Why are Sports Fans so passionate?

Why do fans invest so much money, time, and emotion into something that they have no control over and will not impact their life, and have no major real world consequences, regardless of the outcome? To the common non-sports fan, the act of fandom is absurd. Many questions such as the one above are asked, and there is a lot of people who believes that you are wasting your time and money. Sports fans only really care about the players that are on their favorite team, and the article “Why Sports Fans are Sports Fans” sums up the sports fans belief by saying “In fact, the only thing you really care about is a set of jerseys, regardless of who is wearing them”. I think that this statement can be taken even further in that you will still root for the team despite who happens to be the coach, general manager, owner, or anybody else in the front office. However, although there is a school of thought that investing so much into one sports team is a waste of time, money, and energy, I believe that there are fundamental reasons as to why sports fans continue to root so vigorously for their favorite teams.
Sports bring families and communities together, inspire people during trying times, and give peoples something to rally behind. During a Super Bowl run for an NFL team, the entire city that the team is apart of seems to come together as a community and cheer on their squad. The team that is winning helps people who are in a negative place something to cheer for and be happy about. Emotionally, it is good for everybody and gives all people who pull for their favorite team joy when they win. Although there are drawbacks, nothing compares to the adrenaline of rooting for “your” team in close game.

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