Is fan loyalty to sports teams stupid?

[Banana Aeon]

Case in point, the 2015 Kansas City Royals. I am a Royals fan, for some godforsaken reason. And for legitmately 26 years of my 28 year old existence, they've ranged from god awful to mediocre. But for the two years they actually were good, it could not be beaten. I still remember what I was doing when the Ump called the strike in 2015.

Emotions don't come like that if you just enjoy the game or just follow the team. It's not logical, but it's what makes us human. Bonding with a team identity makes no sense if you don't care about sports, but it's the same if you're a game franchise fan or some anime fan.

 

[dark_prinny]

it's fun but also kind of stupid. Like life itself.

 

[Onebadlion]

i consider it less rational than console fanboyism

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Yeah, rooting for a plastic box made by a mega-corp that is far more rational than having an affiliation to your local sports team…

either phenomenon is irrational behavior, but at least with a console, a financial investment is necessary to buy in. if your console fails, it may not get games, which would mean your investment would be wasted. it makes some amount of sense to root for your console to do well so you get more out of your investment. meanwhile, your life won't be in any way impacted in any objective way by the result of a sports ball game. in my view, you have zero reason to be invested in the success of your sports team of choice, and a non-zero (but small) reason to be invested in the success of your console of choice

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Do you really think sports fans don't invest anything in their team of choice? Time? Money? Emotions?

The £400 I spent on a Xbox/PlayStation that will be obsolete in 5 years means nothing compared to the time I've spent following my local team.

 

[Thorrgal]

either phenomenon is irrational behavior, but at least with a console, a financial investment is necessary to buy in. if your console fails, it may not get games, which would mean your investment would be wasted. it makes some amount of sense to root for your console to do well so you get more out of your investment. meanwhile, your life won't be in any way impacted in any objective way by the result of a sports ball game. in my view, you have zero reason to be invested in the success of your sports team of choice, and a non-zero (but small) reason to be invested in the success of your console of choice

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How is rooting for your home team irrational behavior lol

What I don't understand is fans of my home team from around the world. I mean I get it, but is not the same.

 

[Deleted member 10795]

I never got that team loyalty. Like what are you exactly loyal to? Players change and switch teams all the time. You are literally just following a brand.

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This is a simplistic view.

My football team has over 150 years of history. They've represented my local area (albeit mostly badly) throughout that time and even played at the same stadium, on the same patch of land, for over 100 years. Supporting them has been handed down through generations and will be again by me to my children and grandchildren. There's all the history with the club crests, colours, shirts, trophy wins, historic moments..

Is "but the players move!" a mostly American thing? Apart from rare cases where club legends move on, players coming and going is literally one of the least relevant reasons why people support their clubs in Britain and elsewhere across Europe.

 

[NullPointerException]

My football team has over 150 years of history. They've represented my local area (albeit mostly badly) throughout that time and even played at the same stadium, on the same patch of land, for over 100 years. Supporting them has been handed down through generations and will be again by me to my children and grandchildren. There's all the history with the club crests, colours, shirts, trophy wins, historic moments..

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Sounds pretty religious/culty to me.

 

[I Don't Like]

I was recently speaking to someone whom you would consider a sensible and somewhat stoic individual. But he told me how he was getting very upset about a player from the team that he supports potentially joining their arch rivals. There was a little anger there. I didn't say anything to disagree with his sentiment. I also told another person that "their" team was inferior to another one which had a long winning streak and they told me to "take that back".

So I am no big fan of fan loyalty. I can understand being a fan of a team because of some political, social or artistic reason, but that isn't the till death do us part loyalty because it can be severed. I can also understand being a fan of a team that you are affiliated to (e.g. your sibling plays for them). Although I don't know if that is being a fan in the real sense. I think that fan loyalty can be good for people that have nothing else in life to give them happiness. It also makes team sports a spectacle and perhaps that's the best justification for it.

In many ways I think it's byproduct of tribalism, and it's also a bit stupid.

What do you say?

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To imply people are loyal sports fans because they have nothing else in life to make them happy is what's a bit stupid.

 

[Landy828]

It's fine depending on how it is done.

If you burn down buildings and flip cars over your team, you're an idiot...and in that case it's absolutely stupid. It sucks when my team does lose (I watched them do it a LOT for like 30 years), but I've never wanted to fight anyone or get drunk and destroy property.

My football team has over 150 years of history.

