The Bandwagon Effect

Ever since the Browns came back 10 years ago, I have been a member of the Southern California Brownsbackers Club. Every Sunday morning during football season you can find me at my local Brownsbackers bar, religiously. There is a small, faithful group of us who have shown up every week, win or lose. We look forward to seeing each other, having a few beers, and watching the Browns play. We have our seats--we're a superstitious lot, so when we win, we wear the same shirt and sit in the same seat every week. If someone doesn't show up, and we win, they can't come back the next week as we won't take a chance and upset the balance of the universe. We understand that our actions out here directly affect what happens on a field 3000 miles away, and we accept that responsibility. The Browns beat the Saints and the Patriots the last two games, and every freakin' bandwagoner showed up at OUR bar today! I don't like it. None of us did. People we've never seen before crowded into our seats. I think we lost because two of the guys were not in their regular seats! Bad karma. To make matters worse, the really loud annoying guy who stands up on every play and desperately needs some kind of medication was there. We thought he'd been permanently eighty-sixed last season. After a full period of overtime, and a lucky touchdown as time ran out, most of us had the same thought: hopefully the bandwagoners will jump off and we can get our bar back next week. Go Browns!!