Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Liz Waid.
Voice 2
And I’m Adam Navis. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
“Four people are dead as competing fans riot at Honduras soccer game”
“It is a dark day in tennis as Monica Seles is stabbed on court”
“Fans Attack Baseball Coach On Field”
“Hundreds of soccer fans riot violently at game in South Africa”
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Voice 1
These are real news headlines. They come from the past few years and around the world. They are all about violent sports fans. Fans are loyal to a team or sport. Of course, not all sports fans are violent or bad. But fans do many extreme things because of sports games. Millions of people say that being a sports fan is one of the most important things in their lives. Why do people love sports so much? And why do fans support their teams so strongly? Today’s Spotlight is on the reasons people become sports fans and why they act in particular ways.
Voice 2
Loyalty to sports teams crosses every border. People of every nationality, culture, income level, gender and age love to watch sports. Sports are entertaining. They are easy for anyone to access, and do not cost much. And people like to watch athletes perform! Athletes inspire us with their strength, skill and hard work. Many people follow one sport, and one team in particular.
Voice 1
But being a loyal sports fan can have negative results. At the beginning of this program we heard examples of sports fan violence. People can also feel depressed when their team loses. However, being a sports fan has many positive results too. Fans feel great when their team wins! Studies show that sports fans think better thoughts about themselves. They are less depressed and less lonely. Dr. Daniel Wann is a leading expert on fan behavior. He made a list of 24 examples of social well-being that come with being a fan of a sports team. He tells the Seattle Times:
Voice 3
“There has been a lot of research in my lab and by others in multiple cultures. It shows that when an individual becomes attached to a sports team, there are pretty clear mental benefits of that.”
Voice 2
Being a fan also produces complex biological reactions and social behavior. Imagine you are watching your favorite team or athlete play a game. Your heart starts to beat faster. You become very excited. You are not moving much but you begin to sweat. Studies show this happens to many sports fans. They react physically to the game even though they are not playing.
Voice 1
Chemicals in the fans’ bodies also change in the same way that the athletes’ bodies do. Experts call these “mirror neurons.” So sports fans experience a kind of mirror reflection of what they are watching. They feel tension. But they also experience the release of chemical substances in their body. These make the fans feel happy. Shankar Vedantam is a social science reporter for the news organization NPR. He says:
Voice 4
“Sports allow us to feel intensely about something that really is not very important. The truth is, tomorrow, if your team wins or loses, you are still going to be OK. So in some ways watching sports is like watching a horror movie. You feel intensely but the risks are not that high.”
Voice 2
Our minds, emotions and bodies respond strongly to sports. And we respond even more if we care more. The other main reason people care so much about sports is social. Many people like to watch sports events with their friends and family. But the social element of being a sports fan is much more than that.
Voice 1
People like belonging to a group. Being part of a team makes us feel we have things in common with the people around us. We form groups naturally. People are also naturally very loyal to their “in-group.” They feel they belong and connect emotionally to the other members of the group. They also often share a dislike for people in an “out-group” – like an opposing sports team. Christine Emba reports for the Washington Post:
Voice 5
“Studies have shown that for fans, being identified with a favorite team is more important than being identified with their work and social groups. And it is sometimes more important to them than being identified with their religion.”
Voice 2
Our attachment to sports teams comes from a deeper desire for connection. People want to feel valuable and important in the world. Some experts say we all want to be part of something larger than ourselves that will continue on, even after we die. Jeff Greenberg teaches social psychology at the University of Arizona. In the online science magazine Nautilus, he says:
Voice 6
“The underlying importance of sports fanship is that need to feel good about yourself, the need for self-esteem and meaning. What is the point? Why do we need to feel valuable and good about ourselves and our place in the world? In a sense, that is what we are doing in our lives. We are trying to feel larger than our own lives, to feel higher than death. We want to feel that somehow we are going to continue on beyond. Sports are a symbolic version of the drama of life. Winning and losing feels like life and death.”
Voice 1
People have found many ways to belong to groups. Sports fans form a strong bond with other group members. In this way they satisfy the need to belong. And they fill the need to be part of something larger than themselves. When their team loses, they feel as if they have lost. And when their team wins, they celebrate victory.
Voice 2
Lastly, there are some outside reasons to be a sports fan. Sports are a multi-billion dollar global business. It is good for people in this business when sports fans are loyal. Many people make a lot of money from sports that people watch. Sports are an important part of the global economy.
Voice 1
Most people cheering for their team are probably not thinking about all these things. But it helps us to understand why sports are important to so many people around the world. Are sports important to you? What team do you support? Do you think it is because of the reasons in this program? You can leave a comment on our website. Or email us at radio@radioenglish.net. You can also comment on YouTube, At youtube.com/spotlightenglish1.
