The wait is almost over Giants fans. The 2010 training camp begins tomorrow in Albany. This is a very exciting time to be a football fan because you get to actually see what the players look like on the field. All of the number crunching and debates are over, it is now time for these guys to perform.
Training camp is extremely fan friendly and open free to the public. Do not bring camcorders (according to Pat Hanlon) but still photo cameras are fine. Be ready to pay $5 bucks to park your car or $15 for the full day parking during two a day practices. You can check out Giants.com (link in my blogroll to the right) for the full schedule and directions. They also sell team merchandise at the field but I would bring your own water and snacks.
I am going to take a look at three types of fans. I chose the number three because I could micro manage the personalities into dozens of categories but people have things to do on the weekends (including me) so I will make this brief. Here are three types of fans you may encounter in Albany.
There are cooks who cook to eat and then there are cooks who consider making a meal an art form. The same goes for the fans of the game. Some fans want to watch football on Sunday and root for their team to win and that’s it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with these types of fans and I’m sure they make up a huge part of the television viewership that the front office is now accustomed to. This could be the guy you see on his cell phone at the stadium, watching a game his friend brought him to.
Then there are other types of fans who dig a little deeper into the team. They watch the sports shows and check out the sports sites. They go to a game when they can and watch their favorite team on TV every Sunday. These fans make up the largest portion of the fan pie or flow chart. These fans are the backbone of the organization and the ones who will not hesitate to purchase a team jersey or other merchandise.
Next you have the serious fan who we will call Type A. These are the ones wearing the authentic football jersey and cooking on a grill while tailgating at the stadium. Season tickets in hand and hanging out with other Type A fans. You will see both fan types above peppered into the group but the Type A fan does the planning and arrangements. These are the fans that have worked their favorite football team into the daily routine. They check the sites regularly, even multiple time per day and watch the shows, knowing what time they come on. They are the writers and bloggers and fans who attend training camp and preseason games. These are the 15,000 people who will show up to events outside of the game for the team such as a draft day party of charitable event. They are simply known as the die hard fan.
My point is that you will see all of these types of fans at training camp this year. The thing to remember is, we are all Giants fans and that is the one bond every Giants fan shares. I recommend going to a training camp at least once in your life for the experience and checking it off your life list for the true blue fan.
RD – nygreporter.com
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