What makes fans tick?
What is the difference between FANATICISM and FANDOM?
The word FANATIC originates from the Latin fanaticus.
It means as much as "insanely but divinely inspired".
FANDOM means a large collective group of ADMIRERS, especially of a celebrity.
Whereas FANATIC is usually a pejorative word, a FAN is someone who has roots somewhere.

• ARDENT fans are committed from the cradle to the grave; tattoo their skin, and sing songs of praise.
• NOTABLY, they start a pseudo-religion and use their cash to express true love for their favourite team.
• SOME adverts says that being a sports fan makes you a fat alcoholic, dumb and a moody douche bag.
• WHILE other adverts points out that being a sports fan gives you a workout, inspires you to be active.
• ESSENTIALLY good fandom makes you live longer, enhances your relationship and makes you smarter.
• REALISTIC FANDOM is positive; FANATICISM is negative (holding extreme, irrational enthusiasms).
• SCHOLARS crowns it a good idea to raise your kids to be sports fans; key in bonding and perseverance.

— Timeless Truth Told Tangibly or Terribly Tattered Thrillingly(?) [7T's] —

Being a ZEALOUS sports fan is a complex matter, in part irrational but not unworthy.
It may be a realistic relief from the seriousness of the real world,
with its unending pressures and often grave obligations.
But how does one becomes a sports fan?

• ACCORDING to psychology, there is a process which kids go through when they convert to being sport fans.
• NOTABLY, when kids are about 8 or 9 years, they have developed the skill of concrete operational thinking.
• SUITABLE thinking is by operations; conservation, reversibility or classification, allowing logical reasoning.
• WILLFULY one is capable of developing an emotional, solid attachment to a sport, team, or specific athlete.
• AFFLUENTLY most kids would first get attached to a particular sport, then to a TEAM and then to a PLAYER.
• REAL child's main influences (socialising agents) throughout this process include father, mother, or a sibling.
• SUBSTANTIALLY, media and their personal participation (playing with friends, at school or at their local club).

— Timeless Truth Told Tangibly or Terribly Tattered Thrillingly(?) [7T's] —

Without humour, a newscast is a terrible, depressing, unpalatable thing.
Without humour, a sports fan is a religious fanatic.
Sports do not build character. They reveal it.
The fuel for the sports fan is the ability to have WITTY private theories.

• ACTUAL effort and commitment sports people put in is incredibly phenomenal; fans only see the end result.
• NOT every fan is equally involved in sport FANDOM; there is a duly discernible Fan Involvement Ladder.
• STRATEGICALLY, The Sport Fan Motivation Scale, isolates EIGHT major motives for becoming a sports fan.
• WE fondly have eustress, escape, entertainment, economic, aesthetic, group affiliation, self-esteem, and family.
• ENTRENCHED fans find a sense of belonging and acceptance in the sports that they fail to find in their LIFE.
• REALISTICALLY, so many of the traditional institutions are beginning to break down, religion and the family.
• SOUNDLY, the human PSYCHE is the same and something has to take the place of that; sports fill a vital void.

— Timeless Truth Told Tangibly or Terribly Tattered Thrillingly(?) [7T's] —

'Behavioural Addictions' are those WEAKNESSES or addictions that do not involve drugs.
They are addictions to gambling, videogames, sex, the Internet and exercise.
Addiction may be defined as any behaviour that features six core components:
Salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, conflict and relapse.

• AWFUL SALIENCE occurs when following your team and doing things related to it overrides anything else.
• NOW it becomes the most important activity in your LIFE and dominates your thinking (total preoccupation).
• SORDIDLY held by cravings, when not in something football, you thinks about the next time that you will be.
• WILD MOOD MODIFICATION is the 'buzz' or a 'high' that you FEEL as a result of following your TEAM.
• EXACT opposite of this is a tranquilizing feeling of 'escape' or 'numbing' when following your football team.
• RAW TOLERANCE is increasing amounts of activity related to your team so as to get mood modifying effects.
• SPENDING time in engaging in activities related to following your football team is what you gradually builds.

— Timeless Truth Told Tangibly or Terribly Tattered Thrillingly(?) [7T's] —

BEYONDISM teaches that, for most people, enthusiastically following their team — even to excess —
is unlikely to be an addiction.
The main difference between a healthy excessive enthusiasm, and an addiction is:
HEALTHY enthusiasms add to LIFE, while ADDICTIONS take away from it.

• AWFUL WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS entails feelings or physical effects (like shakes, moodiness, or irritability).
• NAGGINGLY this state simply occur when you are PREVENTED from engaging in football-related activities.
• SORDID CONFLICT refers to the STRUGGLE between following your football team and those you care about.
• WANTON conflict is also with other activities (schoolwork, social life and interests) or from within yourself.
• ENTRENCHED feelings of loss of control in spending too much time following your football team is gnawing.
• RRELAPSE is the tendency to REVERT back to earlier PATTERNS of behaviour of following your football team.
• SORROWFULLY, this is a return into engaging in football-related activity after a certain period of abstinence.

