The absurdity of supporting sports teams

Billy said:
Ive seen them yes. They play flag football I believe.
Click to expand...
Hmm. Well, arguably it's not the same game, so your criticism would still apply. They don't know exactly what it's like crashing into offensive linemen on the field, but they can still understand the game well enough to enjoy watching it, in my opinion.
 
How about because it stimulate certain chemichal reactions in the brain.
 
I support England for obvious reasons.

It's just taking pride in your national side, no need to get all uptight about it.

It's only a game.
 
I don't like sports but when I watch what the Soccer World Cup is doing for bringing the nation together in South Africa then I have to acknowledge that it does have its positive influences.
 
Quinlan said:
Also I heard somewhere that just watching someone do something skillful over and over improves your own skill level. It's amazing how we are such social creatures and learning machines.
Click to expand...

The school system wouldn't work if this wasn't the case.



On the OP. I don't quite undestand it - I don't like sports, or watching them. Nevertheless if I do start watching some sports I immediately pick a team/individual that I would like to win. If I watch more than five minutes of any sport, I HAVE TO SEE who wins.

I'm a mystery to myself sometimes.



edit: What most amazes me about my getting hooked on watching a particular contest/match/etc. is that I'll be on the edge of my seat and occasionally let out an excited yelp.
 
Last edited:
I support the University of Alabama's football team, The Crimson Tide.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3-RlA4-RNc&feature=related"]YouTube- Alabama Fight Song[/ame]

Our chief rival is the cow college on the other side of the state, Auburn University. We play every year in the Iron Bowl. Here is a link detailing that rivalry http://collegefootball.about.com/od/rivalries/a/riv-ironbowl.htm


How did I, someone who falls asleep watching almost any other sporting event get pulled into watching college football? Well I'll tell yah. First of all my folks are both Bama fans, my mother's folks are both Bama fans(grandpa passed away last year), my father's mother could care less..and his father when he was still alive was a Bama fan but also really loved watching the Army/Navy game every year. I would be termed a very laid back Bama fanatic...I get a bit venomous during the actual games sometimes, I'll give verbal jabs at fans of other SEC teams. To a true southeastern conference fanatic, there is no tougher hard-nosed physical football tradition played than SEC football. Then there is the historic tradition that I've come to respect. Also of great importance is a college football program's influence on the lives of the players, a good program will instill a sense of honor, respect, and discipline in these young men. It should also ensure that when they leave the program, they have received a proper education.

The University of Alabama's Crimson Tide is who brought respect to the southeast back in 1926 and proved to the rest of the country that southerners could indeed play football. http://blog.al.com/birmingham-news-stories/2010/01/alabamas_1926_win_in_rose_bowl.html

The 1925 team featuring Allison "Pooley" Hubert and Johnny Mack Brown.
1925large_jpg.jpg

Their coach-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_Wade
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allison_Hubert
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Mack_Brown


The next iconic member of this long standing tradition is Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant.
paul_bear_bryant.jpg

He was known for his ability to instill discipline and honor in young men, and also he was one hell of a strategist. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_Bryant

This past year the Crimson Tide went undefeated and won a national championship. The last time they managed to win a national championship was 1992, there have been many bad years for the Crimson Tide since then. We've been through more coaches than you can shake a stick at since the Bear retired. Its not easy to watch your team suffer through defeats under shaky leadership. In 2007 we finally got a coach that was worth a damn since Gene Stallings retired in 1996, the new coach is named Nick Saban.
nick-saban-coach-of-alabama-the-crimson-tide1.jpg

In the three years that he has been head coach, Saban has revitalized our team into the Crimson Tide of our golden years. He built our offense to focus on a power running game that beats opposing teams defenses into submission, and when they stack their defenses to stop it we have a pretty damn good passing game as backup. He built our defense around the professional level 3-4 defensive package-That's three very large down linemen, allowing for more versatile backfield coverage to change and cover the run or the pass as necessary. He is a very strict disciplinarian, damn good strategist, and boy does he play some head games with the other team.

One accomplishment that I am the most proud of being able to witness from this past season's football team, is that the University of Alabama has its first Heisman Trophy winner- Mark Ingram. Most of the Heisman Trophy candidates tend to be quarterbacks, understandably so due to the impact they can have on their teams offensive progression not only as a leader but also as a pure athletic player on the field. It is not unheard of for a running back to win this trophy, but it is fairly rare.

Some highlights

Mark Ingram #22- Halfback(Powerback)
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKhTrxk4Nss"]YouTube- Mark Ingram(#22)- Official 2009 Heisman Highlights[/ame]

Rolando McClain #25- Defensive Captain
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkMeP7eoXuU"]YouTube- Rolando McClain Highlights[/ame]

Terrance Cody #62- Defensive Lineman
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcdJMpgyEWk"]YouTube- 2009 Terrence Cody highlight.mp4[/ame]

Javier Arenas #28- Defensive back and Kickoff/Punt Return
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zkhf296k4AQ"]YouTube- agent28[/ame]

SEC Championship Vs The Florida Gators
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZLnvy7IyDY"]YouTube- 12/09/09 Best Highlight - #2 Alabama vs #1 Florida SEC Championship[/ame]

National Championship Vs. The Texas Longhorns
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Lw3V9rH8xU&feature=related"]YouTube- 2010 BCS National Championship Highlights Alabama vs Texas[/ame]

I know this turned out to be an excessively long post filled with photographs and links of videos, but its difficult to completely express only with words why I feel so passionate about this particular team. Family started the ball rolling, learning the tradition and history built a strong amount of respect for it, and finally once I saw some truly awesome athletic achievements on the field I can't help but continue watching for them to happen again. Not only do I gain enjoyment out of following my team's progress, but this has become a wonderful common ground between my father and I, we always have something we can talk about. Finally the sheer amount of strategy involved makes it a wonderful sport to observe.
 
