real deal by other fans, then you’ll need to know your stuff. Plus, this will just make following your chosen sport or sports all the more enjoyable! 

In this blog, we’re going to take a look at just a handful of things that every self-respecting sports fan will want to know.

Their History

There’s a lot to know about sports. You’ll need to know who’s on the current roster, which teams are big, and so forth. But you should also know your history. In many ways, the culture of sports is the history — it’s there where traditions were formed that were passed down from one generation to the next. You don’t have to know the ins and outs of, say, the 1973 Yankees team, but it’s a good idea to have a passing familiarity with the biggest sporting moments and players from history.

Who Plays Where

There’s much more to a team than just how they perform on match day. All clubs have an identity. And right at the heart of that identity is their home ground; this is the place that’s seen their famous successes and failures over the years. They are closely tied to one another. Indeed, you can learn a lot about a team just by looking at their home ground! All sports fans should have an understanding of where the biggest teams play.

What Counts as Good Play

Sports is all about opinions, or that’s what they say. While everyone should voice their unique take on things, there are some things that are universally agreed to be good or bad. If you want to pass as a knowledgeable sports fan, then you’ll need to know what counts as a good play. This is something that you can only learn over time. If you want enough sporting matches, you’ll begin to have a feeling of what counts as good, what is bad, which players are making the difference, and so on. There really isn’t any fast-route for this one — you’ve just got to watch!

The Biggest Events

Sports can be fun in any capacity. Even if you’re watching a minor league baseball game, it can still be fun! But of course, it’s the big events that stand out in the memory. The trophy deciding games are the matches where legends are made, and where long-term memories are formed. While in some sports, what counts as a big trophy is obvious, in other sports, you’ll need to do a little bit of work. Everyone knows the Super Bowl is the biggest football trophy, but what about soccer — is the English Premier League trophy better than La Liga? Is the Europa League bigger than the Champions League? Understanding these differences will help you to appreciate the sport on a deeper level. 

The Rules Of the Game

Some sports can look straightforward when you first look at them, but the longer you watch, the more you’ll realize that, oh, this sport is more complicated than you thought. If you’re going to appreciate any sport to the max, you’ll need to have an understanding of the rules that dictate the play. These can change over time, too, so it’s best to keep updated. As well as knowing the rules of the game, you’ll want to know how to understand other aspects of the sport, too. If you understand things like Kentucky Derby betting picks, how the transfer of players to a new club works, and how the draft works, then you’ll be able to dive into the culture of your sport much more easily. Though understanding all the different facets of a sport can seem daunting, it’s really not — it just requires a little bit of effort. 

Memorabilia Counts

It really does. There’s nothing cooler than having a baseball you caught at a game, or commemorating a famous win for your team by hanging a pennant in your home.

The Importance of Rivalry

Outsiders don’t get what the big deal is about sporting rivalries. Insiders know exactly what the big deal is. One of the things that catch the attention of sports fans is when newcomers do things that are positively against the sporting code. For example, if they found nothing wrong with a Yankees fan suddenly becoming a fan of the Red Sox. Every baseball fan knows that that’s just not cool in the slightest. You don’t have to have a deep understanding of a rivalry in the beginning, or even feel it yourself — but you do have to respect it. After you’ve followed the sport for some time, you’ll understand it on a deep level. 

Their Own Opinion

There’s a lot of opinions in sports. However, it does sometimes feel like there are people who are just repeating what they’ve heard in the newspapers or whatever. While those opinions will work just fine when you’re talking to non-sports fans, die-hard sports fans can always tell when someone hasn’t really thought things through on their own. So if you’re going to become a bona fide sports fan, then you’ll need to learn the art of critical thinking and form your own opinions. You’ll have people who disagree with you of course, but that’s the name of the game. They’ll at least respect that you’ve thought for yourself.