I haven’t seriously watched baseball since 2007. Being a New York Mets fan left me with an obvious feeling of inferiority living in the New York City area, as everyone and their mother rooted for the Yankees. Heck, even later in 2009 I found myself cheering on the Yanks in their quest to win the World Series. Being a Mets fan just brought upon struggles that really didn’t seem worth it to be a dedicated fan. 2007 of course was the nail in the coffin, when Tom Glavine didn’t come through and the Mets completed an epic collapse to miss the playoffs. That killed it for me. At the time all my teams were either struggling or irrelevant, and it felt like the Mets were all I had left (Knicks were terrible, Jets were whatever, I lost interest in the NHL and Chris Benoit nearly destroyed wrestling).

So I detached myself from the Mets. Sure I was still annoyed about yet another late season collapse to miss the playoffs, but I didn’t care as much as I used to. The whole Wilpon-Madoff scandal flew right by me, and it was nice not to care. The only thing that peaked my interest and had me still following the Mets from a distance was Matt Harvey. But the Mets, and baseball as a whole (yeah, the whole steroid-era deal disgusts me even today, as I built my fandom then) just wasn’t worth the trouble.

So…is it time to bandwagon the Mets? The 2015 Mets were expected to be terrible…and have shot out to a 13-3 record and an 11 game winning streak. A similar situation came up in 2012 for me, as I had lost most of my interest in the NHL in the late 2000s. In 2012 though, the Devils made a run and went all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. I decided it was okay to bandwagon them for a few reasons. First, my favorite player, Martin Brodeur was still the starting goalie. Second, I did get a little into hockey over the few years prior thanks to Sidney Crosby, and did attend a Devils game earlier in 2012 before they even looked like a Stanley Cup contender. Lastly, there were several instances where I really saw just how many bandwagon fans there are for teams.

I always thought that the Yankees and Lakers (and Celtics) just had a strong fanbase for decades. In about 2011 I realized most Yankee fans from my era were full of it when the Yankees finally had to rebuild. Most of those Yankee fans disappeared because the Yankees stopped winning. It’s the same deal with the Lakers…now that Kobe’s done and they are terrible, fans have left in droves or even converted to the Clippers (including you Jack!). Ditto for the Celtics, I don’t think I’ve seen a piece of Celtic apparel all year. This works the opposite way too. I once met a Clipper fan who I said he was a Clipper fan since he was a kid, but didn’t know who Elton Brand was. The Brooklyn Nets suddenly became the cool team when they moved, but all I know is no one was sitting with me in Newark when I attended Nets games, and once it was realized that Deron Williams is one of the most overrated players in recent NBA history and the team as a whole wasn’t anything special, fans again left in droves. Don’t get me started on the Miami Heat either. Going into other sports, football always has a legion of bandwagoners, especially when it comes to the New York Giants. The list goes on and on.

My favorite bandwagon story actually involved me being called a bandwagoner. The one team I’ve always stuck by has been the New York Knicks, and it hasn’t been a pretty century. I was (am) a pretty big opponent of the Carmelo Anthony trade. In 2012 the Knicks were floundering with Melo. But when Linsanity saved the Knicks that season, everything changed. I made sure I had a Lin jersey and everything. One early Sunday, after Linsanity had cooled, the Knicks lost a pretty important game against the Sixers (I think). I remember walking through NYC afterwards and someone called me a bandwagon fan because of the Lin jersey. He was wearing a Melo jersey of course. And while it may not be the case, I’d be willing to bet that this particular fan didn’t go through Marbury and Francis, or Rose and Curry. I’m willing to bet he became a fan when Carmelo showed up. Ironic, isn’t it?

So I’ve made a list of rules that I consider to be the Book of Bandwagoning. Yes it’s okay to be a bandwagoner, as long as you abide by these rules.

1. You don’t pretend to know more than you do about the team. If you are bandwagoning this Mets team, don’t pretend to know about the 1986 Championship team just to fit in.
2. You don’t flip flop. If you are leaving a team you are sick of, don’t run back to them when they get good again and pretend you never left. For example, the Phoenix Suns became my 2^nd favorite team because my favorite player, Steve Nash, joined them. But if you asked me who would I want to win a hypothetical Finals between the Knicks and Suns at that time, I’d pick the Knicks. If your answer there is the Suns, then you’ve officially given up your Knicks fandom.
3. You can become a real fan if you stick with the lows. For example, if you are still a LA Laker fan now, then you’re a real fan and not a bangwagoner anymore.
4. You don’t call out others for bangwagoning. I absolutely hated seeing Giants fans call out Eagles bandwagon fans all over Facebook over the last few years. Of course, then both of those fanbases went after Dallas. Division rivalries are great without tons of fake fans. By the way, Yankee fans did this to Red Sox fans in 2004 too.
5. You admit you are a bandwagon fan. Perhaps the most important rule. If you are a bandwagon fan, say so. Everytime I talk about the 2012 Devils, I start with “I bandwagoned them”. Because I did. And I enjoyed it. And it was fun. And I can’t even name a Devil right now.

There are some exceptions to whether or not you are a bandwagon fan. It’s perfectly fine to become a fan of a team if you are a fan of a particular player (like Peyton Manning and Chris Paul fans…or nearly like me and Nash) as long as you explain it.

In conclusion, I’m not bandwagoning the Mets yet. It’s too early. But if they are in the mix come September, don’t be surprised to see me with a Mets cap on once again.