Originally a comment by iknklast on Anxious love.
Where I live, they not only bully you if you don’t like football, but they are currently bullying a woman who moved here from somewhere else (Michigan), didn’t care about football, and had no desire to root for Michigan, but now because of the abuse (and yes, it is abuse!) is rooting for her football team hard and strong. Everyone acts like she has done something evil by maintaining a lifetime loyalty to where she grew up instead of being a convert to “our” state team (who will remain unnamed for now). To live and work in this state is to be required to bow down to the dominant football culture.
The sad part is that they do not think people leaving this state for somewhere else are required to adopt that local football team, but to remain loyal to “our” team. Loyalty for life if you are a “******”; drop the loyalty of any other team, and become a “******” if you move here.
(The reason I do not name the team is that I am not only personally not a fan but actively loathe them, and it is not safe for me to be seen hating on the team…I kid you not!)
We love to be members of tribes. When we don’t have any to belong to, we make them up for fun (and take them way too seriously.) Root for your local rich guy’s team — or else!
Well, sports teams once actually acted as political parties, so…
http://lesswrong.com/lw/gt/a_fable_of_science_and_politics/
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All over Australia, a ‘root’ means a part of a plant, but also an act of sexual intercourse. The verb ‘to root’ means ‘to engage in sexual intercourse’.
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Reading the above in the light of that can bring a whole new dimension to it.
😉
I would definitely not claim to have been bullied, but I have encountered people online who are dumb enough to take offense at me not being a football fan. The fact that I stopped because of concussions in the players is “not good enough a reason!” in some people’s minds. Their attitude is, “It’s not your life, so what do you care?”
While I’ve never seen it happen with my own eyes, I don’t doubt you. From the year 2000 (“News of the Weird” is the only source I could find), scroll down to “Least Justifiable Homicides”:
http://www.newsoftheweird.com/archive/nw001231.html
The worst I’ve ever experienced in the way of excessive sports worship was at the hands (well, technically mouths) of some Canadians. I was on a cruise, and was spending a few hours playing blackjack. The dealer happened to be Canadian and when I told him I was from San Jose, California, he tried to talk with me about the San Jose Sharks hockey team. I tried to just brush him off for a while, but finally I told him outright that I just don’t care about the Sharks or hockey. It was almost as if I had told him that his mother was ugly or something. He just wouldn’t shut up about how great the Sharks were, and how could I not support them, yadda yadda. Then, his shift at the table ended. Apparently, the ship was full of Canadian blackjack dealers because I had to sit through the shifts of two more Canadian dealers telling me how wonderful “my” hockey team was (there was only one non-smoking blackjack table in the whole casino, that’s why I didn’t just move away). I guess it’s good that they were for “my” team instead of against it, but yeah, sports chauvinism is not pretty.
@5 moarscienceplz,
My advice is, never tell New Zealanders that rugby is the most boring game ever invented (it is) and that you don’t give a rat’s arse about it, definitely keep your opinion to yourself.
This is easily verified. Just wear the wrong team shirt (Vikings, Bears, Lions) to any pub in Wisconsin on game day and see how things go with the rest of your day. For best results, try a small town bar.
A team sport is commonly yet another religion. It gives its followers a tribal identity born out of a certain common loyalty and mental uniformity.
Once, in conversation with a soccer devotee I suggested that the game could be severely improved by getting rid of the goalie and widening the goal mouth to up the scoring rate.
“This is sacrilege!” was his response. Only half joking, he was.
As a missionary, I have failed to convert a single heathen. Oh, the shame of it all.
😉
I became a pariah a couple of years back when some idiot was gushing about the local football team and squealed, “Gotta love ’em!” to which I replied, “No, I don’t.” You’d have thought I had just spit on his mother’s grave by his appalled and shocked response.