The spell of sports

The largest sports event of 2010 is without any doubt the Soccer World Championship in South Africa. Events like these make the world grind to a stop when it’s getting close to kickoff. The audience stare in trance at 22 athletes running around on a field of grass, chasing a round object made from the skin of an animal.

Why are we putting so much time and energy into spectator sports? What makes someone fanatic enough to attack the other team’s fans? Let’s pretend we’re from outer space, trying to understand this thing about sports.

Some of the answers may be found in the past. For millions of years, our ancestors had to hunt for food, making their lives totally dependent on their hunting skills and ability to work together as a team. Fast forward to present day. These two characteristics are still there inside our bodies, but they are no longer needed in their original form. We can find kebab on the street corner, so there is no need for a carefully planned hunting mission.

These instincts born from natural selection is going to be with us for a very long time, so we have to channel them in other ways. Team sports provide a fun and healthy challenge which is enjoyed by most people. It gives good exercise and training in different kinds of cooperation and coordination. It might even be fun.

The strange compulsion to watch other people engage in physical team activities is nothing new. Even the Romans, Egyptians and several other cultures played ball. Some successful athletes have a salary that exceeds the GDP of a small nation, so obviously this is big business.

So far, so good. But then things get a little bit out of hand.

Several years ago, I was spectator at a match of Muay Thai at Ratchadamnoen Stadium in Bangkok. It turned out that the audience was far more interesting than the boxers. As the fight progressed, they shouted loudly at the bookmakers who had a hard time keeping up with the onslaught of betting. A small band increased the pace by beating like crazy on their drums. As the boxers started to bleed from their injuries, the audience started to resemble a pack of wolves shouting eagerly for more blood. When one fighter got the upper hand, the crowd almost stormed the stage in their wild screams for a finishing blow. That’s when I felt the need to leave.

Before the storm. A Muay Thai fighter at Ratchadamnoen Stadium, Bangkok.

What is it that makes these people scream for blood? They trigger each other a great deal, since I doubt they would display the same attitude in a crowd of three instead of three hundred. And they have bet a lot of money on the outcome. But still.

For a more peaceful example closer to home, visit an ice hockey game. The biggest indoor arena in Gothenburg sells on average 11 000 tickets to any game with the local hockey team Frölunda. Some games tend to get rough since ice hockey is a very physical sport, and a lot of people cheer if the players start to beat each other with their fists.

Audience in Scandinavium hockey arena.

Again, it’s a group triggering effect to some extent. But I’ve seen the same behaviour in small spectator groups as well.

I have more understanding for a game of American baseball. The spectators come and go, have a hot dog with a warm Bud light, talking to friends. Down on the field, there’s a game going on but it seems nobody really cares.

Red Sox take on the Florida Marlins at Fenway Park in Boston.

Another interesting factor is the “we” against “them”. Competitive sports are acting as a friendly conflict, but to some they are as important as real war. In 1969 a war was fought between El Salvador and Honduras which was triggered by soccer matches between the countries. For more details of this event, I recommend the book “The Soccer War” by Ryszard Kapuscinski.

Not even heavy rain can stop the audience from watching the derby IFK-GAIS at Ullevi.

Back to the World Cup. Today there was a match between arch rivals Germany and England. The Swedish TV speaker said that these countries had met twice before, both ending with victory for the English. He was referring to 1918 and 1945. Even though it was hopefully meant as a joke, I find comparing a soccer game to a World War quite disgusting.

Also, how do you decide which team to root for? Most people cheer for their home town team by default, but why? They are not likely to know any of the players personally. Perhaps they have been going to the games since young age, reinforcing their polarization of conformity by standing in a large crowd who share a certain contempt for another team. It gets even more blurry when someone cheers for foreign teams.

I remember reading somewhere that the most human trait is the instinct of competition. I guess it makes sense in a Darwinian approach to life, but I would rather hope that we should strive to improve ourselves and help other people.