— Timeless Truth Told Tangibly or Terribly Tattered Thrillingly(?) [7T's] —

In various studies many college/university basketball, soccer, rugby, and field hockey players, admitted to lying, cheating, and deliberately injuring others within the context of the game. It has been found that the longer a person had been playing formal sports, the more likely they were to say that such behaviours are justifiable. If the coach emphasises the importance of winning and NOTORIETY, then acceptance of morally questionable actions goes up. If the coach emphasises the joys of the game, good sportsmanship, and the value of developing your own personal skills, then acceptance of such transgressions goes down. Athletes uses psychological means of moral disengagement, to justify their transgressions, both to themselves and others.

• AGHAST MORAL JUSTIFICATION entails describing the transgression as morally right, not wrong.
• NAGGINGLY, a person may simply say: "I had to do it to protect my team's honour; we are not patsies."
• SORDID EUPHEMISTIC LABELING encompasses using language that basically disguises culpability.
• WORDS barely used: "I bent the rules," not, "I broke the rules." Or, "I dusted him off," not, "I hit him."
• EFFETE ADVANTAGEOUS COMPARISON makes others' actions look worse, while yours look good.
• REASON duly given: "I hit him, but I did not throw at his head, like others would have in this situation."
• SORRY DISTORTION of CONSEQUENCES minimises the damage done: "He will be OK in no time."

— Timeless Truth Told Tangibly or Terribly Tattered Thrillingly(?) [7T's] —

Sports metaphors or SOPHISTRY abound in our society. Business people all too often use them to justify ruthless tactics as 'good for the team.' They promote an 'us against them' attitude and invite people to believe that anything is fair as long as it is within the letter of the law. On the contrary, a fulfilling LIFE entails measuring success in happiness and wealth in friendships. This is because LIFE is an informal sport, not a formal one. The goal is to have fun and to help others have fun, too, regardless of which 'team' they are on.

• ATTRIBUTING the action to the whole Group rather than to Yourself is DIFFUSION of RESPONSIBILITY.
• NAGGINGLY an individual tend to JUSTIFY with: "It was not just me; the whole team charged the pitcher."
• SORDID Displacement of RESPONSIBILITY: Your action was not your choice, but that of a higher authority.
• WORDS used: "It was the coach's decision; my job is to do what the coach asks."
• EFFETE DEHUMANIZATION entails speaking of the opposition in ways that denies their basic humanity.
• ROGUERY one says: "They are a bunch of animals; when you play them you have to treat them that way."
• SUBVERSIVE Attribution of BLAME goes: "If he has a weak ankle he should not be playing."

— Timeless Truth Told Tangibly or Terribly Tattered Thrillingly(?) [7T's] —

Our fascination with celebrities, coupled with social media granting us instant access into their daily lives, suggests that celebrities would inherently have a leg up on teams and sports brands. We are living in a society fascinated with FASHION, success, fame and celebrity. In most cases the relationship fans feel with an athlete are best described as PARASOCIAL. This means that in most cases the target individual (the sports icon) is fully unaware of the existence of a relationship with any particular fan in the first place.

• APARASOCIAL relationship is attractive and 'feel safe' for fans; it comes with no risk of criticism or rejection.
• NOURISHING as it is, one enjoys knowing celebrities and their lives so well, but they do not know one at all.
• SO, it makes meeting them like running into an old friend, except that the old friend has no idea who you are.
• WORLD of social media, makes celebrity function a little differently; socially engaging fans has become easy.
• ESSENTIALLY, an athlete's RE-TWEET today, is what the 'signed autograph card' meant to fans a decade ago.
• REALISTICALLY, these CELEBS still might not want to date us, even though it may be the chance of a lifetime.
• SURELY, they still give us a quick hello and allow us to really be a real part of their lives, if only for a moment.

— Timeless Truth Told Tangibly or Terribly Tattered Thrillingly(?) [7T's] —

We tend to look for what confirms our intuitions, and tend to ignore what contradicts them. This is CONFIRMATION BIAS. This helps explain why some fans will boo every single referee call against their team. There is also SUPERSTITIOUS CONDITIONING — the idea that by not missing a single game, wearing the right jersey, they caused the team to start scoring. The INGROUP-OUTGROUP BIAS means fans of one team will deprecate fans of the other.

• ACTUALLY, the INTERGROUP BIAS is the false belief that one's own group is better than all other groups.
• NOW, the most fanatic fans, passionate about supporting their team might say that they hate their archrival.
• SURELY, in fact – ironically – true fans partially exist only because of the OUTGROUP they claim to despise.
• WHAT if the rival was not there, would there be "US"? Who would there be to beat (or beat us)?
• ESSENTIALLY, FANS know every detail about the players, and religiously follow the progress of their heroes.
• REASONABLY, the thing that differentiates one ingroup from the other (outgroup) is the team they root for.
• SAD truth behind the ingroup-outgroup bias, is that we simply love to hate each other (and 'their' sponsors).