Despite not being a big fan of sports, I took a sports literature class a few semesters ago, and it was centered around the psychology of sports/watching sports.

There are a number of different theories why people watch sports, and these are the few I can remember.

1. It's mock warfare, and goes back to tribal times. To release aggression between opposing tribes, they'd meet on the sports field rather than the battle field. Some casualties took place, and the violence depended on the cultures involved, but it was generally seen as a way to avoid war and the widespread havoc of it.

2. It's a natural release of combativeness and aggression, and allows individual spectators to purge aggressive emotions without taking them out on another person (of course, this isn't always the case with spectators--English Hooligans)

3. Adults live failed dreams through their kid's activities. Somewhat of a selfish action, but they push their kids to achieve the things they weren't able to.

4. To live vicariously through the team they support. Our "normal" lives pale in comparison to the rush of life athletes get. We ride the waves of up-and-down with the team, and feel as if we are a part of something bigger, even though we know we aren't directly affecting anything. Cheering on a team is an escape from the daily routine, and gives fans something to look forward to to make it through a boring/stressful week.
 
uberrogo said:
Because it is enjoyable for people who like to socialize.
Click to expand...
Fe at work!
88chaz88 said:
I support England for obvious reasons.

It's just taking pride in your national side, no need to get all uptight about it.

It's only a game.
Click to expand...
Exactly. I'm not sure how this and your family (Billy) are hurting you with this. You are thinking your opinions are fact and that it is now fact that sports lovers have mental issues or even morality issues.
 
I'm not a big sports fan either. My father was a rabid sport nut and tried to force me into it against my will ... partly my personality type, and partly rebelling against him. He was a lot like the father in The Great Santini, except I was nowhere near as gifted an athlete as that son was. During military school, the powers that be used to make us dress up in our uniforms every Saturday afternoon, march us down to the stadium, and make us watch the team lose again ... often in the rain. That got old really fast.

As an NT, I can appreciate the strategies associated with the various games, but I've just never managed to get caught up in the emotions behind them. I know some NT brethren who really get into the statistical and strategic aspects of the games ... and I sometimes wonder why I don't. Oh well, to each his own. I have endured some persecution and ridicule over the course of the years for not being into sports, particularly when I was younger ... which, in turn, has soured me even more on the institution.
 
mf said:
2. It's a natural release of combativeness and aggression, and allows individual spectators to purge aggressive emotions without taking them out on another person (of course, this isn't always the case with spectators--English Hooligans)
Click to expand...

When I took General Psychology last fall I was taught that, contrary to the common wisdom, studies clearly show that releasing aggression (either physically or verbally, whether directed at a living target or not) does not purge such emotions, it actually reinforces them.
 
I've never understood people who yell at the screen when people they don't know are playing a sport. The sportscasters also trip me out when they flip out over something someone else did. I've never been able to understand it.

However, if it is someone I know playing, that's different, but at that point I'm supporting a friend or family member... and I certainly won't yell at a television if they can't hear me.
 
magister343 said:
When I took General Psychology last fall I was taught that, contrary to the common wisdom, studies clearly show that releasing aggression (either physically or verbally, whether directed at a living target or not) does not purge such emotions, it actually reinforces them.
Click to expand...
I've heard that too, especially if "winning" is involved. It was just a theory I remember being proposed from the position of anthropology.

I think it differs for different people though. If they can deal with pressure by yelling/cheering their team on without lashing out at an individual, I say go for it. That's just my two cents though.
 
On the other hand, ritualising aggression into a perpetually vicarious experience that returns year after year has been one of the great tools of civilization.
 
It isn't about the team. It is about reminding people from X area that people from your area are better than people from their area.

For example, take the Algerians rioting and attacking stores of people from the country who beat them when their soccer team lost a match. I forget which country it was though.
 
I've been known to get into a game of tennis on tv, and I enjoy watching since I know how difficult it is to get the shot you want, and I cheer a little when the person makes a great shot, or when a crazy impressive back-and-forth is going on. I call it more an empathy thing than some sort of tribal mentality.

I also watch poker and hockey at work on break.
 
DoveAlexa said:
I've been known to get into a game of tennis on tv, and I enjoy watching since I know how difficult it is to get the shot you want, and I cheer a little when the person makes a great shot, or when a crazy impressive back-and-forth is going on. I call it more an empathy thing than some sort of tribal mentality.

I also watch poker and hockey at work on break.
Click to expand...
Did you by any chance spend 11 of your hours this week watch tennis?
 
mf said:
Did you by any chance spend 11 of your hours this week watch tennis?
Click to expand...
Course not.
Still, I don't consider all of the sports fan mentality to be absurd. Also, if that 11 hours didn't interfere with a person's life and work, and was their normal entertainment, 11 hours ain't that much. I'm on this computer for god knows how long every single day, thats way worse imo.

Adding to discussion: vuvuzella's.
Why can't they tell the fans they can only blow em when the ball isn't in play maybe? Thats fair, isn't it? Keeps them from deafening the players (possibly).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top