Sports are a useful “social lubricant” in that it makes for excellent small talk. My own personal hobbies are astronomy and military history; but sadly I find most people are better equipped to discuss how Jock A got past Jock B to put a ball into a basket than the Venusian Atmosphere or the Battle of Lepanto.
One reason Sports are popular is that they are the only real drama available on TV. Lets face it, T.V. “Dramas” are anything but. How often do the good folks on “CSI: Albuquerque” or “Law and Order: We decided to make another one” actually loose? You know darn well the murderer is going to get caught; same as when Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and some unknown actor in a red shirt beam down to a planet you know who WON’T be back on the Enterprise for dinner that night. Given how the news is stage managed these days, and “reality” TV is anything but, sports are the only thing on television where the outcome is not pre-ordained. In that respect sports is “the best thing on”.
Another reasons Sports are such a good conversation topic is that they are totally irrelevant. This utter lack of importance was best summed up by a football coach (sadly I forget his name) a few years back. When asked if the upcoming game was “a must win” he replied “No. World War Two was a “must win’. This is only a football game.” Since nothing that really matters is riding on the outcome of the game, one can relax and enjoy the contest. Unlike religion or politics, disagreeing over sports is not (or at least should not be to a sane person) personally offensive.
To the extent that such a disagreement is personally offensive, when the Fan is attempting to live vicariously through his athletic hero; Fandom becomes rather sad. My father-in-law put this in perspective one night when we were out to dinner and a loud and obnoxious fan was disturbing our dinner by yelling “WE won! WE won!” My father-in-law went over and said “NO. The HOUSTON ROCKETS won. YOU just sat here on your fat ass watching them. There is NO “we” involved; so shut the heck up.”
To that extent fandom is rather sad… in that it is a substitute for “having a real life”.
Dave is right to say that ” Fandom” is that part of a male psyche, as many if not most males use sports and their participation in sports as a way of proving their “manliness” to themselves. In our current era of an all volunteer military, where fewer and fewer men actually serve, I think this particular use of sports has increased. This may also be where the obsession with it comes from.
Here again Fandom becomes sad, in that you get the 43 year old who’s proudest achievement in life is that he scored three touchdowns in the game against Hays High a quarter century ago. That’s not just sad, it’s really not healthy.
So in the end, I have to agree with AJ. Is Fandom a Mental Illness?
Yes.
