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There is a moment of reckoning every year, right around this time. The days are getting shorter, the breezes are getting cooler, winter coats are prominently displayed in storefronts, pumpkin-spiced lattes are all the rage, and school is in full swing. Time to face facts: summer is truly over. Now what?
If you’re like millions of Americans, football season is a high point of the cold, dark months. Yes, the sport has its share of critics, and the mounting evidence for players’ compromised health is alarming. I’m certainly not arguing with these data, but there's still an upside.
Forging a common identity — Win or lose, cheering on your team naturally forges a common bond with fellow fans, be they alumni from your university or residents of your home state. Cheering on your team in a crowded bar or packed stadium creates a unique sense of collective energy, an unspoken connection, and a feeling of belonging.
Being an ardent fan serves as a common in-group identity. It’s an aspect of yourself and others that transcends age, race, and gender lines. This kind of broadened identity can actually help break down ingroup/outgroup barriers (Dovidio & Gaertner, 1999), giving us ways of connecting with people who otherwise might seem very different from us.
For those who’ve moved, it can also keep you feeling connected to home. A friend of mine, now living in California but originally from Boston, found a bar where New England Patriots fans gather each week to watch their games. Here, she gets her weekly dose of Boston pride, thousands of miles from home.
Basking in reflected glory. When our team does well, Robert Cialdini (1976) argues that we “bask in reflected glory” (BIRG), feeling a real sense of pride in the players, coaches, and — interestingly — ourselves. It’s common to hear phrases like, “We won!” or “We’re having such a great season.” It simply feels good to associate with winners, donning your team’s jersey with a sense of pride after a win.
(Not surprisingly, there is a corresponding process of distancing that happens after a team loses. Cialdini calls this “cutting off reflected failure” (CORF) — “They played horribly” might roll off the tongue more easily than “WE played horribly.” Interestingly, in the face of loss, ardent fans tend to CORF less often than fickle fans.)
Admiring real talent — Witnessing virtuosity in any domain can create a real sense of wonder and admiration, both for the athlete’s hard work and his or her innate talent. "How in the world did he make that catch?” you ask yourself, incredulous. High-level athleticism can be a thing of beauty. It can make your jaw drop in amazement. And it can be motivating. I’ll never be anything remotely resembling an NFL star, but I still like being reminded of the human potential for speed, strength, and strategy.
Feeling nostalgia — When I did a casual survey of friends, one common answer to why they watch football is that it creates a sense of nostalgia. Watching their favorite team play evokes warm memories of childhood: Playing catch with friends in the backyard, pretending to be their favorite players. Collecting memorabilia. Watching games with now-deceased parents and grandparents. Going to their first live game. Most fans watch with an eye to the future — the playoffs, the Super Bowl — but many also can’t help but look back and reminisce.
Cozying up — Personally, my favorite thing about watching football is the feeling of snuggly togetherness it creates, and this is especially nice in winter. Coming in from the cold to a crackling fire, bowls of comforting snack foods, friends and family connecting over a shared experience: to me, that’s the ultimate sense of coziness. And, with apologies to Green Bay Packers’ fans, watching the snow fall on crowds of freezing super fans makes it all the cozier.
While many of these positive outcomes aren’t unique to football, something about the national enthusiasm for the game, the feeling of togetherness and camaraderie it creates, and maybe even the fact that it takes place (for many of us) in the cold winter months makes watching football much more than just a guilty pleasure. So, don’t let winter’s onset get you down. Gather your friends and hit the local sports bar, plan a viewing party, or even buy some tickets to a local game. Don your team’s colors and enjoy!
References
Cialdini, R. B., Borden, R. J., Thorne, A., Walker, M. R., Freeman, S., & Sloan, L. R. (1976). Basking in reflected glory: Three (football) field studies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 34, 366-375.
Dovidio, J. F. & Gaertner, S. L. (1999). Reducing prejudice: Combatting intergroup biases. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 8, 101-105.
