# fair-weather fan

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/fair-weather-fan
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

A fan who only pays attention to their favorite team when they are performing well.

## Examples

- He is just a fair-weather fan who only watches winning games.
- A fair-weather fan never stays to watch the team lose a difficult game.
- When the team started losing every game, the stadium emptied because most of the crowd were just fair-weather fans.
- You can tell she is a fair-weather fan because she stopped wearing the team jersey as soon as they fell to the bottom of the league.
- My brother claims to love basketball, but he acts like a fair-weather fan by only checking the scores when the playoffs begin.
- True supporters stay loyal through every defeat, unlike the fair-weather fans who only appear when the team is celebrating a championship victory.

## Origin

From fair-weather and fan, the term draws an analogy between the presence of clear skies and the absence of social or competitive difficulty. The compound suggests a preference for trouble-free times, implying that the individual's loyalty is contingent upon the climate remaining agreeable.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.