4 ms·

I believe the deep interest in sports is partially genetic. Some people's brains have very strong "mirror neurons" so when their sports team does something grea

• Accujack 7y ago
  That's not just some people, it's everyone. There are very strong survival benefits to being able to receive that chemical high for believing we belong to a particular group.
  • pbhjpbhj 7y ago
    Watching sport had always made me want to go out and do it, as a kid I'd try to fit in but after 5mins I'd have to go out and play. Watching other people have fun playing football made no sense. Why would it be "believing" we're part of a group that makes the high and not _being_ part of a group.
    • Accujack 7y ago
      Because identifying as part of a group is part of the mechanism that lets humans act collectively. Same kind of thing as the need to belong to some group, organization, or clique. Humans acting collectively are safer, stronger, better fed, and in general reproduce more successfully than humans who do not. Being able to essentially choose a group to belong with is beneficial - it's a shortcut to most of the benefits of group membership (in ancient history, I mean) without having to be born into the group or be one of the "O.G." members. There are advantages for the rest of the group, too - they can get more people on "their side" and committed to their welfare without having to birth/raise/feed them.