Why do people get so worked up about football?

I am practicing an essay question, is it because of their culture or the community? How can a footballer scoring a goal affect people's emotion?

You got me stumped. Forget football, I don't really understand the hype for sports period. Then again, I'm pretty much a loner, so there are a lot of social gestures I can't quite comprehend. I guess the hype is mainly an expression of a person's love/pride for his local area. A team from your hometown or country competing against another area builds up emotion inside a fan. They'll naturally want to see that local team do well against the others. This could be for bragging rights like "Hey, our town has the best football/basketball/baseball/[insert sport here] in all of the league.". Most importantly, its more or less a social event. You get your family and friends in front of the tv and root for your favorite team.

I'm kinda grossed out by how seriously some people take the game. Some people may even compare the competition to that of actual war, lol. I've never been the one to conform to most of societal's culture. I'm shocked how far my little brother has gotten into the sport scene. A few years ago we shared almost identical tastes, but now that he made friends of his own he started to adapt to their tastes instead (Although we will play video games and watch anime together on occasions).

It's a way for people to practice ancient tribal rivalry. it's part of our nature to want to be part of a group, and for that group to express dominance over other groups. sports allow a realitively safe outlet for that.

Footie was play with severed heads in the mayan world... probably due to that rush of chemicals in your noggin.

I don't know why people get worked up on a game about men groping each other for a stupid ball and say it manly. its got me completely stumped. which Football are you talking about anyway because I'm American so football a completely different sport from the rest of the world to me

This.

I've also heard that being an intense fan of sports can be, quite simply, a way to relieve stress. If you have a horrible week at your job, then you can get rid of some of the tension by yelling at the TV screen for a few hours on Sunday, whether it's angry yelling or happy yelling.

i never understood team-related sport. i was always bored with it. no wonder i like surfing alone.

i think watching sports on tv is the worst though. You might as well as go out and do something rather than sit on the couch.

The real football. The one where you actually use your feet for the entire game.

Unless you watch and follows sports, you'll never understand the feeling no matter how much we try to explain it to you. It just happens for no reason. Also, Yankee/Lakers fans will never know what real winning feels like.

To add to that, also try to play the sport yourself. With some experience you'd understand when a pro makes an awesome play etc.

Yeah, I played backyard Football (American, not soccer) with the neighborhood kids, and it was pretty thrilling. Could never watch the sport on tv though, I would lose my focus. I wanted to be good at soccer like my dad was, but I lacked team work ethics and coordination. So I rage quit.

I suspect this topic might actually be more appropriate for the Sports and Fitness section, but I shall observe the situation (and replies) before taking any further action.

In some countries, a certain form of sports may be the only link between people of diverse backgrounds. Their support for the local or national team may be considered a uniting force for the entire community.

Well, yeah. It's a combination of nationalism/tribalism and admiration for the amazing skills and teamwork at play. I, for one, am in a soccer team and I always wish we could play the way professionals do. They're just awesome.

I think it could be very different things depending on the people watching and the current even happening.

Some people actually practice the sport themselves. Of course they will enjoy/be impressed when a player scores a goal.

Other people really enjoy sports, like you could enjoy video games or cars or anything else. They usually check out new and stats daily and tend to know everything about it. These people will usually watch every single game in a season. For them, it is simply their main passion.

Some people view it as a social event and like to get together with friends and watch sports with drinks.

It's all very different when it's in a tournament or playoffs compared to the regular season. I live in Montreal, and the whole city gets very different during the hockey playoffs. It feels like every single person in the whole city is watching it. Everyone becomes very happy and wants to be friend with all the other fans.

When it comes down to why people reacts to a goal or enjoy watching sports, I think it is just because human beings like competition. So it's not just about sports. It could be the same with watching artistic events or competitive video game players. We enjoy seeing the result of very intense and continuous practice in a single field. We enjoy seeing a star player do a very skillful move, just like we enjoy watching a very talented piano player play.

Because it's their thing and they like being worked up in it.

You may be safe as long as your not in a sportsbar. If you are.... it was nice knowin' ya.

Wherever you are in the world (which isn't America), you can strike up a conversation about association football. Not only does it unite people in a common interest, but games can provide a spectacle of dazzling skill and co-ordination.

You can gloat about the victories and rue the defeats, but you always have something to talk about and almost always something positive to take from a game. Plus, it's always changing and being freshened up with new talents and peppered with freakish moments and wonder goals, moments which can change careers, clubs and seasons.

There are so many different ways to approach games, so many different classes of player and means to an end, and each major world league offers something different, from the evenly spread and ever competitive English (and Welsh) Premier League and German Bundesliga to the few uber-talented teams in Spain's La Liga.

Individual skill, variety and a non-stop fixture list make it, for my money, the greatest sport in the world.

I don't watch "football", but I consider myself I big sports fan. I myself play Basketball, so I find it entertaining and impressive to watch since I understand it better. I also like american football, even though I've never played it.

as to why I get worked up about it, is because it's simple competition. I love to trash talk other fans, as well as defend my team from trash talk from other fans.


I Basically live in Dallas, Texas, and I'm a huge fan of the Lakers. as a result, I am surrounded by fans of the Dallas basketball team, while I cheer for the rival Lakers. I find it fun to be able to trash-talk everyone around me, and it gives us something to discuss. I do find most fans to be completely idiot in their trash-talk, which can be annoying to deal with.

overall, all fans can discuss sports because it's something we all have in common. I can hardly discuss Code Geass or Naruto theories with anyone, but I can get in a Basketball argument with most of the people of Dallas

I played football (American) in high school while living in Dallas, Texas. the reason i played was for the comradely and the physicality of the sport. the feeling that if you got in a fight on the field or anywhere else for that matter whether they liked or hated your teamates would have your back is one of the most powerful and prideful feelings in the world. for example one of my teammates got his leg broken the field. Me, half the team and the head coach were about to rush the other team and break their legs if one of the other coaches didn't stop us. Those battlefield bonds are what connects my team and me. Another huge insensitive for playing football i had personally was the chance to run away. i simply love to literally run away from people chasing me. there is simply nothing more exhilarating than running as fast as you can adrenaline pumping hoping you are faster then the guys double your high and weight. i didn't enjoy tackling people or hitting people. i simply enjoyed the adrenaline rush and the battlefield bonds and mentality of the game.

Thank you for reading my little rant.