PDA

View Full Version : Former Bengals fan joins Steeler Nation



SteelerSal
05-25-2011, 02:02 PM
Former Bengals fan joins Steeler Nation
May, 25, 2011 By James Walker

Earlier this year Brett Kostoff, a Cincinnati native and longtime Bengals fan, contacted the AFC North blog and said he was so fed up with the team's losing that he is auctioning off his fandom on eBay.

This week we caught up with Kostoff to get an update on which team he's supporting this season and how that transition is going. Here was his response: read more... (http://espn.go.com/blog/afcnorth/post/_/id/28012/former-bengals-fan-joins-steeler-nation)

fansince'76
05-25-2011, 02:08 PM
http://freedomlifecoachingcompany.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/bandwagon-2.jpg

:chuckle:

SMR
05-25-2011, 04:37 PM
A wise choice Brett!!

stillers4me
05-25-2011, 04:40 PM
Honestly, he seems sincere about following the Steelers. He's not the only Bengals fan I've talked to that's totally fed up with the Bengals. It's one thing to keep following your team when they are having a few down years. It's another to follow a team owned by an idiot that doesn't care about anything but lining his own pockets and consistantly underachieves for decades.

Welcome to Steelers Nation, Brett!

pepsyman1
05-25-2011, 05:41 PM
As I heard said many time....STEELERS NATION, taking over a stadium near you! Welcome aboard!

SteelerEmpire
05-25-2011, 06:47 PM
Got em ! ...lol.

JayC
05-25-2011, 06:51 PM
the true test will be the next time we have like a 6-10 season then i would like to read an article about the guy maybe

steelerdude15
05-25-2011, 06:59 PM
Honestly, he seems sincere about following the Steelers. He's not the only Bengals fan I've talked to that's totally fed up with the Bengals. It's one thing to keep following your team when they are having a few down years. It's another to follow a team owned by an idiot that doesn't care about anything but lining his own pockets and consistantly underachieves for decades.

Welcome to Steelers Nation, Brett!

Sounds like Robert Nutting of the Pirates. :chuckle:

steelerdude15
05-25-2011, 07:01 PM
Honestly, he seems sincere about following the Steelers. He's not the only Bengals fan I've talked to that's totally fed up with the Bengals. It's one thing to keep following your team when they are having a few down years. It's another to follow a team owned by an idiot that doesn't care about anything but lining his own pockets and consistantly underachieves for decades.

Welcome to Steelers Nation, Brett!

Sounds like Robert Nutting of the Pirates. :chuckle:

steelreserve
05-25-2011, 11:32 PM
the true test will be the next time we have like a 6-10 season then i would like to read an article about the guy maybe

Shouldn't be too much to worry about, I think. We've done that, like ... 4 times in the past 40 years. I think we've only had back-to-back losing seasons twice since the 1960s. Whereas you can pretty much reverse that for the Bengals; they haven't had back-to-back WINNING seasons for 30 years, even longer if you don't count the strike year. And I think they've only done it twice in their entire history. You can look this up if you don't believe me.

Honestly, I can't say I blame the guy for not being "into" a franchise that bleak. I mean, we always joke about how the Bengals suck, but I was quite honestly shocked to discover how awful they've been for such a long period of time. I always had memories of them being really good in the '80s (I mean, they made the Super Bowl twice), but even then it was one good year and then straight back into the crapper. Makes you appreciate being on the other side of that.

SteelGhost
05-26-2011, 02:25 PM
Now you will see the light Brett, LOL.

silver & black
05-26-2011, 06:16 PM
Wow... another frontrunner joins the ranks of "real" Steelers fans. Whatever. It's easy to switch allegiance to a winner.

Back your team and stay with them. That's what "real" fans do. You get no atta boy's from me... nor any respect whatsoever... loser.

BnG_Hevn
05-27-2011, 11:54 AM
What I don't understand is what the helk does "being a Pirates" fan have to do with being a Steelers fan? Is he implying that "only people from Pittsburgh are true Steeler fans"? That is hogwash.

I am from upstate NY (about an hour South of Buffalo) and I'm a Steelers fan, my older brother is a Miami fan and my eldest brother is a Browns fan. I've only ever rooted for the Steelers and they for their team. Does that make us "not true fans"? That whole statement is idiotic.

