But I was watching a local match more carefully the other day, and there were these guys in odd costumes beating on drums. There were lots of people singing. The shouting was nearly continuous.
And it occurred to me if you feel the need to go yell, you can go to a soccer match. If you want to sing some song with 500 other people, you go to a soccer match. If you want to be beat on a bongo, or blow on a horn for 90 minutes, you go to a soccer match. Whatever energy you need to let out, you can do it there, and it DOESN’T MATTER, really, what is going on on the field, although of course winning is better than losing.
When everyone is in unison, they are connecting to one heart. It is this feeling of one-heartedness so many of us sorely lack. It is certainly the reason fan is short for fanatic, why so many people get so emotional about for profit athletic entertainment business operations with clever branding. The Pittsburg Steelers ARE a team. There are also no doubt hundreds or thousands of people involved in managing the day to day business affairs. The actual players are likely one tenth or less–probably much less–of the operation.
People need synchronizing symbols. There is an energy when a group of people is activating their energy at the same time in the same way. There is a truly mythic and ritual energy in sports, for a great many people. And this is healthy. The games themselves mean nothing. The ritual, however, is important for many.
I am tempted to say, and I don’t think I am exaggerating here, that if you took away the sports team from many people, the reaction would be indistinguishable from that if you burned down a devout Christians church.
People find reasons to believe. No, that is not quite right. People find ways to find one another. That is much closer.