Voice 2
The writer of this program was Rena Dam. The producer was Michio Ozaki. The voices you heard were from the United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at www.radioenglish.net. This program is called, “Are You A Real Sports Fan?”
Voice 1
Visit our website to download our free official app for Android and Apple devices. We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.
Question:
Do you have a favorite sports team? How do you feel when that team wins? Does it affect you if your team loses?
Actually, I don’t have any favourite sport team . However I have my favourite footballer, he is Z. Zidane. He always motivates me to be more stronger and hardworking.
it is so nice podcast i liked beacuse of interested in soprt especially football and my favorite team named Itthad from Saudi Arabia it a big club in Asia, so i wanted to say Thinks for everyone works in this website Sooplight”s team is great team
Yes, of course , Real Madrid . I’m happy the wins my team. I’m feeling sad and crying when my team loses.
1. of course, i am a great real Madrid fan .
2. be happy and celebrate victory.
3. unfortunately yes i feel sad and depressd
Hi dear sir /miss
I don’t have a favourite sport team , I just enjoy watching sports as entertainment.
I have been doing various sports ,in case of being healthy in mind and body.
so it doesn’t any affectionately on me if a team loses or wins.
As you mentioned nicely besides advantages being a favourite of sports team there are some disadvantages.
Being a sports fans most of the time is harmful and sometimes hurts , they goes to extremes and do things that mustn’t do in normal way.
I do not just blame them but also, propagandas are playing the excessive rule on people’s emotions or behaviours ,which is uncontrollable .
Money ruins many.
lastly I am truly excited to be in here and impressing by your programs explanation .
You explain in details. that to be here means to me not only learning english also getting or receiving my answer to my question, which has been caused me to be a fan of spotlight.
at the beginning I want to thanks and admiration for spotlightenglish
and second I wish that talking about middle east in the future
as for the question No I don’t fans any team at now because I don’t have any time
but in the past I was fans REAL MADRID team .
Topic of great interest is cheering. It is true that victories bring joy, defeats cause sadness. Among the various sports, football, more than others, is a metaphor for life. Sometimes the best wins, sometimes the luckiest wins, sometimes who deserves more, sometimes who deserves less. I noticed that the conversation between supporters of the same team is fantastic. They understand each other even if they speak different languages, even if they do not speak any language, while between supporters of opposing teams, dialogue is not difficult, it is impossible. Also, the fans are bad judges, because they know that the players of their team are always right, while the players of the opposing team are always wrong. I admit, I also have a favorite team, it’s Juventus, which is going through a mixed period, with ups and downs. In two days there will be the most important match of the year with the main opponent: Inter, there are hours of waiting, hours of fear and hope! We will know if Juventus have won, because fireworks will be seen on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Long live Juventus! P.S. fans who use violence are not fans, they are simply criminals.
I don’t prefer watching matches or any sport events , but sometimes when l feel boring , l watch football matches with my father .As a result, l encourage my father’s favourite football team which is Liverpool .When Liverpool wins , l feel happy as the team deserve that victory .On the other hand ,if the team lose , l don’t care because I only watch matches to entertain myself and to enjoy time with my family .
Fanning from sports teams is usually an emotional need that develops in a person’s personality from adolescence. This condition may be accompanied by temporary happiness or sadness. The severity of these conditions depends on the degree of interest in a particular team, but although I am interested in sports But so far I have not supported any particular team and it does not matter if the team wins or loses
My favourite sports teams is national team. When my team win I feel very happy and proud. But if my team lose,I feel little bit unhappy and disappointed. By anyway, with me that feeling doesn’t last
That’s a good topic, but there were words from another level
Thank you
I’m fan of real madried team
I don’t watching any sports team so i don’t care if they wins or loses.
But sometimes i watch a match because my brothers are a loyal fan for AL HILAL CLUP.
Honestly, I don’t have any favourite football team. However; I think I like watching the national team but I don’t feel so excited when the national team wins. For that reason, It doesn’t affect me so much when the team loses.
good iob
good job
I’m not sure I have a favorite sports team, but I like seeing the Vietnam U-23 football team play football very much. Some sort of reason why I appreciate them is because everyone in my country does, and while I am seeing them express, I am very proud of them and they seem to be glowing, but when they lose, I feel defeated as well, which is a strange feeling.
1. Yes, real madr is my favorite team
2. I feel strongly and happy
3. No, it’s OK, you can’t always win
Yes, in my country i love the AL-Nasser clup, and in glopal i love man united.
