Fandom ... a Treatise
I have three or four friends who drank themselves in to an absolute stupor because of last weekend's football games. It didnˆ‚t matter if their teams were favored or not, it didnˆ‚t matter if their teams won or lost- the sheer anxiety of their team making it this far in the season led them to do some pretty serious drinking. While there are a lot of negative things that could be said about this kind of behavior, letˆ‚s take a minute to think about the fandom that led to these behaviors.
Iˆ‚m one of those people to whom sports means an incredible amount; there are any number of reasons for why this might be the case, but let me offer one here that I think explains why I love my teams past the point of pure reason ... Sports links us to a place, to a people. Beneath the proscenium created by brick and grass there is a stage whose drama cultivates a sense of belonging, a sense of community, a sense of communitas that is uniquely powerful in our modern world. The Cubs/Bears/ˆ‚Hawks/Fire take me home, they remind me that no matter how far from my parents I wander, Iˆ‚m never very far from them, from the first people that mattered to me, and the first air that nurtured me.
When our teams do well, we move beyond pure identification with a place and a people- we move onwards toward redemption, towards glory via the transitive property; for sports provide us with a lesson in faith. Iˆ‚ve often linked my Catholicism with my Cubs fandom. Much like my faith tells me that in Christˆ‚s suffering we are reborn, much like I am told that faith in Christ will be repaid with life everlasting the Cubs tell me that faith in them, in the blue and red will be repaid with redemptive victory ˆñ just so long as I continue to believe.
Thatˆ‚s the lesson from last weekend; sometimes a touchdown can be salvation, others- damnation. Sports means something to people, means more than bandwagoneers can ever know and this is why I canˆ‚t stand them. For the most part they donˆ‚t understand this kind of faith, they donˆ‚t understand how deep this love lies, how hot this conviction burns or how important a touchdown can be.
And so this is my official KvO style gutter to bandwagoneers. Those who drink themselves silly for no good reason, or are so oblivious to how serious things are to others. This is a gutter to all those who donˆ‚t get it; those who puff out their chests, talk shit and bask in an undeserved glory. Theyˆ‚re the worst kind of fair weather fans, those that take the fun, ignore the agony and bring the pain.
Stupor? I have no idea what your talking about! I didn't stup. I swayed.
Last week, in my night of sleeplessness before the game I read this, thought it might be of interest to you:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05023/446849.stm
"Reactions to wins, losses rooted in our expectations"
Dude..you're citing Huizinga again without even knowing it.
see
this is why i shouldn't read that book
cuz if i do
i'll have to start citing him for my own ideas
;)