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I'm a fair weather fan when it comes to sports. I can admire someone that is really at the top of their craft in just about any field. It is something to watch

I'm a fair weather fan when it comes to sports. I can admire someone that is really at the top of their craft in just about any field. It is something to watch and be inspired and amazed by. I never understand the concept of cheering for a team that sucks because of some loyalty. Loyalty to what exactly? The players come and go over the years, perhaps it's a loyalty to the owners? or as Seinfeld used to call it, "cheering for laundry".

Taylor_OD 6y ago
Same. My brother has loved the Huston Rockets for 10 years. They have been okay to good a few times since he's been a fan. I've enjoyed watching OKC, the Lakers, Raptors, and the Bucks during that time. I chock it up to him enjoying the sport a lot more than I do. I don't want to watch a team lose.
- sincerely 6y ago
  Not even a Rockets fan but weren't they legitimate title contenders for most of those years?
  - Taylor_OD 6y ago
    Most years they lost in the first round of the playoffs or in the Conference Semifinals. They have been above average for sure but have a history of rallying around one player, Harden, TMac, Ming, and then crumbling for years once they leave/retire.
lordnacho 6y ago
You do it to exercise and to excise your tribal instincts. What's special about a tribe? You can't leave it. Someone quipped that you can leave your wife and you can leave your job, you can't leave your club. In truth if you've ever had a friend who changed clubs after the age of 10 they've been ridiculed for decades since.
- lovegoblin 6y ago
  This doesn't answer the question, though. Why?
  - weston 6y ago
    Often, sports helps build civic pride in one’s hometown, and it allows a town’s citizens to have a common ground to bond over.
  - lordnacho 6y ago
    Why do I follow a team, the same team? Because that tribal instict, it is against programming to change. Once you have picked you are Mormom-married (apparently the Mormons stay married in the afterlife?). A friend dragged me in. There are people who are buried with the banner of their club, and the family considers it an honour to have representatives present at the funeral. I watch plenty of games by other clubs, I just don't care in the same way. Ronaldo or Messi would never play for my team, but I appreciate them in a sort of intellectual, emotionally distant way. Like how I watch NFL games, it's an interesting sport with strategically appealing elements. Do I really care whether Mahomes or Brady takes it? Nah.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
tokai 6y ago
>Loyalty to what exactly? The players come and go over the years, perhaps it's a loyalty to the owners? Personnel is transient. That's why it makes sense to have loyalty to the identity of a team. That also elevates it from shilling a corporate entity to a lifestyle. Clubs often have relations and connections to their fanclubs, because they know they have a huge stake in the team and do hold some power. Also its more fun to watch sports if you have some skin in the game, instead of just observing 'neutrally', besides the social aspect. It's a kind of adhoc storytelling.
- dylan604 6y ago
  Locality and the pride of the local team. Do you cheer for your country's Olympic team? Do you stand for the pledge of allegience or national anthem? Why? Because that's what you were trained to do as a kid? Lots of sports fans start the same way. If you are referring to betting on sports as "skin in the game" when making it more interesting just is an excuse for your need to bet on something. I never bet on sports of any type, and enjoy it just fine. If you feel that sports on only interesting if you have money on the line, then maybe it is time to seek help.
  - neilparikh 6y ago
    > Locality and the pride of the local team. Do you cheer for your country's Olympic team? The big difference is that members of the Olympic team are citizens of the country, so the connection to you is clear (one of your "own" is doing well), while that's not the case for local teams. Often, they're not even from the same country (ex. lot of players for Canadian NHL teams are from the US, and vice versa). So the only local part is the shell itself. Sounds vaguely related to "Ship of Theseus" I suppose.
  - tokai 6y ago
    I meant personal involvement. I have no idea why you would think betting. Please calm down before you tell people to get help.
jdminhbg 6y ago
> I never understand the concept of cheering for a team that sucks because of some loyalty. Loyalty to what exactly? As the article explains, to your fellow fans.
matwood 6y ago
If you're watching pro sports, you're watching those who are at the top of their craft win or lose. Occasionally there are some epically bad teams, but those are outliers. The margin of victory in most pro sports is very small, where the losing team might make 1 less great play than the winning team. So cheering for a team that hasn't won big in a long time doesn't necessarily mean watching bad play. They might just perpetually be short that one player or coach. And, as someone whose team is usually bad, when they do win it's so sweet.
gowld 6y ago
What's the point of cheering for the winner? You didn't help, the winner can't hear you cheering, and you didn't even predict anything. It's totally pointless. On top of that it's exhausting to keep guessing when to change your allegience. Do you switch who to cheer for every time the lead changes in a game or a season? Sure, it's cool to watch the championships, but that's being a fan of the sport, not the team.