I feel happy and somtime i make a party.
Of course, it’s affect me if my team loses and i feel sad
I don’t like sport and I wasn’t a real sports fan when I was in school. While I understand the benefits of sports as a physical and social activity, it just wasn’t for me. But based on my observation, I suppose being a sports fan would help one to fit in better with the crowd, if that’s what you’re wanting to do.
My favourite sport team is national VietNam soccer team. When they play soccer game, I watch all even if the time start is 1a.m. So, in my country, the online environment is too bad, if my team win, everything is Ok. If they lose, the social will attack them, the referee, and the coach.
Yes , my favorite team is ittihad from Saudi Arabia
I feel excised and celebrate with my friends
Yes so much , i feel depressed and i cry sometimes
Interesting program, I have favourite team is Alitihad club play soccer in KSA, we have more fans around the world.
I love of my day if my sport team will playing and we encourage them for win and get the championship.
Last thing, when my team lose the match maybe I anger and I try forget the lose, also i try thinking next match and next adventure.
me too i love itti
Yes , i have tow favorite team they barcelona in spain and , al nasser in Saudi Arabia , and when they win l feel so happy they make my day , and when they lose l feel depressed and frustration.
Yes I’m a big fan of Liverpool and I love watching Real Madrid, it’s so beautiful podcast ❤️
Yes I like sports and my favorite sport it is football and I encourage Relmadred thy are so pro team and my favorite soccer player is mohamed slah
Yes my favorite team is wydad to casa Blanca from Morocco is the big club in Africa I feel happy in celebrate in victory and I fell sad and depressed at the loss
Yes, I do my favorite time is Liverpool, I feel I am above the moon when it win the game and never effect me if it loose because I used to be football player for 14 years in union club at Alexandria Egypt and I was a coaching football since 2009 until 2019 anyway I find that reasons for losing the games and I am always taking it easy.
yes , I have a favorite team and I support it constantly, it is Milan , when Milan wins the match I feel happiness and joy , then I go to my friends who support our opposing team to laugh at them and I see the anger appears in their red faces then they say I promise you we will defeat you in the next game , but when my team lose the match I feel depressed and sadness , therefor my friends treat me tit for tat , and that doesn’t break our relationship so in the next day we fun and play together forgotten everything happend
yes, i support a big team in moroco. it is mas .when that team win i leave stade and i have a big smile in my face . i feel posetive ideas and i dance with all people support that team. and we singer all music for this team with group. but if we loses i leave stade very angry , sometimes some people tehy do a negative sattement
Being a sport fan especially if you become loyal to a team is a hard thing because this team will decide how your day will become.
So i always say and i will say don’t be a loyal fan to a team because they don’t know anything about your life if you become stressful they do not help you .
I was also one of those fans in a period time but i stop it.
be a loyal to your religion, your self, your family and your work .
Don’t allow sports to decide your feelings.
I’m a fan AL NASSR team, l feel when that team win very happy and very excited to next match, l don’t affect when team loses in the end, we are watching the game just for fun.
Yes I have got a favorite sports team it is of football and it is Real Madrid.
I feel grate when my team wins.
No it does not affect me when my team loses.
Hi my name is wael am students in uneversty moulay ismail economie a meknes my favorite sport time is fc barcalone i feel that time always wins
yes I have, I’m a big fan of Barcelona team.
and I feel great and proud when my team win.
Unfortunately the lost of my team made me feel sad.
No I don’t have any favorite sports team , But I have a friend he has a favorite team I noted he be happy too much when they win !
And he be sad very much when they lose !
I think that is a weird
I like very much the sport esspically football.then, I supourt real madrid because I love to see my favourite player that is Zidane.lastly, I feel good when my team won and I cry when lost.
first thank you for this podcast it’s really good, and thanks for all these podcasts, frankly i have two favorite team they’re FC BARCELONA and USMAnnabe Form algéria, When they win i celebrate this vectory and i feel glad, but when they lose i feel mad, sad
Yes I do. My favorite team is a Saudi football team called AL-Ittihad club. I listened to the boadcast and I agree with the explanations that the specialists explained about the sense of loyalty that the sport fans feel about their fav teams. For me think I feel so related to Ittihad because I feel the belonging to the group feeling. So when the team wins I celebrate the win with the Ittihad fans in Al -jawharah (Ittihad stadium in Jeddah), sometimes when the team score a goal, fans in the stands hugs each other even though they don’t know each other! That’s all build a strong loyalty feeling that I feel to Ittihad. And yes I hate to see the team lose