Study says that Clippers fans are more supportive than Lakers fans
By Jason Reed
There is no question that there are more Los Angeles Lakers fans in Southern California than there are Los Angeles Clippers fans. The Lakers have built up decades upon decades of success and have been the no. 1 sports team in LA for a long time. The Clippers, meanwhile, have made it to one Western Conference Finals and it was last season.
That is the dynamic across each dealing sports teams in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Dodgers are much bigger than the Los Angeles Angels (who play in Orange County). The Los Angeles Kings are much bigger than the Anaheim Ducks (who play in Orange County). The Los Angeles Rams are bigger than the Los Angeles Chargers (whose training facility is in Orange County).
That is no surprise. However, what might be a surprise to Laker fans is the idea that Clippers fans are more supportive of their team than Lakers fans are of theirs.
A study conducted by WSN sought out the answer to which sports fans are the biggest fair-weather sports fans and which fans are the most supportive. Lakers fans are not going to like the findings.
The study shows that Los Angeles Clippers fans are more supportive than Los Angeles Lakers fans.
There are two ways to go about this: the percentage of positive comments by a fanbase after a certain outcome and the percentage of negative comments by a fanbase after a certain outcome.
According to the study, 47% of the comments after a Clippers’ win are positive, while only 41% are positive for the purple and gold. Interestingly enough, Clippers fans are 52% positive after a loss (looking at the glass-half-full) while Lakers fans are 42% positive after a loss.
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Perhaps this boils down to the idea that Lakers fans expect more because of the history of the franchise. However, it is interesting that there is still an increase in positive comments after a loss than there is a win. Regardless, the Clippers have a higher percentage in both and it is not that close.
Meanwhile, 15% of comments are negative about the Lakers following a win while 28% are negative after a loss. Clippers fans are 15% negative after a win and only 22% negative after a loss.
Not only are Clippers fans more consistently positive, but they are not as negative as Lakers fans are, according to the study. The most interesting part is how many fans are neutral. It appears that most fans keep a level head when the purple or gold win or lose, while Clippers fans are more likely to jump to the positive extreme.
Do we think the Clippers have better fans than the Lakers Nation? Absolutely not, there is just more accountability on this side of the aisle while Clippers fans are used to making excuses for their team’s success and trying to spin everything as positive.
But hey, according to this study, we are incorrect.