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I'm looking for a word that is similar to patriotic but does not relate to one's country (or state).
For what it's worth, I'm specifically referring to "overly patriotic" in a negative sense, to describe someone who has a overly sentimental/cultural or otherwise less-than-rational attachment or devotion to something and makes it part of their very identity. A common example might be an extremely zealous football fan.
From Google:
noun 1. a strong supporter of a party, cause, or person.
Also adjective; the abstract noun is partisanship.
This addresses the question in the title and first paragraph.
chauvinist: 2 : person with an undue partiality or attachment to a group or place to which he or she belongs or has belonged.
Consider also sectionalist.
sectionalist: person with excessive or narrow minded concern for local or regional interests as opposed to the interests of the whole.
"Sports teams develop a sense of sectionalism among US citizens."
When talking about ideology, the word zealot is commonly used to imply an obsessive (often negative) devotion.
It can be used for sports fanatics, although I wouldn't use it for something like ethnicity or nationality (which is more something you are than an idea/ideal you ascribe to).
And of course, the word fanatic also works in many cases.
two words with different gravity and meaning
*zealotry- Fanatical and uncompromising pursuit of religious, political, or other ideals.
*mania - An excessive enthusiasm or desire; obsession
I'd call this person a fanatic if you are looking for a derogatory expression to patriotic.
Try jingoistic. It refers to just this phenomena. From wikipedia, "refers to excessive bias in judging one's own country as superior to others—an extreme type of nationalism."
You mention the word 'fan' - and 'fanatic' has come up in other answers, too - and 'fanboy'/'fangirl' would work well in many contexts. Obviously it wouldn't work everywhere - I can't see it being used with political parties, say. But its usage is quite broad - and ever broadening. It works well, obviously, for things like comics, technology, video games and other stereotypically 'geeky' subjects. Things which have cult followings are good, too. But it's also being increasingly used for fanatical interest in bands, TV series, book series and so on.
'Fanboy'/'fangirl' is, in my experience, almost exclusively used negatively by people who aren't fans of the thing in question. It is used to imply that a person's interest in the subject/product/series/etc. is excessive and unreasonable, and also that their opinions (and particularly defences) of it are ludicrously unobjective and disconnected from reality. It also implies that the person is likely to be difficult to argue with on the subject. However, it may be worn as a badge of honour - and taken up with pride - by the fan themselves.