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Many US sports teams are 100+ years old. My Clemson Tigers kicked off their first game in 1896. I'm a life long fan, and my children probably will be. We don't live and die by their success though (not saying you do).

There are (US) football fans that are that extreme about their teams.

 

[Deleted member 10795]

Sounds pretty religious/culty to me.

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I mean sure, if you like. On the previous pages you tried to make out football fans were like "religious lunatics" while simply being about "guys wearing coloured clothes", so you seem confused by whatever point it is you're this weirdly committed to.

I also don't think you can use The Old Firm - a football match literally fuelled by several hundred years of religious and societal division - as being representative of loyalty across the rest of the UK (or anywhere else), but I'm sure that won't stop you.

 

[NullPointerException]

I also don't think you can use The Old Firm - a football match literally fuelled by several hundred years of religious and societal division - as being representative of loyalty across the rest of the UK (or anywhere else), but I'm sure that won't stop you.

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You make it out that football hooliganism, racism and violence is exclusively an "Old Firm" problem. Nice of you to represent England as a beacon of healthy, clean, fun loving Ted Lasso football.

 

[Soapbox Killer]

I bleed green and hate the Dallas Cowboys with a passion. Fuck em' Tell me what that makes me?

 

[Kito]

I never understood how I could ever care about a team that:

A) I am not a part of

B) Whose success or failure has nothing to do with me or benefits me in any way

C) Doesn't know or care about my existence

D) Exists solely to make money off of me despite all that 🤷🏻‍♂️

I basically see it as religion as entertainment. It's something else that's greater than oneself, and that we have no control over, for those that need or want that sort of thing to believe in.

 

[samoyed]

(FWIW I think brand loyalty is even stupider. My internal ranking from less stupid to more stupid is like Country loyalty > Sports loyalty > Brand loyalty. That is not to say it isn't fun.

The only non-stupid loyalty that comes to mind is loyalty to friends/family.)

 

[Deleted member 10795]

You make it out that football hooliganism and violence is exclusively an "Old Firm" problem. Nice of you to represent England as a beacon of healthy, clean, fun loving Ted Lasso football.

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Christ.. really?

The Old Firm is notoriously one of world footballs most intense football fixtures. It's celebrated as such by football fans globally, so I'm not even referring to it as being all bad. It's an extremely unique fixture whichever way you spin it, and saying that doesn't mean I'm saying hooliganism and violence are exclusively that fixtures problem. That game isn't representative of football culture across the UK by it's very nature.

It's people like you who are making contributing to this forum an utterly exhausting experience. Just the most wildly bizarre misinterpretations of what other users are saying. Terrifying.

 

[Landy828]

I never understood how I could ever care about a team that:

A) I am not a part of

B) Whose success or failure has nothing to do with me or benefits me in any way

C) Doesn't know or care about my existence

D) Exists solely to make money off of me despite all that 🤷🏻‍♂️

I basically see it as religion as entertainment. It's something else that's greater than oneself, and that we have no control over, for those that need or want that sort of thing to believe in.

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It's no different than a TV Series, Comics, Movies, Theater, or Music, etc.

A through D applies to all the stuff I just listed.

 

[Serpens007]

As someone from a latin american country, uhh it really depends.

Attachment to a sports team means you have to be willing to endure the lows and highs of your team. In the case of football teams, some of them have social and political backgrounds too, so it's something beyond being just a sports team and it brings people together. When this goes to the point of fans being too much entitled, to the point of making death threats for losing, yeah, that's not just stupid but outright just kills it.

It is a tribal thing, and sometimes it goes hand in hand with family and stuff.

Taking all of this into account, I feel that supporting only winning teams and leaving them if they fall, is more stupid. Just enjoy the sport if that's the case, the magic of supporting a team is that you're behind them whatever the case while being critical if things go wrong.

 

[NullPointerException]

That game isn't representative of football culture across the UK by it's very nature.

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Haha wow. Really? Wow Same sport same rules. Sure Jan. I guess we'll agree to disagree. I guess people like me will continue living our lives not pushing our problematic violence-fueled sport that has "historical significance" onto our future generations.

 

[Druffmaul]

I gave up when I was a small child trying to understand why anybody would care about sports teams that they have no actual connection to. I'm just missing that part of my brain, I guess. It's like, you might as well follow how your local grocery stores are doing as they compete with each other for market share.

