The Nurturing Well by: Jill Starbuck
Sports are one of the best ways to bring together communities, families, and friends. The excitement, environment, and anticipation attract people from all walks of life. Fans begin to feel connected to their favorite teams. In fact, some fans love these aspects so much that they become fanatics. You see, there are sports fans and then there are sports fanatics. Few people are more passionate than sports fanatics. These are the people who go to great lengths to support their favorite team. They sport team tattoos, pay exorbitant prices for game tickets, buy an entire wardrobe adorned with their team logo, cover themselves in crazy team costumes, yearn for front row seats, and more. They are often the ones who can’t help themselves from taunting the opposing team and fans. It’s rare to see fanatics sit silently during a game. They are the ones yelling the loudest, whether in celebration or frustration. You can’t miss a fanatic.
Sports fanatics don’t understand people who do not enjoy watching sports. The idea that someone else doesn’t get excited over a team or a game is beyond comprehension. While sports fanatics have great passion for their teams, other people may not share their passion. In fact, sports fanatics can become annoying to those less enthusiastic about sports. After all, what’s the big deal? It’s just a game.
While sports fanatics can seem over the top at times, there are some great aspects about watching sports that fans benefit from. The following names a few.
• Creates camaraderie. Sports fans are everywhere. If they weren’t, sports wouldn’t be nearly as popular as they are. An average NFL football game can attract between 65,000 to 75,000 fans or more! This means that there are thousands upon thousands of people who have the same thing in common. They can vent to and cheer with one another. Creating these social bonds with other sports fans makes the experience more enjoyable. Therefore, sports fans often have great social health.
• Provides conversation starter. Besides the weather, a favorite conversation starter involves sports. Many people love to talk about sports. Those who watch sports can talk endlessly about the latest game, the bad calls, the team players, and more.
• Builds anticipation. Sports fans always have something to look forward to. There will always be another game at some point. If we never had anything to look forward to, how boring would life be? It is no different for music lovers who frequently attend concerts.
• Improves language skills. According to a study conducted by the University of Chicago, a fan’s language skills improve when talking about a specific sport. The study indicated that the part of the brain typically used to act becomes alert when talking about sports.
• Enhances mood. For sports fans, sports games bring excitement, joy, and the opportunity to hang out with friends. All of these can be mood boosters that keep loneliness and depression at bay.
Watching sports brings a great deal of satisfaction to many people. However, fanatics can take things to extreme. They can turn all of the positive aspects of watching sports into negative aspects. For instance, they could ruin friendships, start an argument, create anxiety, use abusive language, and become angry. They tend to become deeply committed to something that has no real effect on their lives. It may seem extremely important, but yet it isn’t. Therefore, it may be best for your health to stick to being a fan rather than a fanatic. Go Bucks!!!!
Jill Starbuck has 20 years of experience as a business writer, editor, and market research analyst. She is a certified health coach through the Integrative Institute of Nutrition and a certified running coach through the Road Runners Club of America. She is also the co-owner of a running business. She can be reached at jillstarbuck@hotmail.com.
