Fan A (smoking a cigarette): How can anyone support Top now?
Fan B: Do you know smoking causes you big problems?
Fan A: Well er yeah but I like smoking.
Fan B: Some fans like Top.
Cognitive dissonance is the divide you feel. People who support Top are being confronted with League One football under Top and that makes them feel uncomfortable.
Nobody wants to feel uncomfortable for long. That’s why they rationalise (we’ll be back), justify (we were in League One once before) and avoid information (they probably wrote on Facebook that we’d never get relegated back-to-back and now feel guilty).
People who don’t support Top have no uncomfortable contradiction in their mind. That’s why Matt Piper, Henry Winter, Jason Bourne, BSLB, etc speak with conviction.
Talk to a friend who likes Top about your buddy in Scotland, he follows a team, they got relegated 3 times in 4 years! Your friend will be like “what a shambles, heads need to roll”. Then tell your friend your buddy’s team is Leicester City, he travels down from Scotland… Watch the cognitive dissonance. Your friend may get angry.