I get the whole bandwagoner thing but you need to be specific or come up with a formula before you start critiquing people's "fandom".

To truly measure a bandwagoner, you have to take into account said person's age, when they started following football and how many years they been a fan of their team.

If someone is in their 30s, been following football for 20 years and been a fan for 3 years, chances are they are a bandwagoner.

On the other hand, if a person is in their 40s, been following football for 30 years and been a fan of one team for 30 years, they are not a bandwagoner.

You also need to consider where they come from if they come from a different team. Steeler fans always say "they could never root for a team like the Bengals", well what "IF" the Rooney's were forced to sell for whatever reason and a "Mike Brown" type bought the franchise, would you switch allegiance?

I think people get too wrapped up in the whole bandwagoner thing, who the helk cares anyway? Does a person becoming / not becoming a fan of a team really have ANY affect on your life? Well, it might make getting tickets more difficult, but outside of that??

silver & black
05-27-2011, 12:13 PM
If that was directed at me... it's simple. The guy was a Bengals fan. The Bengals suck. Now, he decided to be a Steelers fan. F**k that!

I never said anyone had to be from any specific region to be a fan of a certain team. I'm a perfect example of a guy that is a fan of a team from 3,000 miles away. I grew up and still live in Browns country. I have never liked the Browns. I have been a Raiders fan since I was 8 years old. I'm real close to 52, now. What I mean by "real" fan/s is... someone who backs his team through good and bad times. "Real" fans don't kick their team to the curb and root for the obvious winners just because they are tired of losing. That's just pathetic.

I live in an area full of Steelers "fans" that claim to have been Steelers fans their whole lives. Funny how none of them can tell me a damn thing about the team other than "the Steelers kick ass!"

I suppose living with the frontrunning, know nothing about "their" team, Steelers "fans" kinda makes me a little unsympathetic toward "fans" changing allegiance to another team.

steeldevil
05-27-2011, 12:16 PM
What I don't understand is what the helk does "being a Pirates" fan have to do with being a Steelers fan? Is he implying that "only people from Pittsburgh are true Steeler fans"? That is hogwash.

I am from upstate NY (about an hour South of Buffalo) and I'm a Steelers fan, my older brother is a Miami fan and my eldest brother is a Browns fan. I've only ever rooted for the Steelers and they for their team. Does that make us "not true fans"? That whole statement is idiotic.

I get the whole bandwagoner thing but you need to be specific or come up with a formula before you start critiquing people's "fandom".

To truly measure a bandwagoner, you have to take into account said person's age, when they started following football and how many years they been a fan of their team.

If someone is in their 30s, been following football for 20 years and been a fan for 3 years, chances are they are a bandwagoner.

On the other hand, if a person is in their 40s, been following football for 30 years and been a fan of one team for 30 years, they are not a bandwagoner.

You also need to consider where they come from if they come from a different team. Steeler fans always say "they could never root for a team like the Bengals", well what "IF" the Rooney's were forced to sell for whatever reason and a "Mike Brown" type bought the franchise, would you switch allegiance?

I think people get too wrapped up in the whole bandwagoner thing, who the helk cares anyway? Does a person becoming / not becoming a fan of a team really have ANY affect on your life? Well, it might make getting tickets more difficult, but outside of that??

Exactly. Sometimes I meet a Steelers fan here in NC and they are like "Are you from PA?" and I say "No, I'm from NC" and they give me a weird look. And I just wanna be like "fuck you"... I hate it when people judge my fandom.... Because I can about guarantee I know more about the Steelers and are a bigger fan than almost all of those people. And if those kind of people really give me a hard time about it I tell them the story of how my dad became a Steelers fan when he watched the Immaculate Reception happen on tv as a 12 year old. We didn't have a team here in NC and my dad didn't want to be a Redskins fan like everyone else so when he saw the IR happen he took it as a sign that the Steelers were the team he wanted to follow. And he has stuck with them ever since. Not a bandwagoner. And when I started to like football around the same age,13, he just asked me to watch the Steelers games with him and I have been a fan since and won't be stopping any time soon.

