So in the glory of my team winning for the Super Bowl, I have been reflecting again on how sports teams operate in the modern era. It really is approved warfare–with war paint, team colors, and adrenaline all included. Sports allows you to be part of a group–and scream loudly about your superiority–in a way that is socially appropriate. And both your own and other responses encourage all of this.
First, your own personal reaction. I don’t know about you, but I was completely hoarse on Monday having screamed (pretty incessantly according to my kids) at the television for hours. What is it about sports that permits, encourages, and even demands that we act in relatively nutty ways? The adrenaline rush–just from watching–is all too real. And then there is the pride. I am very very proud of my Steelers. I am eating Steeler M&M’s as I write this, I have hung my Steeler banner on my door and I dressed in black & gold at work on Monday. Do I really have anything to do with their success? Of course not. So why is it that I get to be proud–actually feel superior to others–for actions for which I have no responsibility or contribution?
Second, everyone else seems to approve and encourage this pride that I don’t really deserve. I have received emails and phone calls from plenty of friends and colleagues congratulating me on the game. Is sports glory really transferable to those who are lucky enough to have grown up in that town? And yet we all know that affiliation matters–in negotiation and in life.
So, until baseball season when the Pirates will likely remind me that superiority in one sport does not seem to transfer to the stadium next door, I will bask in my undeserved glory and enjoy being part of a winning team.
As an athlete with experience in individual competition, team competition, coaching, and being a fan, I have to respectfully disagree with the assumption that the behavior you describe is appropriate or encouraged. As a high school basketball coach I do not encourage the behavior you describe, likely because I was discouraged from gloating, having an over-inflated sense of pride, and conducting myself in any way that would not be appropriate in other forums. I do not encourage a stoich church-like attitude, but I certainly did not, as a coach, allow my team to raucusly (sp?) celebrate victories in earshot or sightline of the opposition. So, I disagree with your statement that such behavior is encouraged. Rather, I think the response you have to a Steeler’s victory is simply tolerated more by those disapproving of such behavior.
I think your statements relate more to the culture of fans, not sports, which is an entirely different thing. Maybe the fans you elude to could have used more strong coaching personalities and involvement in youth sports and less ESPN touchdown dance replays.
What is important to contemplate is where does the social acceptance emerge. What is it about our country’s obsession with professional sports derive and what eggs on that feeling of pride and sense that we can be part of the glory and achievement? Historically, I think it starts out with the enjoyable feeling of belonging to a team and sharing common goals and motivating factors. But moving into our modern world of professional sports the commercial ring has taken hold of those cherished feelings and fed of them to create, build and tap into markets for profit. We love to show our pride in our accomplishments, no matter how personally involved by wearing an exemplar of such performance on our chest. The shirt, jersey, hat, or towel we bring to work, or wear at the game or cheering in front of the TV were all manufactured, marketed and sold to us. Sports have become an industry, reaching far out into numerous other industries motivating lots of marketing and investments. All these huge businesses, crazy contracts for athletes and many other factors to drop your jaw, seemingly just because we like to play around with friends out on the lawn. Its a crazy place humans can create. Go Steelers.
Tyler Eaton
Vermont Law School
No. Wrong. I am fairly certain that I DO, in fact, rock. I would remind you that “rocking” is not a zero-sum game.