The Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs have entirely different perceptions and character. The flashy Miami Heat are a lightning rod for attention while the Spurs take care of business by the book with little need for extracurriculars.
These attributes were, for the most part, reflected in a study that most certainly lacks any statistical credibility (I followed a bunch of people who follow the Heat/Spurs on Twitter). For starters, the Heat have about 1 million more followers than the Spurs.
This makes for a more murky data pool, as there are likely a lot more “bandwagon” Heat fans – or at least people interested in the Heat – following the team than genuine fans. Of course, that didn’t stop me from making generalizations.
Actually, both fan bases have a lot in common. Not surprisingly, Miami and San Antonio have a lot of Spanish-speaking fans as evidenced by Twitter bios. Religious text was also frequent in both groups of fans. Both of those trends make sense given regional demographics, and make it a bit more interesting that the stereotypes or attitudes from the fans seem to feed from the team itself, despite these basic similarities.
As you might expect, Heat fans – at least from this pool – have a bit more flair for the dramatic, getting caught up in the moments and lashing out angrily. That has basically been the story of the Heat since The Decision, with Heat fans feeling as cornered in society as they are geographically.
Lebrun got me mad though with that generic ass Home Depot tape on his knee smfh
— Lil Guwop (@Gary_ThaSnail) June 10, 2013
Yall lwbron just made me so mad that I just cussed put loud. I dont curse. Im glad the parents aren't down here.
— Ashley Geeeee (@whoisAshleyG) June 10, 2013
Go f*ck yourself @JalenRose how else do u put a team together for free ? Did you take a pay cut you non hall of fame piece of sh*t
— Miami Heat (@iAmMiamiHEAT) June 10, 2013
Heat fans also love hashtags.
HEAT 50 Spurs 45 *HALFTIME* #WhiteHotHEAT#LETSGOHEAT
— Miami HEAT (@iRepTeamHEAT) June 10, 2013
#FireJoeyCrawford #FireJoeyCrawford #FireJoeyCrawford #FireJoeyCrawford #FireJoeyCrawford #FireJoeyCrawford @NBA
— Hot Dawg Gabe (@Heathotdawg) June 10, 2013
#HEATFinals: #LETSGOHEAT #LETSGOHEAT #LETSGOHEAT #LETSGOHEAT #LETSGOHEAT #LETSGOHEAT #LETSGOHEAT
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) June 10, 2013
#LETSGOHEAT #LETSGOHEAT #LETSGOHEAT #LETSGOHEAT #LETSGOHEAT #LETSGOHEAT #LETSGOHEAT #LETSGOHEAT #LETSGOHEAT 4th quarter .. finish them heat!
— teamHEAT-PHILIPPINES (@heat_da_best) June 10, 2013
The Spurs fans, on the other hand, were usually straightforward and positive during the game, tweeting far less (in general) than their counterparts.
#gospurs #teamspursš game2, 2-0
— Therese Menta (@imAlwaysHungry3) June 10, 2013
The Spurs game is making me feel a lot better!
— Breanna (@itsBree41) June 10, 2013
GAME 2 LETS GO SPURS
— Zach (@ZachBarold) June 9, 2013
This was basically as mean as it got from San Antonio, and since I don’t know what the latter half of the tweet even means, it doesn’t seem nearly as bad as what it likely is.
F*ck Birdman!! Pinche parrajo puto!
— Markass (@kramsta1) June 10, 2013
I don’t know what this means, either, but it came right after LeBron James destroyed Tiago Splitter.
lkjfsdle;dm;jfdjskfdsklsdjidojs;ofswekdjshdfskuhfdialjlxjsdlkjfdskhfjiojelrgjkvmds.fmoipjveorfjiolqr
— Ashley Geeeee (@whoisAshleyG) June 10, 2013
Naturally, so did this.
I f*cking hate LeBron James with a passion. He hasn't realize that if they win, the series is tied 1-1 and the next 3 games are in SA.
— Cindy Carrizales (@heyitscinds) June 10, 2013