Taylor_OD 6y ago

Same. My brother has loved the Huston Rockets for 10 years. They have been okay to good a few times since he's been a fan. I've enjoyed watching OKC, the Lakers, Raptors, and the Bucks during that time. I chock it up to him enjoying the sport a lot more than I do. I don't want to watch a team lose.

sincerely 6y ago
Not even a Rockets fan but weren't they legitimate title contenders for most of those years?
- Taylor_OD 6y ago
  Most years they lost in the first round of the playoffs or in the Conference Semifinals. They have been above average for sure but have a history of rallying around one player, Harden, TMac, Ming, and then crumbling for years once they leave/retire.

lordnacho 6y ago

You do it to exercise and to excise your tribal instincts. What's special about a tribe? You can't leave it. Someone quipped that you can leave your wife and you can leave your job, you can't leave your club. In truth if you've ever had a friend who changed clubs after the age of 10 they've been ridiculed for decades since.

lovegoblin 6y ago
This doesn't answer the question, though. Why?
- weston 6y ago
  Often, sports helps build civic pride in one’s hometown, and it allows a town’s citizens to have a common ground to bond over.
- lordnacho 6y ago
  Why do I follow a team, the same team? Because that tribal instict, it is against programming to change. Once you have picked you are Mormom-married (apparently the Mormons stay married in the afterlife?). A friend dragged me in. There are people who are buried with the banner of their club, and the family considers it an honour to have representatives present at the funeral. I watch plenty of games by other clubs, I just don't care in the same way. Ronaldo or Messi would never play for my team, but I appreciate them in a sort of intellectual, emotionally distant way. Like how I watch NFL games, it's an interesting sport with strategically appealing elements. Do I really care whether Mahomes or Brady takes it? Nah.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]

tokai 6y ago

>Loyalty to what exactly? The players come and go over the years, perhaps it's a loyalty to the owners? Personnel is transient. That's why it makes sense to have loyalty to the identity of a team. That also elevates it from shilling a corporate entity to a lifestyle. Clubs often have relations and connections to their fanclubs, because they know they have a huge stake in the team and do hold some power. Also its more fun to watch sports if you have some skin in the game, instead of just observing 'neutrally', besides the social aspect. It's a kind of adhoc storytelling.

dylan604 6y ago
Locality and the pride of the local team. Do you cheer for your country's Olympic team? Do you stand for the pledge of allegience or national anthem? Why? Because that's what you were trained to do as a kid? Lots of sports fans start the same way. If you are referring to betting on sports as "skin in the game" when making it more interesting just is an excuse for your need to bet on something. I never bet on sports of any type, and enjoy it just fine. If you feel that sports on only interesting if you have money on the line, then maybe it is time to seek help.
- neilparikh 6y ago
  > Locality and the pride of the local team. Do you cheer for your country's Olympic team? The big difference is that members of the Olympic team are citizens of the country, so the connection to you is clear (one of your "own" is doing well), while that's not the case for local teams. Often, they're not even from the same country (ex. lot of players for Canadian NHL teams are from the US, and vice versa). So the only local part is the shell itself. Sounds vaguely related to "Ship of Theseus" I suppose.
- tokai 6y ago
  I meant personal involvement. I have no idea why you would think betting. Please calm down before you tell people to get help.

jdminhbg 6y ago

> I never understand the concept of cheering for a team that sucks because of some loyalty. Loyalty to what exactly? As the article explains, to your fellow fans.

matwood 6y ago

If you're watching pro sports, you're watching those who are at the top of their craft win or lose. Occasionally there are some epically bad teams, but those are outliers. The margin of victory in most pro sports is very small, where the losing team might make 1 less great play than the winning team. So cheering for a team that hasn't won big in a long time doesn't necessarily mean watching bad play. They might just perpetually be short that one player or coach. And, as someone whose team is usually bad, when they do win it's so sweet.

gowld 6y ago

What's the point of cheering for the winner? You didn't help, the winner can't hear you cheering, and you didn't even predict anything. It's totally pointless. On top of that it's exhausting to keep guessing when to change your allegience. Do you switch who to cheer for every time the lead changes in a game or a season? Sure, it's cool to watch the championships, but that's being a fan of the sport, not the team.