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Enough with Football Fan Victimhood

A plea to stop being petty about every perceived slight.

Seth Sommerfeld
Author: Seth Sommerfeld
Less than 1 min.read
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Late last season, Russell Wilson tossed 19 TDs and zero interceptions over five games. So when Cleveland Browns coach Mike Pettine said he wasn’t an “elite” QB, Hawks fans shouldn’t have cared. But they raged—against a soon-to-be fired coach of a terrible team.

When did sports fandom get so hostile toward criticism? Especially with football, it seems if any pundit says one less-than-glowing word about a fan’s team, they’re obviously an idiot.  

This victim mentality has a greater hold on fans of the best teams. Since winning it all, Seahawks fans have bemoaned the media treatment of Marshawn Lynch, demonized Cam Newton (for tamer behavior than Lynch’s), and flipped out over Pettine’s remarks. Even Patriots fans talk more about Deflategate than their Super Bowl XLIX win.

Here’s an idea: Tune out the noise and just cheer for your squad. It’s fun—like sports are supposed to be.

Published in the Coffee: The New Guide to a Seattle Obsession issue of Seattle Met.




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Seth Sommerfeld
Seth Sommerfeld
Assistant Editor (Arts) Seth Sommerfeld runs the arts department at Seattle Met, crafting the magazine's On the Town section, editing the Culture Fiend blog, and contributing to reader service features such as “The Ultimate Seahawks Guide” and the front-of-the-book department, Mudroom. Seth has written about music and culture for Rolling Stone, Spin, Pacific Northwest Inlander, Charleston Post and Courier, Syracuse Post-Standard, and Billings Gazette. He also extensively covered the NBA Draft for years for Fox Sports and NBADraft.net, and was published as part of Myth, Media, and Culture in Star Wars: An Anthology. Originally from Billings, Montana, Seth first lived in Washington while earning an undergraduate degree in journalism and broadcasting at Gonzaga University. He followed up those studies at Syracuse University, where he earned a master’s degree in arts journalism.