A Grain of Saul: The craziness that is being a fan

Over the last few years, fandom has been under attack.

Die-hard sports fans have been called… Over the last few years, fandom has been under attack.

Die-hard sports fans have been called crazy. Their morals are put into question. The general public feels they have too many emotional ties to their teams. But what goes into this fandom?

In the last decade, we’ve seen it all.

In 2011, a Phillies fan was tased at centerfield after running onto the diamond in the middle of a game.

Between 1997 and 2003, West Virginia fans led the nation in intentionally-set street fires with 1,120 of them.

Less than a month ago, 79 fans in Egypt were killed during a soccer riot. Just two weeks ago, those same Egyptians rioted against police after reports of “inadequate” security at the arena.

While the reaction to these headlines has been a combination of “How could they?” and “What are they thinking?” the real question people should be asking is, “Why?”

Why are fans so attached to their teams? Why are they so emotionally invested in their sports? What could possibly cause  a person to  hate  an opposing fan to the point of  beating him, causing a coma, in the parking lot of a pre-season football game?

The sports world isn’t “just a game” anymore. A saying like that, today, doesn’t apply.

Fans invest time, money, emotions and pride into the team they follow. These things all have real-life value. Think about the other things you put time, money, emotions and pride into: relationships, politics, religion, family, and even education.

Seldom are we asked to take these things lightly. Yet , just because it is an arena of wins and losses, sports fans are assumed to be “over-invested” in their  teams because they care enough to act stupidly, violently or irrationally at a moment of sports crisis.

As a fan, I can’t say I understand – or can even fathom – putting myself in a life or death situation over a sporting event. The 79 dead in Egypt is an anomaly to me. But, if I were to tell you that I’d never acted out in a violent or emotional way over sports, I’d be lying.

Enough can’t be said about the connection a person can feel for their sports teams. They aren’t just a representation of the players, but they are also a representation of the city. If that city is somewhere you call home, then those players become a representation of you, your family and sometimes your character.

In the 1970’s, the Broadstreet Bullies put Philadelphia Flyers hockey on the map. But at the same time, everyone in Philadelphia reveled in this tough-guy mentality that the Flyers brought to the ice. The orange and black wasn’t just representing the city, but they were representing the character of the city.

In Philadelphia, who do you think people care more about, the mayor or the quarterback? It’s not just there  — it’s every major city in America. I bet there are more people in Pittsburgh who know who Ben Roethlisberger is than Luke Ravenstahl.

The reason for this is simple: Mayor Ravenstahl puts the Steelers on a pedestal (i.e. doing things like temporarily changing his last name to avoid connection with Steelers’ rival the Baltimore Ravens), but you never hear the Steelers talk local politics. We find pride in our players, not our politicians.

As a die-hard Redskins fan, I’ve had to live in fandomdepression for 20 years. The Redskins stink. They haven’t won a Super Bowl since the year I was born, and the last time they even threatened to be good I was wearing braces.

But when somebody insults the Redskins, I feel the pain and frustration of all those losses. I think of what a great city Washington D.C. is and what a prideful institution the Redskins once were, and I actually feel a real, tangible emotional connection to that team.

Aside from the emotional investment is the monetary one.

A ticket for an NFL game can cost as much as $300. For most Americans, that isn’t an hour’s worth of work. So when they get to the game, you know what those paying fans want to see? A triumph. A victory. A good product.

After all, professional sports have turned into nothing more than a product. The players are motivated by money. The coaches are motivated by money. The networks are motivated by money. In some cases, even the referees are motivated by money.

So while the owners can scold their fans and ask for better behavior, maybe they should consider this: if you want people to be less invested, they should make being a fan less of an investment.

If it weren’t impossible to meet a favorite player or get a ticket for a reasonable price, these events wouldn’t be a once-in-a-lifetime experience with so much riding on them.

As the word “athlete” continues to become synonymous with the word “celebrity,” those in the sports world need to start thinking about how to fix our fans, rather than just scold them for misbehaving.

Of course, they could always just cut down on the alcohol. . . but who am I kidding?