In Defense of Sports

How rooting for the home team might actually be good for you

Baseball was my first love. 

The crack of the bat echoed through sunny afternoons at dusty Little League fields, while the roar of the crowd—and incessant wind—at Candlestick Park during Giants games provided the soundtrack to many summer evenings. Street hockey games were a regular feature on our street’s cul-de-sacs or at the school basketball court, with tennis balls standing in for pucks. And who could forget the brief but intense obsession with ice hockey that swept through my friend group after we first watched "The Mighty Ducks"? 

These sports shaped my 1990s childhood with the rhythms of practice, games, and seasons. But at 14, I discovered the raw energy of punk rock, and soon, my baseball mitt and hockey stick were gathering dust as I poured my soul into power chords and—literally—the dumbest possible lyrics. This shift seemed permanent, a defining moment in my identity formation. Sports, I thought, were behind me.

In 2007, my band, Sherwood, was on tour with Relient K, a hugely successful group with radio hits and the ability to sell out 3,000-capacity theaters. To my surprise, these real-life rock stars were also avid sports fans, devoted to their Ohio teams. We toured with them once during basketball season and later during the NFL season. I found myself drawn into their enthusiasm, watching games alongside them, rekindling a spark of fandom I thought had long been extinguished.

At first, it was merely fun — beers and wings with guys I looked up to. But then I began to reconsider my stance, to see beyond the surface-level criticism often leveled by cultural elites, and to appreciate the nuanced benefits that sports can bring to individuals and communities. From my perspective now, I can see how aspects of sports fandom mimic the experience (and even some benefits) of church involvement, and how both the gridiron and the stands can be rich environments for development and belonging.

The Darker Side

Very few activities in modern life are purely beneficial — religion and sports included. Although the research lies outside my own expertise, it’s worth noting a couple ongoing issues. Perhaps most pressing is the long-term health impact on athletes, particularly around Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) in contact sports. A 2017 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found CTE in 99% of brains obtained from NFL players, 91% of college football players, and 21% of high school football players. While the causal relationship between CTE and specific health outcomes is still being studied, research suggests significant impacts on quality of life and mortality. A 2022 study in the journal JAMA Network Open found that individuals with CTE had a median life expectancy of 67.5 years, compared to 75.4 years for the general population. The study also found that 69% of those with CTE had behavioral or mood symptoms during their lifetime. 

The pay disparity in women's sports also remains a glaring issue. In the WNBA, the maximum player salary for the 2022 season was $228,094, while the minimum salary for NBA players with two years of experience was $1,782,621. This discrepancy persists despite growing audience engagement in women's sports. 2024 WNBA viewership is up 170% from the previous year, with a recent playoff game attracting 2.3 million views, about 15% of an average NBA Finals matchup. We could point to similar recent dynamics with the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team: even if pay were based solely on viewership and ad revenues, the numbers don’t add up.

There are other places where ethics and sports intersect to raise questions and require thoughtful consideration (trans athletes, toxic youth sports culture, cheating scandals and more).

But for today, let’s look into the research a bit more on the benefits of sports engagement.

The Binding Power of Sports

One of the most compelling arguments in favor of sports is the ability to connect people to their specific geographic place and neighbors. This connection operates on multiple levels, from the local high school team that brings a community together on Friday nights, to professional teams that create a shared identity for entire cities or regions, to national teams that unite countries during events like the Olympics or World Cup.

This sense of place and community is not trivial. Psychologists have long recognized the importance of connection to place for mental health and well-being. In his seminal work The Psychology of Place, environmental psychologist David Canter argued that our sense of place is fundamental to how we construct our world and our place within it. Canter's work explores how physical spaces influence human behavior and emotions, and how our attachment to certain places shapes our identity. He posits that our relationship with place is a complex interaction of activities, physical attributes, and conceptualizations, all of which contribute to our sense of belonging and well-being. Sports teams and events can serve as powerful anchors for this sense of place, providing a shared narrative and collective experience that binds communities together. As a native Californian in the Pacific Northwest, I have been surprised to find an increase in the internal importance of my California upbringing, perhaps most clearly expressed in my rooting for the 49ers, San Francisco Giants, and Golden State Warriors.

