# Fan using the term "us" annoying? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 6, 2012, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-using-the-term-us-annoying/611952 "2012-02-06T08:03:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-using-the-term-us-annoying/611952/1 "2012-02-06T08:03:50Z")
Does it bother you when sports fans use the term “us” or “we” when talking about teams they follow? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-using-the-term-us-annoying/611952/2 "2012-02-06T10:02:52Z")
Nah. It’s a part of fandom. I do it sometimes, usually as a convenience rather than typing out the team name or some derivative thereof all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Busy\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-using-the-term-us-annoying/611952/3 "2012-02-06T10:03:19Z")
Yes, very much so if they are tellyclappers. No, not at all if they are real fans. Who is a real fan and who is a tellyclapper is a qualitative judgement made by me. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-using-the-term-us-annoying/611952/4 "2012-02-06T12:23:28Z")
Yes, but then lots of things annoy me. I’m easily annoyed. I also voted “even though I’m guilty of doing it”, because I think I have, on occasion, referred to the England national soccer team as “us”. Does that count? ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-using-the-term-us-annoying/611952/5 "2012-02-06T12:37:33Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > I do it sometimes, usually as a convenience rather than typing out the team name or some derivative thereof all the time. That’s what the pronoun “they” is for. ---
**Author:** ![polar\_bear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@polar\_bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/polar_bear)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-using-the-term-us-annoying/611952/6 "2012-02-06T12:43:12Z")
I voted the last option, but i’d like to explain that. As long as there is a small number of teams (2/3 tops) then it’s ok, and it is probably a fair reflection of how you feel. For me, there is exactly one football team(association) that I consider myself ‘part of’ and of course the national football team. Save to say that _we_ lost the 2010 World Cup final, and _we_ (as in half the country) still cringe when someone mentions july 11th…or the name Iniesta. We might get over it if we win euro 2012…maybe. ---
**Author:** ![polar\_bear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@polar\_bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/polar_bear)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-using-the-term-us-annoying/611952/7 "2012-02-06T12:46:50Z")
> [@srzss05](#): > > That’s what the pronoun “they” is for. This either demonstrates the difference between sports in Europe and the US (for fans), or that you don’t get what sports is all about\*. \*My opinion, yadayada, I’m sure there are some sociopaths that just _love the game_; but I wouldn’t dare turning my back to that lot. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-using-the-term-us-annoying/611952/8 "2012-02-06T13:46:09Z")
I think it’s kind of funny, actually, when overweight, out-of-shape guys rave about what “we” did (or rant about what “we” didn’t do) after an intense athletic contest that they watched sitting in front of a TV drinking beer and eating guacamole. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-using-the-term-us-annoying/611952/9 "2012-02-06T16:24:47Z")
As ever, [Mitchell and Webb](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN1WN0YMWZU) have their finger on the rising pulse of the common man. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-using-the-term-us-annoying/611952/10 "2012-02-06T17:14:23Z")
In football, the fans are the 12th man. In any professional sport, the fans are the entire reason the games are even being played. I have no problem with fans saying “we” in reference to their teams. Otherwise, where do you draw a line on who can say “we?” The 3rd stringer with his butt firmly planted on the bench? Can he say “we” even if he doesn’t contribute during the game? The water boy? Stadium security? ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-using-the-term-us-annoying/611952/11 "2012-02-06T18:04:14Z")
I don’t follow any sports with any regularity at all, but if I went to a game where my hometown’s team was playing, I wouldn’t have any problem saying “we won/lost on Saturday” (probably “lost”). ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-using-the-term-us-annoying/611952/12 "2012-02-06T18:05:14Z")
There’s no if there’s no fans. I am guilty of using “they” when the team does something stupid, and “we” when they do something good. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-using-the-term-us-annoying/611952/13 "2012-02-08T20:02:39Z")
Damn…I said “Yes, even though I’m guilty of doing it”, when I meant “No, even though I’m guilty of doing it”. And gtf over yourself if you have an issue with it. “OH! Are _yoooooou_ part of the TEAM?? Hmmmm???” is one of my most reliable douchebag detectors. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-using-the-term-us-annoying/611952/14 "2012-02-08T20:08:53Z")
Irrationally, I find it annoying when other people do it, but I probably do it too sometimes. I think I’m more likely to use it when talking about the future of the team…“we need to get a top-2 centre” or “we need a good draft pick”, but not so much in the context of the team’s present success or failures. In the former case, it feels more legit because it reflects a fan’s view of what they think the team should be. And sometimes it’s just fun to gloat/cheer with a good old “we won!!!” because that feeling of joy is what sports are kind of about! ---
**Author:** ![Jules\_Andre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jules_andre/32/9334_2.png) [@Jules\_Andre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jules_Andre)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-using-the-term-us-annoying/611952/15 "2012-02-09T01:36:16Z")
If you’re a fan and you support the team - buy jerseys, tickets, etc. - you’re a part of the team. You provide financial support that (generally) helps the organization build the team on the field. Even if it’s just money that gives the ownership enough to build a new stadium or new facilities, that helps lure players to the team. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-using-the-term-us-annoying/611952/16 "2012-02-09T01:55:42Z")
Personally I avoid it, but I’m not a rabid fan of any sporting team. That said, I will sometimes slip into it if an Australian representative side is playing another country’s representative side. For example, I will sometimes say something like, “we need to be Sri Lanka in Saturday’s [cricket one-day] match to stay on top of the ladder.” The analogy is with war - we choose our best to fight/play against another country’s best. Given that the alternative is to say “Australia” or “the Australians” when referring to our representative side, there’s not really much difference. Teams based on other geographical bases are a bit more questionable, particularly if a city has more than one team in a competition. Once it gets down to a suburb level then IMHO using “us” is a bit silly. I think the only example that actually annoys me is someone at work who is a rabid fan of the English football (soccer) team Leeds United. He’s lived almost all of his life in Australia, and I’m almost certain has never lived in Leeds. Don’t know whether he has even visited there. He refers to Leeds as “us” all the time, and it grates whenever I hear it. Edited to add: I didn’t vote in the poll. It sometimes annoys me, but usually not. I sometimes do it, but usually not. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2012, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-using-the-term-us-annoying/611952/17 "2012-02-10T23:08:41Z")
Maybe cause for a different poll; but where it really bugs me is when restaurant servers say “we” “How are we doing this evening?” “What are we going to have tonight?” “How will we paying for this tonight?” Arrgghh! It drives me nuts! ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2012, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-using-the-term-us-annoying/611952/18 "2012-02-10T23:14:35Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > As ever, [Mitchell and Webb](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN1WN0YMWZU) have their finger on the rising pulse of the common man. Darn, beaten to it. That may very well be my favorite Mitchell and Webb sketch. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-using-the-term-us-annoying/611952/19 "2012-02-11T03:04:35Z")
I used to do it all the time without thinking about it, but unlike in real life, here on the dope strangers are free to tell you what annoys them. After a thread or two on the subject, I consciously stopped doing it. Probably since around 2005, I’d guess. It’s been so long now that I find it annoying when other people do it, so I guess it came around full circle for me. Special exemption for national teams, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-using-the-term-us-annoying/611952/20 "2012-02-11T03:57:43Z")
Yes. Because “we” didn’t do anything. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-using-the-term-us-annoying/611952.md?page=2)