what is a true fan?

is he/she one who does whatever possible to achieve his/her dreams of meeting their idol?
like, for example, the 29 year old chinawoman who sold her family's house and drained their savings to go see Andy Lau?

or is it a person who knows all the team's stats, the player profiles, every single happening in that particular fan-worthy team? someone who fights criticism against the team with more stats and facts?

i for one, think i am a true fan. but not the type mentioned above. i don't really care about the stats, though they do make me sound more credible as a fan, nor will i sell my house and kill my father to go meet my favourite team.

i'm just a simple, honest-to-goodness true arsenal fan.
i'm not fair-weathered; i stay with them through thick and thin, through whatever scandals they may go through, or whatever slump they may experience.

i may not be able to defend whatever wrong other people might be accusing them of doing, like going underground to buy players or cheating on taxes (which, i'd like to verify, is the team policy to pay the foreign players' taxes; it's legal and not cheating)

all i care about is the way they play, they way they inspire me to watch a game when i've never really had an interest to watch matches. i have faith in them in whatever they do.

critics may argue that i'm not a hardcore fan. i say: in ur eyes, maybe. i don't really care. all i care about is watching their matches, cheering when they score goals and moaning when they lose, just like any norma fan would.

i accept that they have their shortcomings, their off-days. but i'm there through it all, and it's no use denouncing me as a surface fan, cos i'll always be there.

just what i feel in response to some rather condescending people. ;)