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Is There An "I" In Team?
How Americans find an (often fleeting) identity in sports affiliations In the late 19th century, psychologists began discussing a new social phenomenon that seemed common to urban industrial societies. The twin A’s of "anomie" and "alienation" dogged the faceless masses of the urban landscape. Marked by a sense of loss, a lack of belonging, and a breakdown of identity, their impact was widespread and growing and could be traced to any number of causes. These were symptoms of a breakdown of community. Over the past century and a half, nationalism, racism and a host of other "isms" have emerged in response to this search for community. Sport is certainly not least among these responses; a successful sports team often provides an antidote for the lost soul of the city. In the early 1960s, a psychologist reported the case of a man who moved from St. Louis to Los Angeles. He lost all his reference points and was immobilized by that loss. Not until the man was able to transfer his fan loyalty to the Dodgers was he able to find comfort in the city; order came to his perception of urban chaos. The freeway system made sense once it was centered on Dodger Stadium. As the team improved, this fan’s mental state also improved. He came to identify with the Dodgers and with the city as the home of the Dodgers. This was not a new development. America’s immigrant population developed an interest in baseball and a loyalty to the local team as a means of establishing a sense of belonging in America. It also offered proof of Americanization to their countrymen. The owners of professional sports teams understand the significance of identity as an issue for fans and do their best to market their teams as an integral part of the city. Team names, logos and uniforms are made to express local identity. Local pride is stressed and rivalry with other cities plays upon that pride. This marketing strategy works. People identify sports teams with their cities, and the fans identify themselves with the teams and the players: They wear jerseys and caps with team logos and accessorize themselves with more idiosyncratic accoutrements, such as cheese heads at Green Bay Packers games or tomahawks at Atlanta Braves games. Lifelong Dodger fans still lament the team’s departure from Brooklyn, a borough whose very identity is intertwined with the baseball team. Cub fans have been buried in uniform as instructed in their last will and testaments. In more extreme cases, the identification can take on new meaning. The first time I was in Madison Square Garden for a New York Rangers hockey game I was amazed to see six or seven fans wearing not only the Rangers jersey with the number of their favorite player, but also sporting the hairdo and manner of the player. The cloning of Ron Dugay was a sight to behold. This process is replicated across the land in many sports at many levels. It doesn’t seem to matter if all the players are from somewhere else and live somewhere else. As long as they wear the uniform of the local team they are "our" heroes. Let them change teams and wear another uniform, and they can be transformed overnight into "the enemy." Sport has become a common currency of conversation among strangers and acquaintances who share virtually nothing else in common. It is also one of the safest forms of small talk at the cocktail party or around the water cooler. The fortunes of a team can create a sense of euphoria among the populace, just as failure can produce depression. Anyone who has ever been in a city in which a team won a major championship has seen a transformation in the spirit and the general ambiance of that city. Strangers begin to talk freely to one another. The sense of community accomplishment is in the air. Even non-sports fans take pride in the championship achievement. The 2000 World Series, which pitted the New York Yankees against the New York Mets in the first Subway Series in 44 years, divided the city while also uniting it against the rest of the country. In new cities lacking an identity, a successful sports franchise can help create one. In Orlando, Fla., a city comprised mostly of transplants who arrived after 1970, a sense of community identity was established when the Orlando Magic reached the NBA Finals for the first time. Nothing else had ever galvanized the imagination of the populace in such a way. A city without an identity seemed on the verge of developing one. The fact that it proved illusory is beside the point. At a more disturbing level, when sports mix with nationalism the results can be lethal. Wars have started over soccer games. European soccer fans often identify more with teams than nations until they go abroad, and then chauvinistic violence is common. In the Olympic games, national identity is at the heart of the competition. One of the strongest expressions of national pride for Americans came during the 1980 Miracle on Ice when the U.S. Men’s Hockey team defeated the invincible Soviet team. It was a Cold War moment. Yet sports identity is often fleeting over the long haul, and allegiance to sports teams can be as shallow as it is intense. A few losing seasons bring a decline in attendance and a loss of enthusiasm. The euphoria of a Minnesota Twins 1991 World Series victory or a Florida Marlins World Championship in ‘98 was quickly transformed into discontent with parsimonious and shortsighted ownership and dissolution with greedy athletes. This week’s game of the century is too often followed a week later by another game of the century, while the solidarity felt in the crowd seldom migrates beyond the stadium. In the end, identity built upon sport can never be as rich as authentic community. It is too thin on substance, too dependent on winning, and too much tied to the moment. Nonetheless, in the modern urban environment where community has faded, sport often fills the gap. It is usually less lethal than nationalism and racism, unless combined with them, and therefore a preferable alternative to either. Comment on this article or Related Sites Read the entire identity issue |