Moreover, sports fandom itself has been the subject of extensive psychological research. In their book The Social Psychology of Sport, Sophia Jowett and David Lavallee explore how sports fandom can fulfill basic psychological needs for belonging and self-esteem. They argue that identifying with a sports team can provide a sense of community and shared purpose that extends beyond the playing field. Jowett and Lavallee's work delves into the complexities of social relationships in sports, examining how team cohesion, coach-athlete relationships, and fan identification contribute to both individual and collective well-being. Their research suggests that sports can serve as a powerful vehicle for social connection and personal growth.

The Appeal of the Binary

One unique aspect of sports that deserves consideration is its provision of a temporary, enjoyable experience of a zero-sum, binary situation. In plain terms, a game has clear winners and losers, defined rules, and a finite time frame. In our complex and nuanced world where clear-cut resolutions elude us so often, this clarity can be psychologically satisfying.

Psychologist Daniel Wann, in his research on sports fandom, has suggested that this aspect of sports can serve as a form of escapism, providing a temporary respite from the ambiguities and stresses of everyday life. But escapism isn't all bad; it can be psychological self-care, much like listening to music or gaming, allowing individuals to recharge before engaging with the complexities of their personal and professional lives. Wann's work also highlights increases in psychological well-being through social connections, enhanced self-esteem, and a greater sense of meaning in life. Highly identified sports fans often report lower levels of loneliness and higher levels of self-esteem compared to non-fans or casual fans.

The Spiritual Dimension

Interestingly, some scholars have drawn parallels between sports and religion, noting similarities in how they function in society and in individual lives. Researchers have observed several interesting intersections:

1. Ritual and ceremony: Sporting events often involve ritualistic behaviors, from pre-game routines to post-game celebrations, that mirror religious ceremonies.

2. Community and identity: Sports teams can foster a sense of community and shared identity among fans, similar to religious congregations.

3. Reverence for figures: The adoration of star athletes has been compared to the veneration of saints or spiritual leaders.

4. Sacred spaces: Stadiums and arenas have been likened to temples or cathedrals, serving as gathering places for communal experiences.

5. Transcendent experiences: The excitement and emotional highs of sports events have been compared to religious ecstasy or spiritual experiences.

6. Moral narratives: Sports often promote values like teamwork, perseverance, and fair play, similar to moral teachings in religions.

7. Calendar and time: Sports seasons and major events can structure people's lives and sense of time, much like religious calendars.

8. Pilgrimage: Fans traveling to important games or visiting stadiums has been compared to religious pilgrimage.

More could be said on a lot of these topics, of course, and maybe in the future I can bring some of my spiritual abuse research to bear on the spiritual and religious elements of sports fandom and participation. But for the moment, I find the parallels fascinating! I think a lot of people in my circles, especially those who have left faith communities, might read the above and notice that sports participation or fandom has been scratching some of that old faith community itch.

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While I may have a bit of work to do to reclaim athleticism at the age of 41, I’m grateful to have been able at least to reclaim my sports fandom. I get a little burst of joy every time my oldest son rightfully reminds me that, “We like the 49ers, the red team, and we want them to win!” I also realize that, as a child growing up in Western Washington, it might be socially and geographically important for him someday to become a Seahawks fan (like his mother). 

Though my attachment to a particular team’s fortunes have at times brought more frustration and sadness than it was worth, I’m over the teenage punk rock guilt, the cultural elitism, and the over-spiritualization of my Evangelical upbringing that devalued sports as merely “of this world.” 

More is going on.

As Major League Baseball enters the post-season and NFL ramps up week by week, I hope understanding the psychology of professional sports can help you enjoy your sports consumption a little more—or at least help you understand your sports-obsessed loved one a little bit better.

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