Part pride and ego, part irrational, part sophisticated. The support that we give to our favorite sports teams is unrivaled by our allegiances to almost anything else. People ask where this comes from, and the reality is that there is no legitimate answer, until we dig deeper.

Being an emotionally attached fan is not counter-intuitive. Let’s say I eat at the same coffee shop for breakfast every day for 10 years. Then one day I find out the place is being evicted and grazed for some new shopping complex. Now I could easily find another coffee shop down the street from my office to have breakfast and read the sports section of my paper, but I feel sad that I’ve lost a major part of my daily routine. It might be completely irrational but it’s the way that I feel. Now let’s compare a coffee shop to a basketball team in a utilitarian aspect. A coffee shop gives me utility by providing coffee, bagels, muffins, or whatever I might eat, and it’s local and has easy access. A local basketball team or a certain player on that team provides me with enjoyable games to watch, exciting plays and personalities, and a chance to bond with friends. Now is it any more ridiculous to be attached to a basketball team than that coffee shop? I wouldn’t think so.          

If something provides you with utility on a consistent basis, emotional attachments can arise that you can’t really explain. Like how people cherish their first car for memories, or how people hold on to childhood toys or things that evoke recollections. I for one know that I am a huge fan of the Lakers in part because of the history and amazing moments it has given me. I think about all the amazing playoff moments I’ve lived through as a fan and can’t help but feel loyal to purple and gold and the players wearing the uniform. It’s the same reason why people feel loyal to a company they might have worked at for a long time, or a country they have lived in and maybe served for in the military. For whatever reason, people get nostalgic and emotionally attached, and the sports arena is no exception.

Nothing appeals to men more than the feeling of pride and egoism, especially when it comes to sports. They love defending their home team or their favorite team through thick and thin. Whether it be because men need constant battle/conflict because of our genetic predisposition to warfare, it exists because it’s one more thing to live for. I love waiting to watch my team’s game and savoring victory while sharing defeat with common fans and players. It adds an excitement to my life I can’t really find anywhere else, so why shouldn’t I derive utility from it? Of course spectator sports have its adolescent ego, rib-my-friend-about-his-team aspect. Supporting different teams and bickering over stats and games and having arguments are all part of the bonding experience of spectator sports. Now, we know that this is a major reason to be a fan, but it’s more of a subconscious reason than any, so if people bring it light and say the only reason we’re really arguing about our teams is because we like to bond with each other…that just becomes awkward for us men. So it will remain unspoken, and it will give guys a way to bond, just like girls bond by going to the mall and not buying anything.