And anytime someone tells me that the Steelers have the most bandwagon fans I tell them "no we don't, the Cowboys do". But really who cares. It does not affect me in any way.

Iron Steeler
05-27-2011, 07:04 PM
I'm from NJ. I have rooted for the Steelers since I was 6 years old. I am 24 now. Am I true fan?

silver & black
05-27-2011, 07:41 PM
Apparently, my posts aren't clear enough. Oh well, take them how you wish.

X-Terminator
05-27-2011, 08:49 PM
The Cowboys may have the most bandwagon fans, but the Cheats* are right up there. Take Marsha off that team, and watch how quickly the bandwagon empties.

And I have to take up for s & b here. He's not saying you have to be from Pittsburgh or PA to be a Steelers fan, nor is he questioning anyone who lives in another state or country's fandom. How can he, when he clearly states that he was born and raised in NE Ohio and never liked the Browns? However, that doesn't mean the Steelers don't have a TON of bandwagon fans who are only fans because they are winners, and THAT is what he is criticizing. I happen to agree. This particular "former" Bengals fan is just another in a long line of them, and as soon as the Steelers have a down year or 2, he'll move on to the next front-running team. Bleh. We don't need fans like that.

stillers4me
05-27-2011, 08:57 PM
It's not like the guy is giving up on the Bengals because they've had a couple of down years.

It's ok Brett, you can wave your new Terrible Towel beside me any day. If someone sees what we see in the Steelers and wants to follow them, it's ok by me. As a matter of fact, if the whole damn city of Cincinnati wants to become card carrying Steelers fans, I'm all for it! :chuckle:

steelreserve
05-27-2011, 09:23 PM
If that was directed at me... it's simple. The guy was a Bengals fan. The Bengals suck. Now, he decided to be a Steelers fan. F**k that!

I never said anyone had to be from any specific region to be a fan of a certain team. I'm a perfect example of a guy that is a fan of a team from 3,000 miles away. I grew up and still live in Browns country. I have never liked the Browns. I have been a Raiders fan since I was 8 years old. I'm real close to 52, now. What I mean by "real" fan/s is... someone who backs his team through good and bad times. "Real" fans don't kick their team to the curb and root for the obvious winners just because they are tired of losing. That's just pathetic.

I live in an area full of Steelers "fans" that claim to have been Steelers fans their whole lives. Funny how none of them can tell me a damn thing about the team other than "the Steelers kick ass!"

I suppose living with the frontrunning, know nothing about "their" team, Steelers "fans" kinda makes me a little unsympathetic toward "fans" changing allegiance to another team.

If THAT'S what the guy is really doing, I don't think anyone has much respect for him. That's nothing but lame-ass bandwagon jumping.

If, on the other hand, he said, "You know what, I've been rooting for this team for a long time and I finally figured out it just sucks and it's not fun ... I guess I'm not really a fan of them," well, that's another story. I mean, you make a long-term bad decision, not everyone has fun sticking with that. In this case, since he didn't choose the Steelers on his own, but just had it picked for him randomly as a result of "anyone but the Bengals," I'm willing to believe that he's not just bandwagon jumping and there was something a little better than that at work.

Lot more of the former around than the latter, though, I'll give you that.

pepsyman1
05-27-2011, 11:00 PM
Silver & Black... I understand where you are coming from. I'm 45 and I've been a Steelers fan since the first time I saw Terry Bradshaw throw a 65 yard incomplete pass when I was about 8. But you and I have been able to enjoy successes with our teams. If this guys has been a Bengals fan his whole life and dealt with rooting for a team that had just a few years of mild success almost two decades ago and see that the future is looking to be even worse, I can't hold it against him if he says.."I've given everything I've got to rooting for this team for the past 2-3 decades, they have no commitment to winning, are poorly run and have no apparent future...I've got to move on" At what point does a team, or a business of any type of that matter lose your loyalty as a customer? How poorly do they have to treat you before you simply say no more...this is just pain. Who would want to be a fan if the only thing you EVER get is pain? And as for being a bandwagon fan, he didn't choose the Steelers....he let the auction choose his team. Seems like a fair idea if you've made the decision that you have to change.