Spanish_Inquisitor

Too much thinking this weekend. Or maybe too much football.

Ever notice that lots of sports fans have an undying devotion and loyalty to a particular team? I'm not just talking about Philly fans who live in Philadelphia, or Yankee fans who live in Nww York - people who are fans of their home town team. I'm referring to those people who have no real connection to a teams, but feel that it's their teams - do or die.

I have friends who are die-hard Notre Dame fans, who did not attend Notre Dame, nor have any close family relatives who did, but who are loyal to their team, because their family is. They inherited it from their parents.

Much like the way they inherited their religious belief from their family. If you asked to to explain why they like Notre Dame, they can't explain it other than to say "I just do."

Is this the same human phenomenon we see in people who are Catholics, or fundies, or Lutheran, because their parents are? They don't make a conscious decision to be a Catholic, or fundie, or Lutheran. They just are, and really could not adequately explain why. But one look at their family would tell you.

SI

Splarnst

My father is a University of Georgia football fan, and I inherited that somewhat while I was growing up. That changed when I decided to attend the University of Florida in 1998.

My current favorite teams are my favorites because I can watch them more often than other teams mostly. I attended all but one of the Jaguar games for the first five years, though now I've gotten bored with the sport. I'm a Tampa Bay Lightning fan because I can watch about 60 of their games per year on Sun Sports (formerly “The Sunshine Network�?) and attend a game or two per year. And I was Chicago Bulls fan before they won any championships since I could watch many of their games on WGN, which we have here for some unknown reason.

Marching Folly

I think with sports teams... people see it as more of a game. For instance, when the claim "X team dominates X league" is made, people tend to see it as less of a claim about truth than "X god exists and x religion is the one true faith." People don't find it offensive when you say "your team sucks" like they do when you say "your religion sucks."

Tubby Lardmore

To use my own family as an example--
My mother is fundamentalist because her mother died when my mother was still a kid, and a neighbor family who happened to be in a fundamentalist church became mentors for her in the absence of a mother to raise her.

My father is fundamentalist because his mother's father founded a small church in the rural Midwest.

The two of them met in church, so I am only here because of fundamentalism, hallelujah!

TheMostHumbleofAll

Quite an interesting parallel. If one were to put electrodes on their heads and talk about sports and religion, I wonder if the same areas of the brain will show activity.

You also get people who combine the two: "God told me my team was going to win, so I bet all my savings on this game."

I bet that part of their brain is working in overdrive, while other parts not so much...