# Fandom By:: [[Brian Heath]] 2022-10-17 Within the world of sports, people are fans of teams for one of two reasons. Some people choose to support teams who are currently on top. For one reason or another, these teams are winning more than they are losing so they attract more fans who like winners. The psychology of these fans is likely straightforward. In arbitrary games played for cultural bonding and entertainment, why not select the team that is more likely to win? However, most people choose to support the team based purely on geographic proximity. They grew up in the region or moved there at some point. These fans are interesting. They make it known that they are fans of these teams because they grew up there. Almost always said with pride, they highlight that they were fans before the team got good or they'll support their team no matter how bad they are. Fans of other teams respect this much more than the bandwagon fan. But remember that these games are largely arbitrary and where you were born is random [[luck]]. The choice to support a local team regardless of their [[performance]] is counter to the very game they play. Cultural and human tribe behavior is at work here. It provides ground for commonality with strangers whom you're much more likely to trust than logically make sense. But also staying true to your team at all costs may represent an unwillingness to examine one's own [[life]]. From a pure entertainment perspective, pick the story you want. That might mean picking the winner, the underdog, or the constant disappointment. From a tribe perspective, pick the team that serves you best or find something else to connect on. After all, where you were born is still true regardless of sporting activities. You can learn a lot from a person based on their sports fandom. I think you'll find that most people haven't thought about why they act the way they do when it comes to sports. You might find this enlightening or frightening, but at least it's mostly an arbitrary activity. The frightening part is realizing that fan behavior exists beyond the arbitrary. #### Related Items [[Sports]] [[Thinking]] [[Culture]] [[Entertainment]] [[Examination]]