You Can Usually Tell A Lot About A Man's Character By The Sports Teams He Roots For
gpointstudio / ShutterstockChoosing a sports team to root for is a deeply personal decision for most men. Whether its origin is in loyalty to a family legacy or a favorite player, the choice of team can be a reflection of his character.
For many men, watching sports plays a crucial role in their adult lives. It's something they can always look forward to and enjoy, watching their team go up against the opposition, hoping they'll catch a win this time around. Interestingly, the loyalty to a team goes much deeper than just celebrating a winning season.
Every season, there are those sports teams that are objectively terrible. Yet, there are men who will root for their self-ascribed team no matter the cost of their pride. Similarly, there are just as many fans who jump on the bandwagon of whoever is the best that season. The real question is, what does a man's choice in favorite teams say about who he is as a person?
Men who are loyal to a sports team regardless of their record are happier and more connected with others.
Fitness influencer Noah Tanner posted on Instagram, "If a man is loyal to his terrible sports team, he is a good man. Enduring that level of pain builds character." Meant lightheartedly, Tanner might actually be onto something.
Ben Valenta and David Sikorjak conducted a social research project called "Fans Have More Friends," and found that belonging to a community through a fandom, specifically sports, brings people together. They explained, "fans exhibit stronger measures of well-being, happiness, confidence, and optimism" than non-fans.
Sikorjak told Healthline, “[Sports] are an ever-present facilitator of connection. Sports are the reason to get people together, the reason to send that text message, the reason to check in with your parents, and so on. Sports anchor and galvanize relationships; they facilitate social interactions.”
From that perspective, Tanner's post is valid. Men who commit to and are loyal to a team are, in fact, loyal. That's because they are simply happier. Even when their favorite team is losing, they share that grief with a community, and that creates a connection. Simply put, even when their favorite football team is the Jets, these fans are happier and more optimistic about life than men who don't identify with a team.
If a man has had the same favorite team his entire life, regardless of geography, he likely identifies with everything associated with the team.
Professors Scott Tainsky and Monika Stodolska at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign found that, while most people move to new locations throughout their lives, they still remain loyal to their hometown's team. This is because over time, the relationship between an individual and their sports team becomes a bond that's very difficult to break.
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In fact, part of what makes watching sports so addictive is that it starts to feel like you're a part of the team itself. Matt Moore, associate dean of academic and student affairs in the University of Kentucky College of Social Work, explained that when it comes to rivalries, "a rival team serves as the 'out-group,' creating a clear 'us vs. them' dynamic." Since in many instances, sports rivalries signify decades-long feuds, being a part of a team strengthens ties to it even more.
If a man grew up loving his hometown's team, he's likely going to cheer for and defend it no matter its stats. Even after moving, sports fans who remain attached to their hometown teams allow them to assert who they are as people. In other words, he probably views his team as an extension of himself and symbolic of where he grew up.
This isn't much different than choosing to root for his college team long after he graduated. He identifies with the school as a part of who he is in his core. That's more than dedication. It's a reflection of character and personality. It's pride, and it's directly tied to self-esteem.
Robert Cialdini, a professor of psychology at Arizona State, told the New York Times, ''This is not some light diversion to be enjoyed for its inherent grace and harmony. The self is centrally involved in the outcome of the event. Whoever you root for represents you.''
When a man is rooting for his favorite team, it can be regulating for his mental health.
Being attached to a team can bring about many emotional highs and lows, and that's unsuspectingly a good thing. Psychologist Patrick McElwaine shared that "The sense of belonging that comes with being a fan is psychologically powerful, fostering community, reducing feelings of loneliness, and even boosting self-esteem."
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In a day and age where the loneliness epidemic is hitting men profusely, whether he likes to admit it or not, a man watching sports is probably what he needs to feel a part of something greater than himself. Valenta told Sportico, “What we find is that regardless of the fan base in question, whether they’re perennial losers or in the middle of a dynastic run, there really is no measurable effect on the wellness outcomes that we see." he went on to say, “Effectively what fandom is, is you’re going on an emotional ride with other people, and whether you’re celebrating or commiserating, it doesn’t really actually matter. What matters is the connectivity that results from the engagement.”
Beyond that, watching sports can bring about unique feelings of nostalgia in men. Many of them were once boys who grew up playing sports, feeling like they had the world at their fingertips, and all that mattered was carrying the team to victory. Watching people play the sport they once played lets them live vicariously through the athletes and reminisce about the good ol' days.
So if there's a man in your life who seems really caught up in the status of his favorite team and gets super into it, leave him be. He's right where he wants to be, and chances are it underscores his depth of feeling and the sheer amount of loyalty he's capable of. Or, as Tanner put it: "he is a good man."
Luke Aliga is a writer with a degree in Technical Writing and Communication who covers relationships, culture, and human interest topics.
