Fans or Stalkers.

When does one change into the other? If you know more about a player's personal life then he himself can remember, are you still just a fan? If you follow a sport religiously, is it still just an interest? If you say we when referring to a favorite sports team, have you crossed a line?

I think to cross the line between fan and stalker, you actually have go ahead and invade their privacy/break the law. If the worst you do is become a bit of a bore about certain subjects then it's a problem, but you're not a stalker. If you're following athletes/celebrities around, contacting them with threatening or otherwise objectionable messages etc then you've crossed that line.

If you follow a sport religiously, I'd say it's still just an interest; just one that you're particularly passionate about. Obviously some people will take it to unhealthy extremes but just because you're passionate about something doesn't mean you won't have other things that you're passionate about or that it absolutely must rule your life. Someone might follow their favourite sport religiously, but in the grand scheme of things it is but one thing that is important to them.

The whole "we" thing has become overblown. It's a fair point and it's a handy ad hominem argument to toss at fanboys but the sentiment behind it is pretty obvious and it's a reasonable term to use to refer to one's favourite team while also identify oneself as a rabid fan. I guess you could say it creates a sense of belonging amongst fans of the team, a bit of community spirit maybe. Even if it sounds a little silly, I think it's acceptable even if I try to avoid using it myself.

The "we" thing doesn't piss me off as much as it used to, it only really bothers me when used by people who are only fans when their teams are winning. If they're shit it's "they" if they're good it's "we". A friend of mine does it, drives me insane. He went from "denouncing" his fan-ship of a football team, to suddenly being their biggest fan again and missing the opportunity to see one of his favourite bands play just to watch this team on TV... after they'd won 8 in a row.

I don't know anyone who really knows a worrying amount about a celebrity or a sportsperson. I get annoyed with people who become fans of bands and suddenly know all of their names, so when you talk to them they are like "oh yeah Paul was great but Jimmy looked disinterested and I preferred it when Dave was the drummer"... stfu. Then again I do this to a mild extent too, so that stfu is extended towards me also.

it only really bothers me when used by people who are only fans when their teams are winning. If they're shit it's "they" if they're good it's "we". A friend of mine does it, drives me insane.

Yeah that's a fair call. Fair weather fans and bandwagoners are fair game.

Damn. All the answers I was looking for given in two posts. This board is too philosophic.

Those are just two opinions though. Others might (and are free to) disagree.