I can’t handle the nonstop Facebook posts, the ridiculous number of tweets and the wave of people wearing their recently acquired Giants apparel. I cannot handle the bandwagoners.

As any sports fan knows, there is nothing more gratifying than watching your favorite team grind all year and achieve the success that all teams desire. However, there is nothing more annoying than watching people support this team just because it is successful. These people are often referred to as bandwagon fans.

Bandwagon fans have been around irritating diehards as long as sports have existed. In recent history, one can look to Lebron James and the Miami heat. When Lebron decided to take his talent to South Beach, a new wave of “committed lifelong” Heat fans was born. When Boston acquired the ”Big 3” it seemed like everybody suddenly had been a Celtics fan for years. Last years’ San Francisco 49ers were able to turn Alex Smith doubters into staunch supporters of the previously inconsistent quarterback. Bandwagon fans jump on any bandwagon that seems appealing and ride it until the team loses success or they find a more exciting one to hop onto to. Being from the Bay Area–a haven for losing teams–I never really expected that I would be a victim of the bandwagon phenomenon. However, the success of the Giants has made this nightmare my reality.

The success of the 2010 Giants generated a wave of irritating bandwagon fans that would only be upstaged by the push that the 2012 Giants are currently making. It does not bother me that people want to support the local team during its time of glory, but when they act like they have been there all along, I get frustrated.

The kind of “ fan” I am talking about is the one that is constantly posting on twitter and changing their profile picture to them wearing a Giants sweatshirt that they acquired at the beginning of the playoffs. I’m talking about the girl who constantly argues that Tim Lincecum is the “best pitcher ever” and that everyone who disagrees really doesn’t know the Giants. I’m talking about the type of people who constantly refer to the Giants as “we”.

Posting a fairly obvious observation about a postseason game or tweeting about how proud you are of your Giants does not make you a fan. Neither does buying a Buster Posey t-shirt and wearing it to school they day after they win a big postseason game. These bandwagon fans make real fans miserable.

These newfound supporters have no idea what it is like to be a Giants fan. These bandwagoners did not feel the crushing devastation of the 2002 World Series loss. Bandwagon fans were not filled with disappointment when J.T. Snow was gunned out at home to lose the 2003 NLDS. And they absolutely were not there from 2004-2009, when following the Giants was one really long terrifying nightmare. These so called fans who love Marco Scutaro were not there when for the years when the expected level of play from second base(along with about eight other positions) was a nightly question mark. Those who so strongly support Zito and Cain did not equally support injury prone Noah Lowry and underperforming Kevin Correria.

Listening to “fan” after “fan” tell me how great the Giants are has pushed me to the edge. I do get why they’re here; with all the excitement, it’s hard to contain impulses to support the Giants. But as someone who has grown up cheering for the Giants and the Giants only, it is hard to not get upset.

There is nothing to do to stop the bandwagoners. For now, the only thing to do is attempt to ignore them. We real fans know who we are. We know that we will stand by the Giants whether they are winning the World Series or sitting at the bottom of the NL West.