Sports Mad

[bbcboy]

Something has always intrigued me.

Many times I've been in the presence of people (Usually but not always male) who have displayed great excitement witnessing their team playing.
Now I've never been tuned into this and I really can't empathise with it at all.

I've argued around the issue sometimes to the point of raised voices and once I've been ordered from the home of a so called friend.

What is it about your team (a group of people you never met and probably never will, some of whom play for your team from a whole different country, so there goes the patriot theory) that makes you jump in the air and scream?

I have no clue

 

[Hoth]

I'd say it's mostly about attachment. You can feel a connection to a group of people or to an organization without knowing the people. Sometimes it has to do with the city, sometimes a particular player whose style you like, sometimes even something like the uniform colors or the stadium. It's not what forms the connection that matters so much, because you build on that later, you just need something to start with.

People like to identify with groups. You could sort of compare it with patriotism, but it's not strictly along geographical boundaries... it's just the general desire to pick a group to identify with so that their success can become your success. It gives the opportunity to add some meaning to life by identifying with a team, a team that (unlike all the people who don't really know where they're going in life) has a clear (if difficult) goal of winning the championship. Of course there's also the aspect of identifying with other fans of the same team... sometimes commiserating about their team being bad can give them a better sense of group identity and make them proud. See Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox.

Go Jays, go Giants. Spring training is starting...

 

[bbcboy]

HOTH

I see what you're saying. I just have difficulty with this vicarious success. I mentioned a time when I was asked to leave a persons house.

Things is all you said made sense. this guy couldn't. He couldn't explain to me what the connection was. all he could say was

"They're my team. I must support them cos they're my team"

When I asked how well he knew them he threw me out. I'm all for being a fan. I'm a fan of many people. I don't feel that I want to jump up and down about it, this doesn't mean I'm less enthralled (Sometimes to the point of being speechless. .... Not me I swear!!) Maybe with an individual artist the connection is easier becasue they speak or sing what triggers us. How does that explanation apply itself to sports and teams ?

It's just a thing about me that I suppose has always been an unanswered question.

Thank you for your insight

 

[Deepuz]

Here's an interesting article I found on the subject.

It isn't just a game

The bit that made the most sense to me was:

One theory traces the roots of fan psychology to a primitive time when human beings lived in small tribes, and warriors fighting to protect tribes were true genetic representatives of their people, psychologists say.

but it appears to be a much deeper issue than just that.

 

[Deepuz]

Re: HOTH

Things is all you said made sense. this guy couldn't. He couldn't explain to me what the connection was. all he could say was

"They're my team. I must support them cos they're my team"

When I asked how well he knew them he threw me out.

I think the thing here is your 'friend' was in such a state of emotion, and perhaps real physical things were happening to his body, that he couldn't explain his enthusiasm in rational terms. I agree that the emotions that arise can affect rational behaviour, and that is worthy of study in itself.

 

[Meniscus]

Everyone wants to be a "winner". For some, the only way to accomplish this is to live vicariously through the accomplishments of others. I don't think this describes all sports enthusiasts, but it does some...