Is there any difference between a Fan and a supporter or are the two words synonyms?

I want answers to this question as it is bothering my mind. Join in the discussion.

According to me;

A supporter is the one who supports his team in every aspects. Win/Lose, e.t.c. He follows every steps the team passes. He is loyal to his club.

A fan is the other one who mainly just don't really follow the club as the supporter, i.e he is not making any complements towards his club. He really doesn't know most of the aspects of his club, e.g finances, transfers, inside management, e.t.c

You can support any club you wish to support, that makes you a supporter of the club at that moment but a Fan knows what he stands for He is an ardent follower of his own club and his not ready to switch allegiance to another club in whatever the circumstance might be.

I haven't got the straight forward right answer but you guys can help me with some tremendous points.

Well you have the concepts kind of right. I thought a Fan was a little more radical than a supporter. As in Im a Manchester United fan but Im only a Benfica supporter...

A fan is a person who follows the every step of the club and knows more than just the basic as he follows news and stuff to be up to date with any new information about it. A fan goes to the stadium or at least watches every match until the very end.

A Supporter can be simply someone who like a club but doesn't know much about its present or past and barely watches the games but at least claims to support the certain club over other similar area clubs. The reason as to why one follows a specific team may not be as clear as to the reason why a fan becomes a fan.

It mught be the other way around but the concepts remain.

Now you both confused me :(. Both make total sense though...

But I am more on the side of: a supporter should know more than just basic stuffs regarding the club, a fan can be of anything, style, temporal player, and of course supporting toward that club. A supporter tends to remain more loyal.

I'm a big, long life Manchester United supporter, was is and will always be, ofc Im one of the biggest fan of my club.

I'm a fan of Barca's tiki taka, big fan of Messi. Not of fan of Ronaldo but one of his big rational admirer.

I was a big fan of Milan, Inter Milan (when Ronaldo was there), As Roma and any club that Beckham played for.

I'd say they were synonyms as both you you just changed the definition yet still had the same meaning. To be a fan or (fanatic) means you follow a team almost religiously or obsessively.

I would define a persone who likes a team, in example Tuan with Barca and Milan, as just a follower. Theres no real particular attachment in the team. You just follow their results more than anything.

This is just my opinion but i hope it helps a little.

I would say that a supporter does just that, they support their club, through thick and thin, no matter what happens.

A fan is the red-headed stepchild of the supporter, who shows up when it is convenient, and posts OMG MANCUSTER UTD IS THE BEST CUB IN WORLD. When they choose to pay attention, they are obsessively dedicated.

That's just my take, I would much rather be called a supporter than a fan.

I love you guys, we have 2 sides of the exact opposite opinions but still make total sense.

Lolz

"I'm your fan"

and

"I support you"

Both sound completely different in my opinion. Supporting means caring about it, worrying about it.

That's why a lot of people say "Dude, I'm a fan" when they see something or someone they like.

Oh shit lol :D as tuan said, both make sense ;-D

To me I think they are quite different. A supporter is supporting your club in all aspects including financial support which can be by buying match tickets or online membership or anything from the shop. While a fan is one who just likes the club and watch them every now and then. You can't call yourself a supporter of you have never helped the club financially in anyway.

But when you actually go and buy a jersey of the team, you can then theoretically call yourself supporter? Since you have supported them with buying they jersey..

Some supporters (Im talking about what Alex refers to - for argument sake) CAN NOT support them financially due to various reasons (poor as hell, or too far geographically etc...). Does that mean they are just a fan? No.

^TOTALLY spot on.

@ Tuan
Yes, they are fans and there is nothing wrong with that.

@ Quikzyy I said "Supporting the club in all aspects including financial support"

I'm not saying "Fan" as in something plastic or bad. All I'm saying is that the meaning of the word "support" says it all.

Well, I think you can support the club even without financial support. :)

I'm suprised to see that a lot of people in here are of the opinion that the term supporter has a more "extreme" meaning than the word fan. For me, a fan (as in fanatic) is someone who follows a club in an - let's say - obsessive way, meaning that he reads all news about it, knows the history, watches (or attends) all the games (even on shitty livestream broadcasts), buys merchandise and gets into passionate arguments on a football forum in the internet ;)

Contrary to that, a supporter cheers for a club, but doesn't necessarily do the above-mentioned things or at least not in such magnitude as a fan.

@Juan: uhmn, not surprise though. Have a look at this discussion:

http://www.quora.com/Is-there-a-real-difference-between-a-football-fan-and-a-supporter

In fact, way more people are on the side of Supporter is a bigger term compare to fans.

I guess people forget the origins of the word fan hence the confusion. A fan can support a team just like a supporter can cheer a team. Its the exact same thing, just different words with different connotations to make one feel superior.
Somebody who owns a season pass to watch the team play is just as much a fan and supporter than someone who watches the team play on the TV.
Now someone who only watches a team for a particular reason say a cup final or a certain player, then they are just followers. Just like I stated before. Really surprised by the reactions here.

Im more on the side of Juan: For me the Fan is more radical than the supporter. But we still have the definitions pretty much exactly the same but with the concepts being switched.

Even if it is a fan or a supporter we can all agree that they are two different adjetives to describe somene who likes a certain team being differentiated by the degree of "support".

It is not the same to buy a season ticket when you have all the money in the world than to save for years to have a trip to the stadium and watch one game.

The word supporter can be used in political terms and often we support but not exactly follow what we say we support. In a very american scenario you can say you "support our troops" but you wouldn't say you are exactly a fan..

I could say I support many movements and plenty of other stuff but to say Im a fan of something demands a little more commitment.

It is very simple .

This is a fan . If you think about it from philosophical side, what does fan do when it is on ? Yes , it keeps turning and blowing to all sides , but in football case slowly and gradually . Like City fans who used to be Chelsea fans and recently started becoming PSG fans . Those people are fans . Every club has those fans . Some have them more than others but they are still fans .

This is a supporter

Joking this is a supporter . Who will reschedule his job interview just because the club he is supporting will be playing at the same time . He will call day off , skip school , buy overpriced sport cable or if he has to he will fly all the way across the continent just for that one match . Win or loose but to witness the team he supports with all his heart and passion .

On very serious note , it does not matter if you call yourself fan or supporter , just love football, support and love your team .

Lol, that one with fan nailed it mate :D

@Marcus: lolllllz, hat off! Let's call it an end unless someone give a better explanation... figuratively!!! hahahahahaha

But yea, seriously. Fan or Supporter... they are for the club, and for now MANCHESTER UNITED has the biggest fan base in the entire planet earth. Thank you!!!

....

Just kidding lolll relax guys!