The Benefits of Sports Spectatorship - Essay Example

With the increasing popularity of sports betting, and television programming that includes focus and dedication on the daily occurrences of sports franchises, the amount of dedicated sports fans is at a greater level than perhaps at any time in history. With a populace so entirely dedicated and engrossed in the process of sports spectatorship, it follows that one would question the deeper philosophical ramifications of allegiance. It’s clear that from an objective perspective such dedicated allegiance by this large segment of society merely constitutes a sort of opiate for the masses, in much the same way that Karl Marx envisioned religion. Still, many individuals and even government entities view sports spectatorship in a positive light, arguing that sports can be utilized as a community-building practice, as well as economically beneficial to the surrounding region. This essay considers the potential means by which sports support could be channeled into social action and how sports appreciation be used to make the world a better place.   In collegiate sports, many people follow the teams of the universities that they are personally affiliated. For professional athletic franchises, traditionally fans follow the sports team with which they are geographically closest. It seems these fans believe that the sports team represents their city or state, and in rooting for them they are rooting for their region. Of course, these tendencies are oftentimes not followed for several reasons. Many times individuals will follow teams from entirely different geographic regions for the sole reason that they are winning, leading many individuals to claim they are front-runners and not true fans. Still, most sports fans are described as such because of their regional dedication to a specific team. In these regards, a sports franchise can function as a means of bringing a community together in a shared passion. In micro-terms, one might compare such a perspective to team-building activities being performed by a corporation to improve company cooperation. Scholars have considered the social benefits of sports in such a context. In ‘You’re Dixie’s Football Pride: American College Football and the Resurgence of Southern Identity’ Wes Borucki argues that after the Civil War Southern states struggling to find a sense of identity in comparison to their Northern counterparts, turned to college football. He argues that through football they were able to reassert their national pride. While this is a major example of community building, it’s clear that such unity is currently being established through sports in cities and college towns throughout the nation.        In addition to the community and identity-building benefits of sports spectatorship, sports serve a valuable and beneficial psychological role in the lives of fans. An important element that makes one a sports fan is their dedication to the sport they are a fan. In these regards, sports serve several emotional and psychological roles in the lives of individuals. One such means of fandom is beneficial is through fantasy leagues. These are leagues wherein people join and draft a team of players. If a player on the individual's team has a high statistical showing, then the individual scores point for their fantasy team. People then avidly follow sports to keep track of their team giving imbuing their lives with a small sense of meaning; these leagues also function by giving individuals an outlet for implementing creative facilities, as well as a social outlet. Similarly, those who collect or sell sports memorabilia are also avid fans and derive a number of these psychological benefits from their spectatorship. Scholarly research supports these findings. A study presented to the British Psychological Society examined 600 individuals and determined that sports fandom was shown to be positively correlated with mental health benefits. In these regards, the study argues that “Being part of the large group consciousness raises confidence, self-esteem, and sociability” (Wolfson, pg. 4). Ultimately, sports spectatorship isn’t merely a waste of time, but a psychologically beneficial practice.        Conclusion In conclusion, while sports spectatorship outwardly appears to be an opiate for the masses, on further inspection it’s shown to have several social and psychological benefits. In terms of social benefits, sports spectatorship is shown to be beneficial as it aids in community building through spectators’ regional affiliations with the sports franchise. In terms of psychological benefits, it’s demonstrated that sports fandom serves several psychological benefits, including functioning as a social outlet for fans. Read More