When I was a child people used to pick a sporting team to support and they stuck with that team through thick and thin. Why? It's simple; it is your team.

You stuck with your team during the lean times and you celebrated the victories in the good times. Suffering through the bad times makes the victories even sweeter. It is, I believe, the fundamental principle of being a fan.

These days some people only want to be around during the good times so they only support the teams that are winning at the moment. These are the people reffered to as bandwagonists. These days the 'wagonists' are everywhere. It is why this year I wanted so badly for the Miami Heat to lose in the NBA finals to the San Antonio Spurs.

so-called fans

It seemed to me that all of a sudden a whole lot of people were Heat fans, and to tell you the truth, it annoyed me, especially when you consider the fact that many of the Heat's so-called fans never even realised that their team was not as good as they believed.

Anyone watching with an objective eye could see that from last year, the Spurs were better. The Spurs knew it too and proved it this season. It was glaring on the final night of the NBA championships how silent the Heat 'fans' were.

I imagine a number of them will be jumping ship and travelling over to San Antonio next season.

Those who are still clinging will hope that the air-conditioning units in the NBA are all in working order next year.

There is a similar scenario going on in the World Cup with ousted champions Spain. From as early as last year, we saw Spain on the decline. During the Confederations Cup, Brazil made Spain, the two-time European champions and World champion, look ordinary.

However, the wagonists somehow failed to see that the world had now been exposed to how to unlock Tiki-Taka football and that Spain was now vulnerable. One thing that fans realise, true fans, and that's when their team is struggling or about to struggle.

too busy celebrating

Take my favourite basketball team, the Los Angeles Lakers, for example. I saw they were going to be horrible this season from the moment David Stern vetoed that traded for Chris Paul two seasons ago. The state of the team was compounded by Kobe Bryant's injury but they were going to be bad nonetheless. Wagonists don't see these things because all they see is the facade. They are way too busy celebrating wins to notice the details.

So when Spain was bounced by Chile this week, sending them home, those who, like me, were tired of the wagonists celebrated with an avalanche of jokes on social media. I'll share some of the best ones with you.

"Spain are blaming their loss this evening on the weather. Apparently it was too Chile."

"Spain was looking hot in 2010 now they're looking Chile."

"Spain's chances in the World Cup ended quicker than Kim Kardashian's marriage."

"Recipe for the day: Take Spain, add Chile. Beat for 90 minutes."

"In the 16th Century, Spain colonised Chile. Now Chile has colonised Spain."

And "The Spain campaign stayed mainly on the plane."

Enjoy the rest of the World Cup folks. It's been a fun ride so far.

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