I am a devout follower of the Toronto Maple Leafs. My favourite time of the year is the NHL playoffs, I watch every single Leaf game and religiously stay abreast of all the on and off ice action. Some would call me a diehard fan, but they would be wrong. I am not a diehard fan, I am a tweener.
Dr. Saul Miller, a psychologist out of Vancouver, wrote Hockey Tough and generalizes fans into three distinct categories.
The Diehard: These people are positive no matter what happens to the team. They're the true fanatics, and they're dedicated. Little kids tend to be devoted fans who believe in their team 100 per cent.
The Tweener: These people are realistic and objective about their team. They stick with the team no matter how it's doing but they have a sense of what's really going on.
The Pessimist: These are disgruntled, disappointed fans. If the team is winning the team is the greatest. If not, they're horrible. These fans jump on and off the bandwagon quickly.
The description of "The Tweener" fits me perfectly. I don't have time for the diehards or the pessimists. Only a tweener is a true fan.
