Being a Sports Fan is Good for Your Health
- Dr. John Jurica
- Oct 2
- 4 min read
The crowd at the local Bills Backers chapter erupted. People were high-fiving and hugging each other in ecstatic disbelief. Josh Allen had just thrown the ball to Amari Cooper, who tossed it back to Josh, after which Josh took the ball into the endzone. Mr. Allen scored a passing and receiving touchdown in the same play. Talk about breaking statistics lol. If you’re not familiar with this iconic play, you can check it out here. Why were people so happy? Why did they care so much that they were so exuberant?
There’s an interesting concept from social psych known as “Basking in Reflected Glory”, or BIRGing. With BIRGing, our self-esteem gets a boost from our association with an organization that is winning. It’s part of why you might say “we” when referring to your favorite sports team, although you yourself didn’t do anything to personally contribute. That might partly explain why we like sports, but it’s not the whole explanation.
Fast forward a few weeks. The crowd at the Bills Backers chapter was utterly despondent. Sadness, disappointment and anger were on full display. People were hugging each other, and some grown men were crying. More than a few expletives could be heard. The Bills had just lost in the playoffs to the team which will not be named. Why such strong emotions, especially emotions that men don’t usually display? Why do people care so much?
Humans have an innate drive to belong and to connect with one another. We want to be accepted and be part of a group. From an evolutionary perspective, this drive comes in part from the days when food and safety depended on being part of a group. Even if being in a group is not as critical to our survival these days (thanks Uber Eats!), the psychological need to belong persists. People who feel connected to a group tend to be happier and experience better mental health. Belonging is also associated with meaning in life.The presence of relationships and connection to something greater than ourselves provides a sense of meaning and purpose.
Being a sports fan, especially for team sports, is a way to connect and build relationships with others. For example, talking about the Giants, the Rangers, or the Rams (6 possible teams) might give you a starting point for discussions with family during holidays. It’s a point of connection that sure beats staring at the floor awkwardly and hoping you’re transported to Narnia til it’s time to eat. Sports brings friends together and keeps them connected. I’ve been in the same fantasy football league with a group of friends for over a decade. Our weekly interactions go up 5-10x during football season. Even among strangers, connecting with other folks repping your team feels good. Being out and about and seeing other members of the Bills Mafia is a uniquely positive experience for Bills fans.
Research provides clear evidence that fandom is an avenue to enhanced well-being. Identification with a sports team is connected to greater sense of belonging and greater meaning in life. Sports fandom can also provide a sense of emotional support from other fans of the team, which then contributes to a greater sense of well-being. Remember those Bills fans hugging each other after their devastating loss? That’s a form of emotional support. fMRI brain scans of people who have been watching sports show heightened activity in neural regions associated with well-being. These beneficial impacts hold true for people from different backgrounds and hold true regardless of the specific sport. Sports can even help fans cope with the aftermath of natural disasters and bounce back more quickly, as was seen in Houston with Astros fans in the wake of Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
In clinical work, sports-based metaphors provide shared understanding that make abstract psychological concepts more relatable. Using the image of a supportive coach such as Ted Lasso can help people understand self-compassion techniques in a way that makes sense to them. Thinking about your “inner linebacker” as a part of you that tries to keep you emotionally safe but maybe doesn’t need to come out at the beginning of every disagreement keeps some people from emotionally tackling their partner.
Behind the big plays, the interesting stats, and the funny memes, sports is a way to connect and share a common experience. For those who are fans, using sports to connect with others is a mental health boost. It’s a bit of a bummer that we rarely talk about it this way. The next time you find yourself feeling some feelings about your favorite sports team, embrace them, it’s probably good for you.
References
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