Why?

[ProudUte]

My dad was an avid sports fan.  When his teams lost, he was a very unhappy camper (for a few hours).  As a young child – I didn’t understand why it hit him so hard.  As I got older, I started feeling the same.

So, the question is why?  Why do we take it so personally when our team loses?  It seems illogical to me, yet I still do let it get to me.  I get over a loss much quicker than I did 40-50 years ago.  Nonetheless, a loss by a team I am a fan of – still stings.

It seems to me that we make the team part of us.  It makes sense that we are disappointed.  But, as was posted below – the Jazz loss was painful to many on this board including me.  I do not and cannot control how our Utes play, yet when the football team loses – I take it personally, almost as if I had something to do with it. Logic tells me that I shouldn’t.

I am over the Jazz loss now and it may just be easier if they lose Friday because I will then have one less thing to worry about.  There are a few losses that still haunt me.  The Colts’ loss to the Jets in Superbowl III was very painful.  Utah losing to Arizona 16-14 in 1969 on a last-second FG cost us the WAC championship.  That one really hurt.

Oh well – life goes on. 🙂

[GameForAnyFuss]

There are some good studies on this phenomenon. You can find many online. It really boils down to a few things:

1. The teams we support tend to revolve around an institution or place that is part of our personal identity (a school, a city, a state, a country). And because we want to be seen as successful, our egos need those aspects of our identity to be successful as well.

2. Sports has partly replaced combat in fulfilling our basal need to conquer those who are weaker than us. Humans at our most basic are combative animals.

3. The strategy and execution in sports is similar to hunting. People – especially men – have evolutionary wiring that makes us want to hunt. Since most of us don’t hunt anymore (or if we do, it’s more for pleasure than survival) sports has somewhat replaced hunting in fulfilling that evolutionary instinct to hunt.

[dystopiamembrane]

Thank you for this post.

[UteBacker]

The curse of being a sports fanatic, right?  I was thinking the other day how upset I would get when Utah would lose a big recruit to another school.  It was like a slap in the face to Ute nation.  About 15 years ago it dawned on me that I was pinning my emotions on the decisions of 18 YEAR-OLDS.  Now I have the attitude of you win some you lose some and I sleep well at night.  

[utefansince79]

We have to remember it’s just a game.

For me 1998 was a memorable but tough year.  The Running Utes destroyed #1 seeded Zona and beat #1 seeded North Carolina, then led “THEM” most of the way in the final and ran out of gas.  Then the Jazz made a return trip to the NBA finals.  Near the end of game 6, John Stockton hits the trey in the last minute to put us up 3, but Jordan has a layup, a steal, and a long jumper (which has been shown as often as Bill Buckner letting the ball roll through his legs) to give the Bulls another title.   Loved seeing my teams have such great seasons, but endings were of course quite harsh.  Maji wrote in his book something about what a massive difference there is between finishing second and first.

 

 

 

 

[SalUteopia]

That’s the thing, though; it doesn’t feel like it’s just a game.

[UtesRule]

Great work using the correct word, “THEM” when referring to the team that beat us in the ‘98 title game.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again (for the newbies)…I hate THEM (from a sports perspective only) more than I hate BYUp, and it’s really easy as to why. BYUp has NEVER prevented Utah from winning a National Title. THEM has done it for sure once, arguably at least twice (they beat us in the Elite Eight the year before in KVH’s senior season).

[Duhwayne]

I used to fall in this pit. Now I rarely watch games live. My brother gives me grief every time I say it but sports are entertainment and the team works for me. I’ll dvr games but the older I get the less I have four hours to invest in a frustrating loss. I could have been working out or getting laid or lots of other theoretical possibilities. There, I said it.

[dystopiamembrane]

This is one of my favourite posts on this forum. Happy to have you on board, @duhwayne!

[EagleMountainUte]

It is tribalism. Team colors, cheers, traditions, and mascots. It has defined rules and terms. A fan can cross the line. Sometimes that line isn’t clearly defined at all.

One of the many reasons why the political tribalism became worst in 2020.

[W16Ute]

I’ve always been the same way. I’ve realized that the benefit for me to putting so much emotional energy into my teams wins and losses allows me to dump that emotional energy into something that doesn’t truly change my day to day, and then when normal life stresses come about I am able to handle them with more control. Some of my friends and family think it’s stupid, but it works for me. Last year was brutal because I couldn’t get excited about the season with games being cancelled las minute and I felt a difference in my emotional stability. (But I guess most felt that last year for various reasons)