 

[Kito]

It's no different than a TV Series, Comics, Movies, Theater, or Music, etc.

A through D applies to all the stuff I just listed.

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I definitely see your point, but the entertainment you listed differs to me in that a show, a movie, a song, or theater are made as a creative outlet to bring audiences to new worlds and evoke emotion through storytelling, twists, turns, and iteration.

Sports fans live and breath stats, trades, performance, and other factors that tie it closer to the stock market than emotional and creative entertainment. It's not like sports are coming up with new ways to surprise audiences or expand on the formula of the game in any way. The rules haven't really changed since I've been alive that I've noticed.

Sports are the stock market as theater, perhaps? Would you agree with that? That's not to say that I don't see the appeal it can have to others; I know that people become family through the games they attend, and feel emotion for their team through the experience. I'd just classify it differently.

 

[Yeeeeeeeeeer]

follow your local teams... following players is the dumbest thing. its more shameful picking a team with your favorite player on 2k than stacking your favorite team with all-stars in the game

 

[LGHT_TRSN]

It's the same thing but different interests. People like picking sides: Trek vs Wars, Marvel vs DC, Apple vs Android etc.

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I disagree it's the same thing. Sports are literally competition, not fan-made competition between intellectual properties based on their commercial success.

 

[Aaronrules380]

Obviously it's fine within reason, but acting like it's completely harmless is dumb given sports fandom has directly led to a number of riots where people have straight up died

Sports riot - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Ralemont]

Loyalty is probably the wrong word, I like support better. No chance in hell I'm going to suffer and be depressed if my team is doing shitty, but it's really great to follow the ins and outs and have a topic of convo with your fellow city goers and celebrate when they win.

Being a casual Eagles fan was so worth it when they won the Super Bowl and Philly went wild. Never seen anything like it.

 

[Mukrab]

yes but its fun. Like many things in the world that are fun

 

[Vulcano's Assistant]

I definitely see your point, but the entertainment you listed differs to me in that a show, a movie, a song, or theater are made as a creative outlet to bring audiences to new worlds and evoke emotion through storytelling, twists, turns, and iteration.

Sports fans live and breath stats, trades, performance, and other factors that tie it closer to the stock market than emotional and creative entertainment. It's not like sports are coming up with new ways to surprise audiences or expand on the formula of the game in any way. The rules haven't really changed since I've been alive that I've noticed.

Sports are the stock market as theater, perhaps? Would you agree with that? That's not to say that I don't see the appeal it can have to others; I know that people become family through the games they attend, and feel emotion for their team through the experience. I'd just classify it differently.

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There is a lot of storytelling to be experienced with sports, the fun part is that the narratives are being written in real time by public perception both inside of the arena, race tracks, etc and outside of them. I only really follow Formula 1 nowadays and 60% of the fan interaction online is treating the drivers and the managers as the characters of a scripted drama, the remaining 40% is complaining about how they are changing the rules each year.

 

[Kito]

There is a lot of storytelling to be experienced with sports, the fun part is that the narratives are being written in real time by public perception both inside of the arena, race tracks, etc and outside of them. I only really follow Formula 1 nowadays and all the fan interaction online is treating the drivers and the managers as the characters of an scripted drama.

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I can absolutely appreciate that. That's pretty awesome that the fans are able to have so much fun with the interaction of drivers and managers.

 

[Landy828]

I definitely see your point, but the entertainment you listed differs to me in that a show, a movie, a song, or theater are made as a creative outlet to bring audiences to new worlds and evoke emotion through storytelling, twists, turns, and iteration.

Sports fans live and breath stats, trades, performance, and other factors that tie it closer to the stock market than emotional and creative entertainment. It's not like sports are coming up with new ways to surprise audiences or expand on the formula of the game in any way. The rules haven't really changed since I've been alive that I've noticed.

Sports are the stock market as theater, perhaps? Would you agree with that? That's not to say that I don't see the appeal it can have to others; I know that people become family through the games they attend, and feel emotion for their team through the experience. I'd just classify it differently.

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I suppose the simplest answer is that I enjoy all the things I listed, and there's no separation between them as far as intensity/enjoyment/drama. You're right I do have a family connection, it's where my mother graduated from (twice), and I've been to the games since I was small.

I also played football, including semi-pro football. Between grade school and the age of 22 I played organized soccer (Clemson Travel team in fact), tennis, football, wrestling (I trained at NC State in High School), and golf. So I have a respect for all of those sports and enjoy them all (well, minus wrestling...I find it sort of boring to watch and I hate spandex 🤣 ).

