ivanvamp

It should go without saying, since I'm posting on a football discussion board, that I love football - primarily, professional football (of the NFL variety). I'm curious to know, from it's biggest fans (like what I would find here), whether you view your NFL - and particularly, Patriots' - fandom as an identity or as entertainment. Here's what I mean.

Identity: I am all wrapped up in Patriots' football. I live, breathe, sleep it. When they win, I am elated; when they lose, I am crushed. I talk smack to fans of other teams and proudly wear my Patriots' gear around. I am fully invested in the success of the Patriots from an emotional standpoint. I *am* Patriots football.

Entertainment: I love watching the NFL and, specifically, my favorite team, the Patriots. I enjoy the drama of athletic competition. I am amazed at what these athletes are able to do (like watching Gronk flip on his head for a TD). I thoroughly enjoy Patriots' wins and am bummed about Patriots' losses, but in the end, all I ask is that I am entertained - that they give me a good effort and make my investment of time worth it.

So, full disclosure. I used to be more on the "identity" side of things, but after the 2007 Super Bowl, I have moved towards the "entertainment" side of things. It's not that I'm disinterested or unaffected by the outcomes of Pats' games. I just don't live and die by it like I used to. For my money, the Patriots, over the last 11 years, have provided me with unparalleled sports entertainment. They not only win a lot; they win in spectacular fashion. They have had some of the best players doing the most exciting things. It is the very best form of "reality" television. You don't know the outcome, but just like I'm not crushed if one dude from Survivor doesn't win, I'm not crushed if the Patriots don't win (though, obviously, I'm more emotionally connected to the Pats than to a Survivor contestant, for example). I may be really disappointed, but not crushed.

I do not think there is a "right" answer to this: I just know that for me, the move towards "entertainment" has been good for my health.

PatsFanInVa

Ivan, interesting thread, and interesting that you used 2007 as an example. SB 42 was just the end of the freaking world for me... but I might quibble a little with the "identity" tag. I guess I might be quibbling for no reason... in 2007 it really did feel like being a Pats fan was part of your identity, but so much more so because every story was either bashing you or calling you invincible. And then at the end everything -- EVERYTHING -- was hanging on that one last game. We invested a lot of meaning in it, but the actual meaning was exactly what it is every season - you win it or you don't, life goes on.

I have to say I enjoyed SB 46. It was a hard-played and well-played game, with momentum shifts, weird bounces, etc. etc. etc. Someone had to lose it, someone had to win it, and the Gintz did (shudder) earn this one. So being able to see that might play into your identity/entertainment framework, on the "entertainment" side.

But on the "identity" side: I can't imagine (for example) being able to say "hey I really enjoy how the Giants are playing, and they're on a roll... from this day forward I am a Giants fan, until the next time I switch over" (or Packers, or Niners, or whoever.) I also can't envision the next time the Pats hit 1-15 (God forbid,) thinking "what's the difference between 1-15 and 2-14?" in the last game. I don't think I could even really root for getting the top draft pick in that scenario, even though it might -- might -- be the "smartest" thing to hope for. (However, see Tim Couch)

So I guess being a Pats fan is identity first, for me... but not so much that I believe my own wellbeing will be affected, other than irrationally, by the fortunes of the team. I just "act like" it will be, then it is, purely psychologically.

Ron Sellers

I agree with PatsFanInVa that the literally daily Pats-bashing that occurred in 2007 caused me to become defensive, to the point where I shifted from your definition of 'entertainment' to 'identity'; at this point I'm back to 'identity'. I'm not sure exactly when that change happened, whether it was after the Pats beat the Broncos to quiet all those that loved to say 'one and one', 'haven't won since', a week later with the win over Baltimore, or perhaps sometime in the previous seasons when the team continued to be highly successful despite a nearly complete turnover in personnel on defense.

I know for a lot of fans here there is an 'all or nothing' mentality where not only is every season that does not end with a parade considered to be an utter and complete failure of monumental proportions, but also think that any loss during the year means that somebody should be held accountable and lose their job, and that any play in any game that is not perfectly executed is a call for hours of venting. I have never been that fully invested in the team; to me those are simply unrealistic expectations.

Tunescribe

Professional sports is a societal surrogate for tribal warfare (part of our DNA programming). Hence, it takes on a much deeper meaning than entertainment. The greater your inherent competitive nature, the more passionate you become about the team you identify with.

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signbabybrady

Without football I wouldn't know who I am.

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deters

I've been a huge fan of football since I was a child. This is more than a game to me, its life. I literally get depressed when football season ends. I love both NFL & college and my life wouldn't be the same if football wasn't around. It is entertainment to me but is WHO I AM.

BoTown

Sports is a huge part of my identity, particularly Boston sports. I've lived and died with my teams as early as I can remember. I dreamt as a kid going into battle with those teams and leading them to championships. The feeling of kinship towards these teams only grew with the rise of online media. But on the negative side it made things more personal. I'm more exposed to trash talking than I was growing up. There's a lot of nonsense aimed at the Pats by the media and public that I wouldn't be exposed to without the excess of Internet and television that exists today. I liked it better when I was blissfully ignorant of all the noise and the only thing that existed was the game itself. Today it's much more than entertainment but sometimes I wish it wasn't.

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ivanvamp

I understand what you're saying, but here's where I would differ. I am as competitive as anyone here - if I'm playing against you in something. Golf, basketball, chess...whatever. If *I* am competing, I am really competitive. But rooting for a team that I honestly have nothing to do with....I can't affect the outcome, I don't personally know any of the players, etc....I don't think my competitive nature impacts my entertainment/identity aspect as you suggest it should.

PatsWickedPissah

Been obsessed with Patriots football for ages since 1960. The loss in 2007 was horrific but I took the Jets W last year just as hard. That to me was intolerable and a major under achievement. I'm now OK with the disappointing loss this season as I feel that the team overachieved for its talent level. Trying to put Patriots football in perspective as "entertainment" is difficult although the healthy thing to do.

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Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.
This is known as "bad luck." RAH

Deus Irae

It's entertainment

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"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane."
- Marcus Aurelius