Trying to Imagine a Place Where It's Always Safe and Warm
Part XX (My Response)
I'm going to try to restrain my opinions on your particular rooting loyalties (Duke basketball, Yankees baseball, and Lakers basketball) for a little while, but for now, I'll be glad to talk about sports fanaticism in general.
I mentioned this to you this weekend, but I really think you would enjoy Warren St. John's "Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer." St. John grew up in Birmingham, Alabama as a HUGE Crimson Tide fan, but when he decided to go to college at Columbia, he couldn't understand why no one there cared about the school's football team, when during his childhood, the Crimson Tide were the biggest thing going in the state of Alabama (sorry, Auburn fans). He goes back to Alabama, follows the team around during the 1999 season in an R.V., meets an entire cast of bizarre/lovable characters, and does a little writing about the idea of sports fanatacism in general.
The main reason that I think people are so fanatical about sports, besides the ones that you've already mentioned (triablism, vicariousness, competition) is that it provides a context in which we can experience all of these emotions that the world tells us are bad (hatred, anger, violence, revenge, etc.) in a setting where it's more socially acceptable, because, after all, it's just a game. People from the entire southeastern United States don't really hate Tim Tebow (well, maybe they do). They hate that he plays for Florida, a team that they loath.
Sports fanaticism is appealing also because it's an inviting alternative to the ambiguities of everyday life. At the end of a regular day, we may feel good about what we've done that day, we may be proud of what we've accomplished, or the day may have been an unmitigated disaster and we can't wait for it to end.
But here's the thing: All of that exists in this subjective gray area. Sports has none of that ambiguity. At the end of the game (unless it's that sissy game of soccer), we have winners and we have losers, and you can't really get confused about who's who because the answers are there for you on the scoreboard. With that understanding, we sit down to watch our teams play knowing that we'll have some sort of resolution (whether it be good or bad) in a few hours. It allows us to experience all of those aforementioned emotions in a way that isn't exactly real.
You're up, Reeves.
Labels: Alabama Crimson Tide, Amateur Philosophy, Sports Fanaticism, Warren St. John
posted by Justin @ 3/31/2010 05:45:00 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Not to call you out Justin in your philosophical approach to sports fanaticism, but I believe you are missing a huge key player in why it's appealing to be a sports fan--the camaraderie and unification with other fans. One of the huge catalysts toward ending the apartheid in South Africa was that of the Rugby World Cup in 1995 where the SpringBoks beat New Zealand's "All Blacks" who were slated to win. Nelson Mandela knew that he could start the difficult process of uniting South Africa by extracting the strong negative racist connotation of the country's most controversial symbol--the Springboks. By promoting the SpringBoks as the country's team, Mandela was able to bring about reconciliation and restoration of a wounded country. The gravity of what was done through following the Springboks that year is overwhelming. Mandela achieved what seemed to be the impossible--uniting a country with what used to be the symbol for racism and segregation. To my point, I think it's hard to neglect the magnitude of what sports teams can do for fans, and while it may sound silly--the "love of the game" runs deeper than just a welcome break from mundane daily activities. To many fans (and clearly to 1995 SA), the love of sports can unite polar opposite personalities under a common goal and can perhaps pave the way for the reconciliation of those polar issues. Just a thought from a sports fanatic
That really should be made into a movie.
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