Defining A "Die-Hard" Fan

[royalty414]

The term "die-hard" fan is being used way too loosely around Panther fans. Students who spend their own money and go to every drivable road game and have NO AFFILIATION with any player other than WE'RE ALL PANTHERS are the only students who can be labeled "die-hard" fans.

These are the students who go to every home game, drive 90 minutes to Loyola, drive 90 minutes to UIC, drive 3 hours to Valpo, drive 2 hours to Green Bay, drive 6 hours to Detroit just to drive 3 and a half more hours to Wright State in the same weekend, drive 9 hours to Youngstown and stay there 2 days to catch the Cleveland State game and rush back to Milwaukee on a Sunday night to make it to class in time on Monday morning, drive 5 hours to UNI, 90 minutes to Madison, 80 minutes to DePaul, pay $9 to watch them get blown out by UALR, watch practices, dig up dirt on players to get in their heads, do anything they can to help make a difference in any way that may lead to a Panthers victory.

There are 6 students who are currently enrolled at UWM who can actually say they are "die-hards." Those six do everything that was stated above. Why do they do this? Because they LOVE Panther Athletics. They BLEED black and gold. Maybe they do it for school pride. Maybe they do it because they love sports. Maybe they do it because they would give anything to be one of the players actually on the team and would play for the name on the front because they love that more than the name on the back.

There are a handful of "die-hard" alumni as well. There aren't enough, but that can be brought up in a different thread.

At the end of the day, we are all Panthers. We are all one family.

[Derek Spallone]

Excellent man! I got tons of respect for that thats pretty sick! That is a Die Hard fan right there! #Salute keep it up my man. And you will know a die hard fan when you see one, because they stick to their team even when they are losing! The good and the bad times, and thats you and those 5 others God Bless man!

[Anonymous Panther]

Driving everywhere the team goes on the road is not the only qualifier of a die-hard fan. You can still be a huge fan of any sports team no matter where you are around the world, as long as you don't give up on a team easily. In fact, let's face it, the way the Panthers are playing right now, ANY fan they have should be considered die-hard. Also, I'm tired of the fair-weather students getting bashed. I'm actually going to stick up for them at this point because it is EXTREMELY hard to be a fan of this team. You can't blame them. You have to blame the team. They're not helping themselves. Cut the students some slack. Every person that posts on this forum is a die-hard. It's why we post. We care.

[royalty414]

Driving everywhere the team goes on the road is not the only qualifier of a die-hard fan in my opinion. You can still be a huge fan of any sports team no matter where you are around the world. As long as someone doesn't give up on a team easily, it's all good. In fact, let's face it, the way the Panthers are playing right now, ANY fan they have should be considered die-hard.

I agree with the last statement. I can take it a step further to define these six (SBGC) students as well. Not only do they travel to watch the mens team play, but they also go to every home volleyball, soccer and baseball game too. It doesn't mean that there aren't other die-hard fans, but the Student Black and Gold Club leaders are the ones who are there no matter what and know that no other students are coming to games as frequently. I'm speaking solely on the students who are die-hards, not alumni and other fans. The truth is, there are 30,000+ students who don't give a damn that they're a Panther and could care less about athletics.

[royalty414]

It hurts to see students calling them out, saying that they have no right to criticize/analyze/evaluate each game, when they're the ones who are there for the team and not for just one player as is the case for so many who attend these games. These people care about one persons sole performance and get upset when they don't play, or that player is being criticized for not playing well, etc.

When you put yourself in the limelight and are playing on a Division 1 basketball team at a school that puts basketball on top of the pedestal, if you don't play up to expectations and lose games you should win with ease (no offense to UALR, Jacksonville and Rider), your heart, dedication, and individual play will be questioned. I will never expect more than what a player is capable of doing, but if you give me less than 100% on the court, that heart and dedication will be questioned. Believe it or not, fans can read body language and we can tell when your head is not in the game. Fans see players with their heads down at the end of the bench. Students watch what players do on and off the court. Students hear what athletes say. I may be pushing it a little too much with this, but, when I hear multiple players talking about how excited they are to party in Mexico before they leave Milwaukee for Arkansas, I am going to think that you're overlooking UALR, Jacksonville and Rider. I am going to believe my assumption even more when you get thrashed in three straight games. Maybe that's not fair, but these assumptions were made based off of direct statements made by players (who won't be named) and not just hearsay.

I will still be at every game and will still be doing my homework on the opponent to get in the heads of the opposition and do anything I can to help the team win. I do it because I'm a Panther. I love Milwaukee, both the city and the school. I just beg each athlete to have as much pride in wearing Milwaukee on their jersey as I do seeing that jersey when they play every game. We're all a family, but sometimes it doesn't feel or look like it.

[lutzow10]

Dude. This is awesome. I saw people on twitter giving you guys **** for what you guys were tweeting. I agree with you completely though. That is where i want to get to. I mean you all as super fans are incredible. You all put in the effort, the heart, the commitment, the drive to keep going even when times are rough, the dedication, the sacrifice. Sounds to me like the players should take notice and maybe start caring about those qualities in their own line of work. I commend you all. I honestly have been trying to get a job, mostly so i can travel to away games. You guys set the bar for fans. It makes me more exited to be a part of this panther nation. Thanks