JWSJ Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 I can understand enjoying a sport - playing it or watching it, in general. But, why get attached to a specific team when the people involved (players, managers, etc.) with it aren't even from that area? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katemary63 Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Hahaha! I've wondered this my whole life! My guess is that it's just some gene that's missing in some people. I know I don't have it. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimmyKids Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 The players, from everywhere, represent their team (albeit for money), which is from a specific area. People enjoy the common experience of cheering, winning together, losing together. They enjoy competing. Human nature. It rekindles feelings had in high school and college. AND . . . pro sports sells papers and cable t.v., so the media pushes it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pqr Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Speaking as a male, albeit probably one who is in a tiny minority in this opinion, I do not know why there is the attraction. I can understand supporting a college team, everybody on the team is part of a community, but pro-teams. I am at a loss. If the team was made up strictly of people from the city for which they played then I would easily be able to understand, but as players are traded and there is rarely a home town boy on the team I completely miss the picture. Supporting a pro-team is simply falling prey to commercial advertizing. How can a city claim to the "world champions" when every player is from somewhere else? I love (or used to until they allowed professionals to compete and started playing games with nationality) the Olympics because when the American relay team thumped their competitors at least they could claim that they were representing their homeland and were actually from the US. When the Colts win it does not change the fact that only a few are actually from the area represented by the team, there is no connection to the community and it is simply a farce. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 I have wondered this myself. Dh and I just don't get it. WHat is even funnier to us is people who support a college team that no one in their family went to or is even planning to go to. We have watched several events live. When we do that, we cheer for the home team. (We are usually going with youth or church group). That generally involves our kids enjoying the antics of the mascot or the free things they throw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elw_miller Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 I can only comment on the attraction to the Steelers by people in the Pittsburgh area. This analysis comes secondhand from my husband (a native of the Pittsburgh area, though not much of a sports fan) since I asked him the same question (I'm originally from IA where the overriding followings of any sports teams are for the ISU Cyclones and the UofI Hawkeyes). He said that in the 70s many many steel mills were closing, lots of people were losing their jobs, towns were crumbling, and morale in the area was very, very low. Then, the Steelers football team start winning. The "Steel Curtain" won several Superbowls in a row and 3 within a decade, I think. People had a reason to cheer, a reason to be proud of something. Folks are mad about the Steelers--my husband's aunt won't miss a game (on TV because the tickers are super hard to come by, I hear). As for the attraction to other sports teams, I think the other poster's analysis is about right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Home'scool Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 I'll answer this one ...... as a Red Sox fan. It is the history of the team that helps define the fan loyalty. There is a certain ideaology to being a Red Sox fan. They lost for so many years, and in so many heartbreaking ways, that the fans started to take pride in their stoicism. We declare "this is the year" for 86 years! If you were a Red Sox fan, then you were a baseball fan because you loved the sport. You loved the idea of the underdog. The players change and are now coming from all over the world but the persona is still there. The team also takes on a personality. The Red Sox play in the oldest stadium in the country. There are no plans to replace it, nor do I think the fans would want that. They always had a smaller budget than the Yankees, yet went time and again against them, like a David and Goliath match. And when they do win against the Yankees, it is a big deal. It is a big deal because the Yankees have waaaay more money to throw at getting the good players. They have fancy new digs. They are like a machine. The Red Sox were always seen as a bunch of guys who play for the love of the sport and not for the big flashy salaries and fame. That is why we only put up with "Manny being Manny" for so long. Prima Donnas don't last too long in the Red Sox. A-Rod was trying to take a cut in pay to play for us. The league wouldn't allow it, so he went to the Yankees. He IS a Yankee, though. Slick, arrogant, huge, easy to dislike for his ego. He never would have lasted in the Red Sox dugout. Some of that image might have changed now that the Red Sox have won 2 World Series, but the basic concept is still there. My husband has always said that if he played in the major leagues, the ONLY team he would play for is the Red Sox because of the work ethic and underdog status they represent. You gotta love a Red Sox fan. We stuck with the concept of someday winning for 86 years, and finally it happened. If there is ANY sort of function at Fenway, whether it is a concert by the Boston Pops or a rock concert, at some point the chant "Yankees Suck" will break out. We will never forgive Babe Ruth for leaving. We believe in curses, and we believe that with enough hard work and gumption we can break the curses. We believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 I'll answer this one ...... as a Red Sox fan. We believe. :iagree: You said it much better than I could have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Plus, how fun is it?! People laughing and groaning together, the crowds at the gate, in the streets, people selling flags, the music, "Sweet Caroline..bah bah bah". It's a giant communtiy party, win or lose. On ball parks: I am not from Baltimore, but I adore Camden Yards. I've been there for a few night games, and wow, gorgeous. I so enjoy being in that park, and I am not really a baseball fan. I just really like the atmosphere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiddenJewel Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Our family likes to watch athletes that have skill, class and good character. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pqr Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Our family likes to watch athletes that have skill, class and good character. You must have to hunt hard for those, in many sports, who display class and good character. Not saying that there are not some, but it does seem they are in the minority. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Well, I used to live in Green Bay and I am a Green Bay fan. A lot of it had to do with the fans themselves and the community in Green Bay. Green Bay is a pretty small town and you could actually hear the team and the crowds just by opening the windows in mayb parts of town. Many of the players lived there and you could actually meet and interact with them as you were out and about in your daily life. The players and the team gave much back to the community. And it fostered a sense of community to all be part of something, to have something in common, to celebrate together and let's face it, Green Bays fans are just a little different. Game days were something else there. Everyone dresses up and many people got together and grilled brats and drank be and in general ate, drank and were merry instead of being stuck inside and miserable in the sometimes brutal weather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luanne Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Our family likes to watch athletes that have skill, class and good character. :iagree: We just like football and think it is enjoyable to watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockey Mom Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 We cheer for the logo on the front, not the name on the back...unless it's my boys playing. Then we cheer for the name on the back. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katemary63 Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Well, I used to live in Green Bay Remember Hansen's Dairy? That was my Great Aunt Nora and Great Uncle Art Hansen. My mom grew up working there. She's a HUGE Green Bay fan. Me, I root for the Bears because that's who DH likes and I don't really care! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiddenJewel Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 You must have to hunt hard for those, in many sports, who display class and good character. Not saying that there are not some, but it does seem they are in the minority. Very few and far between, unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 My uninformed opinion is that humans like to attach themselves to something bigger. Originally, it was tribe or clan, and it was knee-knocking fear of not belonging that motivated us poor organisms. Sports teams are a natural extension of that which is biological in social animals like ourselves, but are also hooked to our adrenaline-loving, risk-taking side as well. Seeing grown people scream in ecstasy over the location of some inflated leather, or literally weep and kick the furniture over the dropping of such an item reminds me deeply of various jungle conflicts between primates I've seen on public TV. This is a decidedly uninformed opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Remember Hansen's Dairy? That was my Great Aunt Nora and Great Uncle Art Hansen. My mom grew up working there. She's a HUGE Green Bay fan. Me, I root for the Bears because that's who DH likes and I don't really care! Wow. It is a small world. I have only ever heard of HUGE GB fans, no one who is just a little luke warm about them or an ex-GB fan. My hubby has always been a Tampa Bay fan. Needless to say, he wasn't very popular in GB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.