A fan’s loyalty to a sport franchise builds like any loyalty to specific product. You wonder why a team that abandoned a City still maintains loyalty from its fans. Yes, many are angry at being left. Many other fans are in shock. But for many other fans, they are remain emotionally tied to the sports team that left them in the lurch and resides in a place very far away. What explanations can we offer for this emotional tie to a team that jilted them?

Having been a very young child in New York City in the 50″s, I was exposed to the Brooklyn Dodgers, the New York Giants and the New York Yankees. There were many things going on in my 7 year old life. My uncle took me to the Polo Grounds, my father took me to Yankee Stadium and my Aunt took me to Ebbets field. I was struck by formal pinstripes of the Yankees, the majesty of their Stadium, and the names of the ballplayers who played for them. The Giants had Willie Mays – end of story – he just was the most magnificent centerfielder – player – I ever have seen. My father had a baseball signed by Mel Ott. But, it was the Dodgers that captured my heart and soul. The signing of the name “Dodgers across the jerseys, the red numbers of the players directly underneath the name stood out, the intimacy of Ebbets Field left me feeling like I was on the field with the players, and JACKIE, CAMPY, THE DUKE, PEE WEE AND NEWK had nicknames just the kids from my neighborhood. Even though they were consistently coming in second behind The Yanks, watching Them Bums, argueing with other about which team was better was exciting and filled with irrational fervor. In 1959, the Dodgers had moved to Los Angeles and the Giants had moved to San Francisco. They had abandoned me after years of my complete loyalty. I was distraught. I went to the Polo Grounds to watch the newly formed Mets play the Dodgers. You would think that I would have cheered for the Mets – the new National League New York team. The Dodgers had the same uniform as they had the year before – except for the stupid hat with the “LA” on their cap. I found myself wanting the Dodgers to beat the Mets. Remember I was 8 years old. I had the following thought – “one day I’m going to move to Los Angeles and rejoin my beloved Dodgers.” Two decades later I did it. I had not let the Dodgers end our relationship. I was at home in Dodger Stadium. 

Loyalty to a sports team is part of our DNA. It is made up of sounds, sights, smells and all the stuff that makes us chemically connected to a sports team. This DNA structure invades our being at a time in life when we are open to all the new wonderful things in life. It is very hard to change our DNA.

It is one of the reasons why there is such loyalty to the New York Football Giants who don’t even play in New York or the New York Jets who also play outside of New York. The owners who moved those two teams kept the same name and uniform. The colors are the same. The names are the same. Fans remain committed to these teams that abandoned them.

Sports teams hook onto our DNA when we are most vulnerable they have us. We remain loyal to our team. Like the title of the Bob Dylan song says “Remain Forever Young.”

Many of my friends have reacted quite strongly to the possibility of a strike in baseball. Some of them have gone so far as to stop watching since they don’t think that the two sides will be able to resolve their differences. Others, like myself, are hoping that they work out their differences. My question is, what effect does the threat of a strike have on fans? Why do people react so differently?

Kevin F.

TO: Kev2448@budweiser.com
FROM: questions@psychedonline.org
SUBJECT: Re: Baseball Player’s Strike
DATE: 8/30/02, 18:22

Response: Today’s resolution of the contract dispute in baseball ended the possibility of a strike. However, it appears that Major League Baseball has once again managed to alienate some fans. The reasons for the different reactions that you mentioned in your letter are very complex but can best be explained using the metaphor of an intimate relationship (which in a lot of ways is an appropriate description of the relationship between a fan and their team of choice). Think about relationships that you have had in the past that were having problems. When your partner told you that it might be a good idea to take a break, you could essentially react in one of two ways – agree and end it or disagree and make an effort to fix the problems.

Your friend’s reactions indicate that they do not think the relationship with baseball is worth the trouble. This is a defense mechanism – let me reject you before you reject me. Your reaction is more typical of the individual who wants things to work out. Although emotionally this is more draining, it tells me that you truly love the sport. For the sake of the game, I hope that most fans are like you. Only time will tell how much damage the players and owners have done by not being able to come to an agreement sooner.

Miguel Humara, Ph.D.

The success of the United States team in this year’s World Cup indicated to me just ho far we have come as a nation in this sport (although winning the whole thing would have been better). I was also amazed at how far other teams including the host nations’ – Japan and Korea – went in the tournament. While some power house teams like Argentina, Italy and France were knocked out early, it appeared that others exceeded anybody’s expectations and made it quite far in the tournament. Can you think of any reasons why this may have been?

U.S. Soccer Fan

TO: SoccerNut148@XXXXX.com
FROM: questions@psychedonline.org
SUBJECT: Re: Success in World Cup
DATE: 6/29/02, 18:46

Response: I too was glad to see the progress that the U.S team had made over the past several years and watched the tournament with a great deal of enthusiasm. I agree that an appearance in the final would have awesome and would have served notice to the whole world that we are not to be taken lightly as a soccer “power house.” Regarding your question about the reasons why Japan and Korea fared so well in the tournament, I can think of a couple of reasons.

To begin with, it should come as no surprise that when athletes feel supported they tend to do better. Although legions of fans travel great distances to support their teams in the World Cup, the amount of support that these enthusiasts generate can not begin to compare with being in your home country. It should be obvious that the sheer numbers of fans in one’s home country would elevate the play of the two teams to another level. It is no coincidence that the French team won the last tournament since it was held in their country. Although a very talented team, playing at home undoubtedly caused them to play far beyond the expectations of the experts. Similarly, playing in their home countries elevated the play of the Japanese and Korean teams this year.

Another reason, for their unexpected success may be related to the familiarity that they had with their surroundings. Any sport psychologist will tell you that athletes perform best when they have an established pre-competition routine. Being in familiar surroundings would facilitate the use of this pre-competition routine. To a certain extent, this may have been the reason why the U.S team fared so well. Working with a sport psychologist, they developed and used a pre-competition routine consistently thus allowing them to progress further into the tournament. The key to this pre-competition routine is to breed familiarity with a situation which allows individuals to use their athletic abilities to their fullest potential. Although coaches try to establish these routines for their teams, the expertise of a sport psychologist allows it to be implemented with far greater consistency. Look for an article on pre-competition routines in an upcoming issue of Psyched.

Miguel Humara, Ph.D.