# Taking Pride in Sports Teams is Stupid **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 30, 2007, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-pride-in-sports-teams-is-stupid/413676 "2007-07-30T13:57:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2007, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-pride-in-sports-teams-is-stupid/413676/21 "2007-07-30T18:32:36Z")
Being a sports fan is pretty dumb. But having a favorite iteration of **Star Trek** reveals hidden depths! ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2007, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-pride-in-sports-teams-is-stupid/413676/22 "2007-07-30T19:52:07Z")
[QUOTE=Myself] I’ve never painted my face, covered my body/car/house with team logos, participated in a celebratory riot, or fired shots in the air that killed four people as I understand happened when Iraqis celebrated their victory. [/QUOTE] Just to be clear, you were NOT trying to equate painting your face with firing a potentially deadly weapon into the air indiscriminately. Am I right? > [@](#): > > There is no shortage of things that are far more important. Some people understand this, and some never will. You know, I’ve painted my face in the past. Twice, I think. And under certain circumstances, I would actually do it again. I don’t think that this renders me incapable of knowing there are more important things in the world than sports. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2007, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-pride-in-sports-teams-is-stupid/413676/23 "2007-07-30T21:10:30Z")
The Iraqi national soccer team is made up of Sunnis, Shi’as, and Kurds. They have been working together for a common goal, and they have exceeded all expectations. This is directly in conflict with what many in the media have been saying: that the Iraqi factions cannot get along and work together, and that there is no hope but to partition Iraq. The Iraqi national soccer team went into the Asia Cup with odds 50 to 1 against their winning, and they won. The Iraqi national soccer team used to be under Uday Hussein’s power, and he was rumored/known to have tortured the players when they didn’t perform to his expectations. Since Uday’s well-earned killing, the team has done better than they ever did before. They finished fourth in the Olympics and now they’ve won the Asia Cup. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. You can play it without any gear, just something that has the same general properties as a ball. Therefore, poor people can play it. Pele, as a child, played in the streets barefoot with a ball of socks tied together. Given all these factors, it makes perfect sense that the Iraqi populace would celebrate, and celebrate big, when their soccer team won. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2007, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-pride-in-sports-teams-is-stupid/413676/24 "2007-07-30T21:52:03Z")
There is little in this thread that does not come off to me as petty and bitter. I mean how many idiotic things do people discuss ad nauseum in Cafe Society? ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2007, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-pride-in-sports-teams-is-stupid/413676/25 "2007-07-30T21:54:04Z")
[QUOTE=msmith537] I mean how many idiotic things do people discuss ad nauseum in Cafe Society? [/QUOTE] Last time I checked? All of them. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2007, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-pride-in-sports-teams-is-stupid/413676/26 "2007-07-30T23:26:52Z")
[QUOTE=msmith537] There is little in this thread that does not come off to me as petty and bitter. I mean how many idiotic things do people discuss ad nauseum in Cafe Society? [/QUOTE] One more than that…now. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2007, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-pride-in-sports-teams-is-stupid/413676/27 "2007-07-30T23:30:33Z")
You’re missing the point. Taking pride in someone you are nominally related to when they kick a ball into a net is a way for you to forget how s\*\*\*y everything else around you is. It’s a reason to keep living when there isn’t much hope to be had. People who don’t understand why people take pride in sports teams are stupid. ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2007, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-pride-in-sports-teams-is-stupid/413676/28 "2007-07-30T23:39:50Z")
If cheering my **Cincinnati Reds** on to this year’s NL pennant is stupid, then I don’t wanna be smart! [sigh] ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2007, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-pride-in-sports-teams-is-stupid/413676/29 "2007-07-30T23:42:26Z")
[QUOTE=mswas] You’re missing the point. Taking pride in someone you are nominally related to when they kick a ball into a net is a way for you to forget how s\*\*\*y everything else around you is. It’s a reason to keep living when there isn’t much hope to be had. People who don’t understand why people take pride in sports teams are stupid. [/QUOTE] Ah. My bad. I had your statement totally backwards. I totally agree with it as restated for my slow comprehension. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2007, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-pride-in-sports-teams-is-stupid/413676/30 "2007-07-31T00:12:21Z")
So is the OP going to come back and admire his piñata, or what? ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2007, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-pride-in-sports-teams-is-stupid/413676/31 "2007-07-31T02:46:16Z")
