Reference Prometheus Yesterday at 23:39:
Reference: "Anyway, it's your fault for thinking a fan means exclusive to one club."
As far as football is concerned that's exactly what it means. We're talking about integrity and loyalty here. You don't watch your 'first' team lose and say oh never mind my second, third or fourth time might have won I'll have a look at them.
That's not necessarily what is meant by a "second team", though. It's not been that uncommon in the past (especially in the days when it was often virtually impossible for fans to travel to away games), for real, hardcore football fans to go watch another team (in a lower division, of course) when their "first" team was playing away.
For example, I believe it's traditional for a large section of the Leyton Orient support to be made up of West Ham and Spurs fans when those teams are away.
Nick Hornby writes about this in depth in "Fever Pitch". When he was studying at Cambridge, it was difficult for him to see his beloved Arsenal, so he watched Cambridge United to get his football "fix" - often through some very difficult times. And when they weren't playing, he'd go watch Cambridge
City (A Southern League team)...