A fair-weather fan is someone who only shows up to support when the team is doing well. 

In 2014, the Royals were two runs away from a World Series championship, and that caught a lot of people’s attention. The next season, they came back with a message, calling it “unfinished business” and finished the 2015 season as World Series Champions. With the first world championship win in 30 years came quite a few bandwagon fans. 

After a big title win, it is expected that game attendance as well as ticket prices go up for the following season. The problem is, the bandwagon fans were buying up all of the tickets and making it difficult for lifelong Royals fans to attend games. 

According to statista.com, in 2013 the average ticket price for a Royals game was $19.83 and has gone up to $26.88 in 2016. While it is only a $7 increase, factoring in the cost of parking ($12) and food, it is expensive for a family to take a trip to the ballpark and experience America’s favorite pastime. 

In June of this year, the Royals hit their first big losing streak since winning the World Series. With this decrease in wins, the fair-weather Royals fans were exposed. After causing our ticket prices to go up and making it nearly impossible to go to the home opener, they lost interest as soon as the season started to get bad, while the lifelong fans continued to support the team. 

Then, in August, they came back with a hot streak, winning nine consecutive games, which was good for the team but not so great for the fans. All of the fair-weather fans were back and ready to claim their support, buying up ticket, and taking seats just to say they were there. 

As a true baseball fan, it is frustrating to see people at games missing exciting moments because they’re taking selfies and leaving when games get rough. They buy up tickets and take seats, forcing the true fans to stay at home, while the fake fans miss the most exciting part of baseball. The game. 

People who claim to be Royals fans should support the team no matter how the season is going. There should never be a question of support for your team if you’re a true fan.