[QUOTE=ZomZom] This is not to be confused with taking pride in your own athletic achievements, of course. I just find that hooking your own wagon to somebody else’s achievements is pretty lame. [/QUOTE] Why is it lame? I think being a supporter of one team or another intensifies one’s attachment to the outcome of the game. It’s kind of like playing blackjack: how often do people sit around and play blackjack just for the fun of it? Not often. But get a little money involved, a little competition, and suddenly blackjack is a lot more fun. Baseball can be damn boring if you don’t have a little emotional buy-in. It sounds like you aren’t that much of a sports fan, so let me tip you off on a little secret: only part of the appeal of sports is the interest in watching physical performance. The bigger draw is the drama of competition, much in the same way that conflict makes books, movies, and plays interesting. Any good theater draws the audience in with some kind of attachment to the players – the protagonist is a likable (or at least interesting) person with a fatal flaw, and people suspend their disbelief in order to become emotionally invested in the character’s outcome. Not much different in sports. Yankees fans look back and see the team that Ruth built, 49ers fans see the glory of Montana and Rice, and so on. You might not care about it, but to be completely oblivious to the fact that sports is about more than scoring points is to be seriously out of touch with how conflict and drama entertain the human condition. In other words, don’t blame your own shortcomings on others. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2007, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-pride-in-sports-teams-is-stupid/413676/32 "2007-07-31T02:48:20Z")
[QUOTE=Ravenman] In other words, don’t blame your own shortcomings on others. [/QUOTE] Yeah, OP, what **Ravenman** said…and _he’s_ stuck in a town with no good teams! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![ZomZom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zomzom/32/5620_2.png) [@ZomZom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZomZom)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2007, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-pride-in-sports-teams-is-stupid/413676/33 "2007-07-31T11:41:03Z")
The responses so far have pretty much ranged from, “Of course,” to “Let’s pretend it isn’t.” So I suppose there’s not much resistance to my point, but rather to its revelation. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2007, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-pride-in-sports-teams-is-stupid/413676/34 "2007-07-31T13:01:38Z")
The only thing that really bugs me is people who use collective first-person pronouns to describe what happened with a professional sports team. If you’re in high school or college or a college alum (or the like) I’m willing to give a pass for those, since at least you’re all part of the same institution. But people who do it for professional sports drive me nuts. ---
**Author:** ![I\_m\_Ron\_Burgundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9fc29f/32.png) [@I\_m\_Ron\_Burgundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_m_Ron_Burgundy)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2007, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-pride-in-sports-teams-is-stupid/413676/35 "2007-07-31T13:39:44Z")
I think sports teams in general are stupid. I haven’t been interested in sports since I was under 10. Still. being a sports fan is about the same as being a films fan or a books fan. There are as many Tolkien fans here as Yankees fans (I guess…) and the vicariousness is equally silly in both. If you don’t think it’s something to get worked up about, that’s fine really. I mean if that’s what someone’s into, whatever, I just find it as much fun as watching the stock report. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2007, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-pride-in-sports-teams-is-stupid/413676/36 "2007-07-31T14:30:42Z")
I like the Packers, but I **LOVE** football. I’d watch 6th grade girls play an iron man scrimmage before I’d watch the Tour De France. It’s the sport you love, the team is just a personality. A little jibing when the Vikings win is ok, but the 'I’m better than you ‘cause the team I root for won attitude’ is ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2007, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-pride-in-sports-teams-is-stupid/413676/37 "2007-07-31T15:14:41Z")
[QUOTE=Ravenman] It’s kind of like playing blackjack: how often do people sit around and play blackjack just for the fun of it? Not often. But get a little money involved, a little competition, and suddenly blackjack is a lot more fun. [/QUOTE] Casinos must love you, if you think you’re competing with other players at blackjack. ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2007, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-pride-in-sports-teams-is-stupid/413676/38 "2007-07-31T22:06:08Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] Casinos must love you, if you think you’re competing with other players at blackjack. [/QUOTE] As long as you’re not counting cards, I think casinos love you if you’re playing blackjack, period. ---
**Author:** ![Licentious\_Ectomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5e9695/32.png) [@Licentious\_Ectomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Licentious_Ectomorph)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2007, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-pride-in-sports-teams-is-stupid/413676/39 "2007-07-31T22:16:38Z")
Come on, you all know what the OP is talking about. Enjoying spectator sports and admiring athletic ability is one thing. Basing your self-esteem on the achievements of a sports team that happens to be based within the same arbitrarily defined geographical borders where you live, to the extent where you feel that said team’s winning somehow confers honor and accomplishment upon everyone who lives within those borders, is sub-retarded. ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2007, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-pride-in-sports-teams-is-stupid/413676/40 "2007-07-31T23:02:03Z")
Sub-retarded? No, it’s an irrational feeling of happiness related to an organization that one identifies with. I really don’t see a reasoned argument that explains why taking huge pleasure in music or art is somehow a better source of happiness than in watching the Indians sweep a 3 game series over the White Sox. Every political junkie stays up to watch election returns, and feels a similar response that sports fans do. While they might try to explain their feelings as a result of hope or fear of changed governance, the base emotional reactions seem to be no different, externally, than the crowds in any World Cup match. I really think that this reaction, of identifying yourself with a movement and celebrating its success as a success of your own, is a natural human reaction. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-pride-in-sports-teams-is-stupid/413676.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-pride-in-sports-teams-is-stupid/413676.md?page=3)