-- March 5, 2007 --

Why Are We Fans?

Every year, millions of fans settle into stadium seats, living room recliners, or bar stools to watch sporting events.  We are young and old, rich and poor, male and female.  But in almost every case we have one thing in common:  We’re rooting for somebody.         

            Sure, you can watch a game for the sheer love of the sport, or enjoy the drama of a closely contested competition without picking a side.  But it’s just a heck of a lot more fun when you’ve got some kind of stake in the outcome.           

            It’s the bottom of the ninth.  Two outs.  The home team is down by one and the bases are loaded.  Any pitch could be the game’s last, with either team victorious.  It’s an exciting situation in and of itself, of course.  But the tension increases exponentially when it’s your team out there.  A base hit will send you home happy. A pop-up will ruin your day.            

            But why?  What makes otherwise rational people allow their mood to depend on the performance of a group of guys who happen to be wearing a particular uniform?  Some would answer that it’s because they represent us geographically.  If you live in Seattle , you’re a Mariners fan because that “S” on their cap stands for your city.  They’re playing for your town’s pride.  Your pride.  There may be an element of truth to this argument, but it doesn’t go very far.  Are any of those Mariners actually from Seattle?  Nope.  Okay, to be fair, the Mariners’ current 40-man Spring Training roster includes three natives of the state of Washington.  Utility infielder Willie Bloomquist was born in Bremerton, just across Puget Sound.  Pitchers Eric O’Flaherty and Sean White hail from Walla Walla and Pullman, 268 and 285 miles away, respectively.  O’Flaherty and White are rookies who may not even make the regular-season squad.  There are as many or more Mariners from Japan, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic as from Washington. This is clearly not about geography.  

·                                 Is it the players themselves, then?  Are Miami fans pulling for the Heat because they genuinely want Dwyane Wade and Gary Payton to experience the joy of victory?  This seems even less likely.  Most fans have never even met their favorite players, and virtually none will ever actually know them personally.  And what’s more, almost no professional athlete spends an entire career with one team anymore.  Heat fans didn’t care if Shaquille O'Neal ever won a game while wearing yellow and blue.  But they sure want him to win in red and white.  Johnny Damon could have owned Boston as one of the best-loved members of the 2004 World Champion Red Sox; now he’s equally despised by Sox fans for wearing the hated Yankee pinstripes.   

The cynics among us scoff at the very idea of rooting for sports teams.  Pro athletes are in it for the money.  They’re on a particular team because that’s where their agents could strike the best deal.  If they’re offered more cash elsewhere, they’ll be gone.  Why in the world should we care if a bunch of millionaire mercenaries in blue jerseys beat a bunch of millionaire mercenaries in red jerseys?  To an extent, the cynics are right. I understand their logic.  Still, there’s something about sports fandom that defies logic.  

Here in Chicago, we recently had the rare opportunity to watch our Bears play in the Super Bowl.  It was a season of ups and downs, quarterback controversies, and nail-biting finishes.  As the season wore on, a palpable sense of excitement grew and intensified over the city and suburbs.  Bears jerseys, jackets and caps were everywhere. Complete strangers called out “Go Bears!” to one another and debated whether Rex Grossman should stay or go.  Passing acquaintances had something to talk about at the office.  Friendships formed and were strengthened over this common passion.  

            Of course, in the end, the Bears humiliated themselves on the biggest stage in Sports and took a beating from the deserving Indianapolis Colts.  In the scheme of things, our lives were not made any worse by the loss, nor would they have been made any better by a win.  Yet nevertheless we were saddened, let down and disappointed.  And we shared these feelings with our fellow fans.  We had gone through the highs, the lows, and this final defeat as one.             

            And that, I think, is why we do it.  Rooting for a team makes us part of a community, part of something larger than ourselves.  Fans shouted “We’re going to the Super Bowl!” after the Bears took the NFC title.  “I can’t believe we lost” was a common lament after the Big Game.  Always “we.”  Not because we were deluded into thinking we were actually on the Bears team.  “We” were the community of fans, and “we” went through it all together.            

            And next year, “we” will root just as hard for our Bears, our Cubs, our Heat, Mariners, Red Sox, Lakers and Yankees.  We’ll do it together.  

            No, it’s not rational.