Explaining competition to non sports fans

[catman111]

Okay, how do you explain the need to win to a non sports fan? This person says and I quote, "I don't understand idolizing a sports team to the point you get so upset you hate the other team."

How do you explain the fire within? Is hating the other team justifiable?

 

[SomeDudeCRO]

It isn't justifiable, that fire within is ultimately just a primitive form of tribalism. That said, UL, UT, IU etc. are objectively inferior on their own merits, and their fans are simply suspect people not to be trusted under any circumstance.

 

[Lexie's Dad]

I'd probably respond that I don't really "hate" the other team or it's fans. That I'm just very emotionally invested as a fan, and that getting caught up makes the experience more enjoyable.

 

[EastKYWildcat]

It's not ok we just enjoy doing it and can't stop

 

[Willy4UK]

OP- Easy to explain. You need to find an "In-group" for that person. Once that person feels they are included into the "in-group" they will defend their "in-group". I know you won't read it, but here is the experiment explaining your situation.




Klee Vs. Kandinsky Experiment.

 

[wildcat1973]

I would quit associating with that person. Can't teach stupid.

 

[BlueRaider22]

Willy is right. Just about everyone has something that they are into. Find that and try and reason with them. Also explain that the word "hate" is likely way too strong of word here. Most fans may dislike the rival and wish them to lose or play poorly but hate is a complete other level word.

 

[elwood_blue]

Interesting link Willy. It kind of goes along with my theory that about 98% of humans are lemmings who do what they perceive everyone else is doing, and the other 2% are capable of independent thought.
Regarding the OP, competition in sports is one of the last ways a man can show his masculinity without being raked over the coals of political correctness. Something tells me the non-sports fan wouldn't get it.

 

[Blind Karl Hess]

People who can't differentiate between sports hate and actual hatred are the worst, and they probably say the losing score first when they say a score, i.e. Kentucky won 43-77 yesterday.

 

[Desperado_1955]

Tell them to STFU and make you a sammich, no crust...

 

[Willy4UK]

Originally posted by Desperado_1955:
Tell them to STFU and make you a sammich, no crust...

@ Desp

Elwood- Exactly man. Herd crowd. Humans categorize.

 

[Deeeefense]

Most of the time hating an opponent is just rationalizing your own shortcomings by projecting them onto the opponent. I play competitive tennis and I badly want to destroy my opponents, but I certainly don't hate them in fact I socialize with a lot of them.

The only things that would cause me to dislike an opponent is if they did something unethical like cheating. Fans should follow the lead of the players and coaches in team sports. Play your a$$ off when the games on, when it's over, shake hands and go home. If you won, be happy, if you lost, then don't blame the opponent, find out what you did wrong or where you can improve, increase your practice, develop new skills - always try to get better. When the games on it's the only thing in the world that matters but in the end, remember it's just a game.

 

[Ron Mehico]

Just find something they are passionate about and relate it to them. For instance is the person into politics? Most conservatives hate liberals and vice-versa, but its still a "hate" like sports, in that we're all still americans and if you saw someone that was a democrat and you were a republican in real life you wouldn't be outwardly violent to them (except in extreme cases with weirdos, which happens in sports too).

 

[maverick1]

Originally posted by Desperado_1955:
Tell them to STFU and make you a sammich, no crust...

This, but don't forget to cut it diagonally -- shows class.

 

[Beavis606]

^ Boobs need updating.

 

[ram1955]

Agree that the hate part reflects personal shortcomings. Ky bball became such a passion, back in the Rupp days,to many Kentuckians because there was little else they had to be proud of. Poor education, poverty was a way of life. The rest of the country looked down on us (and still do). Bball gave us something we could say we were the best at. When anyone attacks, questions or belittles that, we take it personally i.e...louisville fans...and feel resentment toward those people.

On the other hand....ul fans know that no matter how well their team does, people in Kentucky and generally throughout the sports world will still see them as the "other" team in Kentucky. They will never leave Ky's shadow...no matter what they do, they will always be #3..(behind KY and EKU ) It's a little brother type thing.

People whose world, emotions hinge on the outcomes of games have some issues they need to deal with. As for hating, it's okay to be competitive within the competition, but outside that there is no room for hate.

 

[trueblujr2]

Thanks for starting this thread, because I've always wondered the same thing myself. I have a couple of friends who don't follow sports much at all and then treat others like they are foolish for being so passionate about a particular team or sport as if they don't have their priorities straight. I generally just refrain from discussing sports around them, but when they start to get on their high horse about how meaningless sports are I have to remind them that they are likely the ones in the minority. When you have the shear volumes of people who fill stadiums and arenas all over the world for various sporting events, and have so since the beginning of time, they must realize the fact that competition and the passion for various teams or athletes is engrained in society and culture all over the world. So we aren't so weird for spending a Saturday tailgating and cheering for our team instead of going to a museum or spending it reading a book.

The other thing that gets my goat are half ass fans. The ones who like to try to talk about a game, but only watched 10 minutes of it, which happened to be the worst 10 minutes so they start bitching about how bad the team looked or they don't get facts straight or right. Have one of those guys at work. drives me nuts when he tries to engage me in a discussion, but then again he drives me nuts in general.