I stared death in the face, said "no," and I walked away. Not everyone gets to walk away. Deciding to continue living to see my 43rd birthday meant I had to do some serious soul searching.

The subsequent weeks of self-reflection had me seeking out examples of good. Examples of a moral way to live in this turbulent world that surrounds us. Geopolitical strife, both foreign and domestic, threatens to upend social orders that have existed for a generation or more (I swear, this is a sports article).

For the Love of the Game, Part I: Why We Become Fantasy Football Fans

Finding Community, Finding the Game

So I chose examples of good. This led me to the book Let Justice Roll Down, by civil rights icon John M. Perkins (recipient of 18 honorary doctorates), a gripping, emotional look at a life defined by resilience in the face of ugly, white racist hatred and systems built to oppress. I took inspiration from many of his lessons, but his examples on the importance of community stood out. It compelled me to examine the concept of community itself. 

Speaking from an anthropological perspective, community can be simplified into "three broad variants of traditional approach," according to author Scott A. Greer¹, who continues, "'Community' is to be characterized in terms of: (i) common interests between people; or (ii) a common ecology and locality; or (iii) a common social system or structure."

When I read that breakdown, my mind immediately went to sports fandom. Interwoven communities spanning not only our countries, but the globe, united by a single cause: the love of the game. As we human beings are multi-faceted, our journeys towards these communities lay bare many paths, both mundane and fascinating.

In this ongoing series, I look to fully flesh out the "why" of sports fandom, from myriad perspectives, both subjective and objective. 

Common Interests Between People

Sometimes, fandom spawns from a confluence of events so particular, it seems predetermined by destiny itself. Or, sometimes, you get an unexpected free poster of the greatest player in NHL history in a box of Kraft Dinner and happen into a dominant dynasty to birth your obsession. The latter one is the Pittsburgh Penguins fan origin story for Salvatore Stefanile. However, not every story is written in processed cheese. I would wager a bet that this first variant is the biggest catch-all category of sports fandom origin stories: common interests between people. 

Swept Up in the Tide: A Night at the Sports Bar

Dig, if you will, the picture of you and me in a sports bar. It's the off-season for football and our teams… did not win the Super Bowl. Out of habit, we go to our usual haunt for a bite. After ordering appetizers, we begin to notice a lot of bigger groups coming in wearing Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins jerseys. "It's almost April," you think, "is there even ice still?" All of a sudden, the volume goes up, and the pregame ceremony starts for Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The electricity in the air is scintillating, and though you are not a hockey fan, you can't help but get swept up into it.

Fans in jerseys of every variety (even one Flyers fan wearing Cooperalls!) from home to away to vintage to outdoor and more paint the bar in autumnal shades of orange, black and yellow. You are not a hockey fan, yet you know this feeling. The intoxicating game day mix of dopamine, oxytocin, adrenaline and testosterone is exactly what you feel every Sunday. Or Monday. Or Thursday. Sometimes Friday or Saturday. Whatever.

The Science of the Hormonal Cocktail

However, if you're not a fan of hockey, why are you also treading water in this hormonal tide? Dr. Paul Bernhardt and his research team sought to answer that very question. In a 1994 study², his team went to Atlanta during the World Cup, with the goal of observing soccer fans of Italy and Brazil in respective sports bars loyal to those national teams. The results were fascinating; they found that "testosterone levels increased (by 20%) among fans of winning teams and decreased (by 20%) among fans of losing teams.

The effect among winning fans was strong enough to reverse the normal pattern of decline in testosterone levels across the day. Because the outcome of each game was not determined until the last few seconds, this effect was likely sudden, rather than building up gradually during the game. The same effect is said to be had by the number of running backs you draft in fantasy, but I digress.

Fandom Written by Fate (and Grandpa)

These fandom origin stories can often be organic, or, in the case of BlueSky user raaaaaaaaandy82, a bit more intentional. Let's turn our attention again to the World Cup, but take it back to 1990 (leave the leg warmers, grab the spandex). raaaaaaaaandy82's family had been planning a cross-Canada move from Ontario to British Columbia, so advanced scouting was necessary.

With that in mind, his mother decided to leave raaaaaaaaandy82 and his brother in the care of their grandpa. Grandpa happened to be a massive fan of the Italian national football (kick kick, not throw throw) team. Finding themselves surrounded by Italy-loving Italians watching what Italy does second-best. The boys could not help but drink in that hormonal cocktail, becoming Italy fans in real time. Their mother was none too happy, however; can you fight football fandom fate? No! (That's Italian for 'no')³.

The Concept Of Community: Readings With Interpretations

In their 1969 book, The Concept Of Community: Readings With Interpretations, ¹ Professor of Political Science and Urban Affairs David W. Minar and Scott A. Greer (previously mentioned) state, "physical concentration (living and working) in one geographical territory is the key. The locale will throw up common problems and give rise to common perspectives, which lead to the development of organizations for joint action and activities, which in turn produce common attachments, feelings of inter-dependence, common commitment, loyalty and identity within a social group." The Venn Diagram of community and sports community is nearly a perfect circle.

Next: Common Ecology and Locality

In Part II, we will explore the relationship of common ecology and locality. 

Citations:

¹ Greer, S. (1969). The Concept of Community: Readings with Interpretations (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315131443

²Bernhardt PC, Dabbs JM Jr, Fielden JA, Lutter CD. Testosterone changes during vicarious experiences of winning and losing among fans at sporting events. Physiol Behav. 1998 Aug;65(1):59-62. doi: 10.1016/s0031-9384(98)00147-4. PMID: 9811365.

³Note to reader: Smokey is paid for every reference to Italy

Josh "Smokey-Hell" Nelson is a contributing writer for Optimus Fantasy. If you have any questions or general curiosity about Smokey-Hell Nelson, you can visit his BlueSky page @thesmokeshow.bsky.social