Portrait of a Superfan

There has been much made on Georgia Tech websites such as The Hive about the nature and quality of our fans. Some people say our fans are too whiny, they aren't loud enough, they don't wear enough gold, or they just don't plain show up. Well my friends, I have in my Georgia Tech experience come across several people who have devoted their lives to Georgia Tech athletics. They are called Superfans.

Some of you may be asking yourself, "what is a superfan?" Well, for the next couple of days, this column will point out several of the key characteristics of the superfan so that you may recognize them when you cross paths and furthermore thank/congratulate them for their loyalty and spirit.

Portrait of a Superfan, Part 1

• Dress: This is normally the easiest way to spot a Superfan. Superfans always stress the importance of gold or yellow in one's gameday attire, even though it is the hardest color to match with anything. White is too neutral and too many teams use it. Navy blue is a good accent color but it tends to take over an outfit. "It is not one of our colors", they will say. This brings up a good point and another good technique for spotting superfans, their habit of critiquing the way people dressed for the game. Their comments normally revolve around the wear of jeans or jean shorts and/or the absence of yellow from another fan's gameday getup. They are normally dressed in business casual for games, however, certain games might warrant the addition of needless accessories, such as a bow tie, suspenders, or seersucker pants. Superfans will always stick with an outfit regardless of the environmental conditions of the game: wearing a three piece yellow suit in 90 degree weather, no problem. Since he already bleeds gold, the superfan assumes that he also sweats white and/or gold as well. Also note that in the world of the superfan, traditional rules of when it is acceptable to wear different types of clothing do not apply. Yellow seersucker suit to a game in early November? No faux pas there for the superfan. One final and crucial piece of the superfan's attire is that his outfit must have the stains or still be wet from spilling some type of beer or whiskey on himself while tailgating. Pouring alcohol on himself to demand respect from fans of the opposing team is also fairly commonplace.

I hope this was fairly helpful. Some of you may already know several Georgia Tech Superfans based on this description. Please join us tomorrow when we will look at a new and exciting characteristic of the Superfan.

-yb