On the other side I love theater musicals, sci-fi, and video games..haha. I was always a "Nerd"/"Jock" that loved everything.

 

[Yoshimitsu126]

If team sucks, I'm turning off tv and waiting for when they get good again lol

 

[MJForum Poster]

It's fun as long as you keep some perspective. It's not the end of the world when your team loses, but when they win a hard fought game, it's fun to talk about and analyze. It's also a great way for people to bond across generations. Even when he was extremely sick in the hospital, my grandfather was busy complaining about our football team

 

[RPGam3r]

I disagree it's the same thing. Sports are literally competition, not fan-made competition between intellectual properties based on their commercial success.

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Products and services are absolutely competing against each other. It is not a fan-made concept.

 

[MIMIC]

no fun allowed

 

[Deleted member 10001]

In my country Feyenoord and Ajax are basically matches between Rotterdam vs. Amsterdam. The rivalry between the cities stems from before football was even a thing here, and is basically a class thing; working class vs. upper class. Think it is the same thing in England when it comes to North vs. South.

It is all kinda ridiculous IMO.

 

[Jeffolation]

If it turns your crank, have at it.

 

[depressedmetfan]

Case in point, the 2015 Kansas City Royals. I am a Royals fan, for some godforsaken reason. And for legitmately 26 years of my 28 year old existence, they've ranged from god awful to mediocre. But for the two years they actually were good, it could not be beaten. I still remember what I was doing when the Ump called the strike in 2015.

Emotions don't come like that if you just enjoy the game or just follow the team. It's not logical, but it's what makes us human. Bonding with a team identity makes no sense if you don't care about sports, but it's the same if you're a game franchise fan or some anime fan.

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Gee, thanks for bring up old memories :( Seriously though, this will probably me me if I ever see the Mets win a world series

 

[Jerm411]

Case in point, the 2015 Kansas City Royals. I am a Royals fan, for some godforsaken reason. And for legitmately 26 years of my 28 year old existence, they've ranged from god awful to mediocre. But for the two years they actually were good, it could not be beaten. I still remember what I was doing when the Ump called the strike in 2015.

Emotions don't come like that if you just enjoy the game or just follow the team. It's not logical, but it's what makes us human. Bonding with a team identity makes no sense if you don't care about sports, but it's the same if you're a game franchise fan or some anime fan.

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As a fellow Royals fan, I was right there with you...that 2 year stretch was the greatest time I've ever had as a baseball fan.

Equally, this Chiefs run that started a few years ago is the same...hell I'd probably say it's meant more to me just because I'm a football guy and Chiefs fandom is huge in my family, it's one of the big bonding points for me and my dad. We've seen the lowest of the lows as a Chiefs fan including the lowest with Jovan Belcher so when you reach the summit, it's euphoric and unlike anything else.

I 110% own my sports fandom, always have and always will. It goes beyond just rooting for a team, it's family lineage, time well spent with others, a common interest with friends or in the community, etc. Can it be toxic? Sure, but I think it's great.

 

[Landy828]

Case in point, the 2015 Kansas City Royals. I am a Royals fan, for some godforsaken reason. And for legitmately 26 years of my 28 year old existence, they've ranged from god awful to mediocre. But for the two years they actually were good, it could not be beaten. I still remember what I was doing when the Ump called the strike in 2015.

Emotions don't come like that if you just enjoy the game or just follow the team. It's not logical, but it's what makes us human. Bonding with a team identity makes no sense if you don't care about sports, but it's the same if you're a game franchise fan or some anime fan.

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Gee, thanks for bring up old memories :( Seriously though, this will probably me me if I ever see the Mets win a world series

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Hilariously painful memory. I pulled a groin muscle really badly for the first time in my life when Clemson won the National Championship in 2016. Did it jumping up as we scored the winning TD with seconds left.

When I saw that ball hit Hunter Renfrow square in his body/arms, I lept into the air and then collapsed to the floor. My friends were hugging, crying, jumping around and also trying to makes sure I was ok. 🤣 😭 😆

A combination of joy and pain I never want to feel again.

 

[depressedmetfan]

Hilariously painful memory. I pulled a groin muscle really badly for the first time in my life when Clemson won the National Championship in 2016. Did it jumping up as we scored the winning TD with seconds left.

