This past weekend, I went to Syracuse to visit a friend. Every time I was introduced to someone, and they found out I go to Georgetown, I’d get an “Oh… that’s awkward…” or some form of a disapproving exclamation. I fail to see the awkwardness my being a Georgetown student, or why I was being victimized on the basis of something I don’t really believe in—sports.
These comments aren’t limited to Syracuse students; when I mentioned to Georgetown friends where I was going for the weekend, I got comments about how I was betraying my school or how much Syracuse sucks.
At the root of these comments is the Georgetown-Syracuse basketball rivalry, but I have never understood how this sports-based issue can affect people’s personal relationships or feelings towards an entire school. To be honest, I’ve never understood the appeal of sports in general.
I don’t know if it’s the concept of organized, team sports that I don’t like– having a group of people running up and down a field or court following a small ball for over an hour seems wildly pointless – or if it’s the effect it has on people.
Perhaps coming from a place like Singapore where sports are not really a priority has affected my opinions, but I can’t get my head around the amount of time and energy people are willing to dedicate to following their favorite teams. People act like they are personally acquainted with the athletes, and can discuss with such animation all aspects of the game. There is an entire vocabulary of sports terms that were created to discuss various sports; a plethora of words that are irrelevant in any other area of life except to be utilized in sports discussions.
Sports fandom may instill some form of community, but it separates people as much as it brings them together. Support for a specific team creates a certain strain on one’s relationships with others who might support a rival team. When so much emotion and energy goes into supporting certain teams, one undoubtedly feels resentment towards supporters of an opposing team.
There is also the separation between avid sports fans and those of us who are indifferent to sports: when I reveal my lack of knowledge of sports terms, I get called out for being ignorant. It is one of very few aspects of culture that manages to create such a sense of zealousness in its supporters, and such a strong disdain for or shock at people uninterested in the topic.
What baffles me the most is the emotional commitment people make towards watching a game. For example, last year, a bunch of my friends gathered in a Henle apartment to watch the Georgetown-Syracuse game on TV. (I went because I thought it would be entertaining, but mainly because one of my friends promised she would be providing everyone with homemade mac & cheese.)
It ended up being quite a fun experience, because we were all hanging out and enjoying good food. But there were points in time when some people would start shouting belligerently at the television, or have to turn away from the screen because of their ‘frustration.’ When we lost, the majority of the people in the room were basically unable to function socially – a number of them stormed out, so upset and angry they could not even speak. Sure, I was disappointed that we lost, but the intensity of their emotions was incomprehensible to me.
While watching the game, fans go on the emotional roller coaster ride of crying when we miss a point and screaming elatedly when we win one. And in the end, all of these feelings mean nothing, depending on whether their team wins or loses. It’s as if their best friends are out there playing for their lives Hunger Games-style, when in reality, they don’t know the players on the teams and in the big scheme of things, their lives are not truly affected by the outcome of the game.
Perhaps it’s the thrill of watching the underdog rise in a game that seemed doomed from the start, or the anticipation and hope felt during a tied game going into overtime. Perhaps it’s the sense of kinship with all other supporters watching the game, or the feeling of being a part of the team without requiring any athletic ability. But to me, I cannot understand how any of this could be worth the waves of emotions that people undergo, or how it could be worth the time, energy, and other resources spent on predicting othe outcomes of games that will be revealed anyway in the near future.
I don’t think I’ll ever see the fun of being so invested in something that you have absolutely no control over. Just let me know if the Hunger Games is ever a thing. I’d watch that.