When I saw that ball hit Hunter Renfrow square in his body/arms, I lept into the air and then collapsed to the floor. My friends were hugging, crying, jumping around and also trying to makes sure I was ok. 🤣 😭 😆

A combination of joy and pain I never want to feel again.

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Ouch. If I think the Mets are about to win the World Series, I'll make sure to stretch for a few minutes just to be safe.

 

[Deleted member 10795]

Haha wow. Really? Wow Same sport same rules. Sure Jan. I guess we'll agree to disagree. I guess people like me will continue living our lives not pushing our problematic violence-fueled sport that has "historical significance" onto our future generations.

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You were the one who called out that fixture specifically. Is it the same as everything else or isn't it?

Like I said before, you're fully committed to this extremely bizarre point that clearly not even you understand. Oddball.

"Problematic violence fuelled sport". Pathetic.

 

[JEH]

most things in life are stupid when you think about

 

[Austriacus]

Its interesting that people keep mentioning being a fan of videogames, movies etc as a comparison to sports fandom , and like yeah? Both are stupid, whats the point people are trying to make?

Tribalism is not a good thing, people keep acting as if its something we should encourage but do any of you not realise that line of thinking is why the world currently is so politically polarised in stupid things? (look at republicans and masks).

Just because something is natural or fun, doesnt mean its something to be celebrated or encouraged.

 

[Doctor_Thomas]

If you've never been a fan of a sports team, you'll never, ever get it.

But there has to be limits, you can't give up your morals to defend the indefensible, which some people do with players/teams

 

[LGHT_TRSN]

Products and services are absolutely competing against each other. It is not a fan-made concept.

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Comparing box-office numbers of two films released on different dates is absolutely fan-made competition. Comparing Rotten Tomato scores of two completely different intellectual properties is absolutely fan-made competition.

It has no actual bearing on the quality or success of the product and everything to do with tribal fanaticism. Completely different than sports where the quality/success of the team is measured by their literal success in winning/losing competition.

There is no tangible benefit to me picking a side in Marvel vs DC. What do I stand to gain? I'm merely limiting my exposure to other creative works because of loyalty to an IP.

 

[Doran]

I'm convinced that the types of people who will vote for a politician no matter how awful they are because they are the right color are the same types of people who make sports fans look awful. I enjoy being a fan of a team, but boundaries.

 

[RPGam3r]

Comparing box-office numbers of two films released on different dates is absolutely fan-made competition. Comparing Rotten Tomato scores of two completely different intellectual properties is absolutely fan-made competition.

It has no actual bearing on the quality or success of the product and everything to do with tribal fanaticism. Completely different than sports where the quality/success of the team is measured by their literal success in winning/losing competition.

There is no tangible benefit to me picking a side in Marvel vs DC. What do I stand to gain? I'm merely limiting my exposure to other creative works because of loyalty to an IP.

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I didn't say fans can't layer their own ideas into competing products and services. That doesn't stop the fact the those products and services are still competing for market share and relevance.

If I pick to root for the Browns over the Steelers what is my tangible gain?

 

[DopeToast]

It's fun to root for something and be happy every once in a while, especially if you're local and it's something the community gets behind.

 

[LGHT_TRSN]

I didn't say fans can't layer their own ideas into competing products and services. That doesn't stop the fact the those products and services are still competing for market share and relevance.

If I pick to root for the Browns over the Steelers what is my tangible gain?

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The jubilation when the Browns beat the Steelers.

 

[RPGam3r]

The jubilation when the Browns beat the Steelers.

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So like I said at first. Different interests same concept. Products and services that gain popularity also stand a better chance at longer support, more content etc.

 

[overcast]

It's definitely "dumb", but the emotional part makes sports that much more satisfying to me. What makes sports go around is fandom, though it goes over the top often. I do find plenty of enjoyment in the more technical aspects, or even just watching any team playing with little personal context.

I know the only reason I got into sports in the first place was because I found teams to follow and of course talk shit to my friends about.

 

[TheWildCard]

It's silly but fine in moderate doses. Getting mad at players playing the free agency market would not be moderate! Sports, especially team sports, are more fun with some provincialism mixed in.

Without team loyalty and a sense of investment, the games are far less interesting to watch.

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Yeah I can't really imagine rooting for a whole team just because of one player (granted I kind of did with MJ's Bulls as a kid)

 

[Lkr]

it's dumb but it's the point IMO