— Timeless Truth Told Tangibly or Terribly Tattered Thrillingly(?) [7T's] —

Sports fans tend to say "we" won, and by "we," they do not mean themselves, personally.
The closer you identify with your team, the more likely you are to BIRG: "Bask In Reflected Glory".
In contrast, "CORF-ing" means that you "Cut Off Reflected Failure."

• AFTER a specific big loss, some fans want to distance themselves from 'their disgrace' as much as possible.
• NOTABLY, it is not "we," who lost, it is "them!" The key is "Winning is not everything, but wanting to win is."
• SOLIDLY, the clear OBJECTIVE of every sports team is to WIN – or at least compete for the championship.
• WILD reality is: only one team will win the championship; in any contest winning and losing are inevitable.
• EVERY sports organization should consistently place match RESULTS in more than just a WINNING context.
• REALISTICALLY, satisfaction with the outcome of the games has very little to do with the LOYALTY of fans.
• SUBSTANTIALLY, most hardcore sports fans will duly hold onto the PASSION for their team no matter what.

— Timeless Truth Told Tangibly or Terribly Tattered Thrillingly(?) [7T's] —

There is an 'apparent masochist' hidden deep inside every fan. A large part of shared fan experiences is suffering through years — and sometimes decades — without tasting victory. A key attribute in sports fans, which people do not have in too many other things, is this idea that you earn the benefits of fandom through loyalty and TENACITY. Those events that tested their mettle are things that they are proud of, because they have earned the right to revel in the team's success.

• ARDENT and seasoned diehard fans, loath those who jump on the bandwagon when their team is doing well.
• NOTABLE reason for this is simply because, they have not suffered enough to earn the benefits of Fandom.
• SORDID boredom is the most common reason for relationship dissolution; 'if you bore me, you will lose me!'
• WHEN it comes to social media, above all fans want fellow fans to recognise their commitment and support.
• ESSENTIAL sports fan is stuck with his or her team; this gives one a sense of stability to hang one's hat on.
• REAL fans have a merry constant in their sports teams that perhaps they do not have in the rest of their LIFE.
• SO far so good, the main inalienable constant of sport is that there can only be one winner and a lot of losers.

— Timeless Truth Told Tangibly or Terribly Tattered Thrillingly(?) [7T's] —

In social psychology, DISINHIBITION is unrestrained behaviour. It results from a lessening or loss of inhibitions or a disregard of cultural or MORAL constraints. The most passionate sports fans escape their normal daily LIFE, and social inhibitions. They express themselves freely by "cheering for their team." They may also ruthlessly lash out at rivals. DISINHIBITION is also used to describe behaviour of people who post content on social networking sites they would never express face-to-face.

• ACTUALLY, the phenomenon of disinhibition entails discarding the social, normal constraints on behaviour.
• NORMS (whether short-term or long-term), self-MONITORING, and self-AWARENESS are no longer present.
• SORDIDLY, fans act on the basis of immediate emotions without restraints that might prevent their behaviour.
• ROBUSTLY, even the reserved and shy can explode in bursts of exhibitionism when they get in, 'FAN-MODE'.
• ESSENTIALLY, some fans do not even have to physically attend the GAME to show the disinhibition effect.
• RESEARCH shows that, some fans get slightly over-excited after a dunk, and also feel devastated after a loss.
• SOME fans have an ingrained tendency of mild anger control issues or are simply pleasantly insane by nature.

— Timeless Truth Told Tangibly or Terribly Tattered Thrillingly(?) [7T's] —

The most passionate fans tend to identify themselves as an integral part of the team they are supporting. With some of them feeling less responsible for their individual behaviour — this is DEINDIVIDUATION. When DISINHIBITION is combined with DEINDIVIDUATION — a loss of self-awareness and a sense of diffused responsibility — fans simply do not care anymore about what anyone else might think or feel. DEINDIVIDUATION weakens normal restraints. This is when fans start acting really weird, in either a pleasant or less pleasant way.

• AT times, being part of a group tends to REMOVE individual accountability and DIFFUSE responsibility.
• NOWADAYS, it is unfortunate that this behaviour appears online just as often as it does in the stadium.
• SITUATIONALLY, group identities can become especially intense in the crucible of a big sporting event.
• WHEN a group is charged with the same high levels of ADRENALINE, group IDENTITY is strengthened.
• ESSENTIALLY, when a group is chanting 'we are number one,' wearing team apparel, we want to fit in.
• REDUNDANTLY, we may see someone throw a beer bottle and it draws cheers from our group members.
• SORDIDLY, if we are really identifying with them at the time, we are apt to match that behaviour or up it.

— Timeless Truth Told Tangibly or Terribly Tattered Thrillingly(?) [7T's] —

Social cohesion was built into language long before Facebook and LinkedIn and X. We are tribal by nature. Tribes today are not the same as tribes thousands of years ago. It is not just religious tribes or ethnic tribes now. It is sports fans, it is communities, it is geography. It is "closeness experienced afar." People can act as members of communities that are situated in other countries around the world. In this virtual connection, they will nonetheless feel MAGNIFICENT and closely attached to them.

• AS TRADITIONS are slowly losing meaning, INDIVIDUALISM on the other hand is gaining momentum.
• NOWADAYS, people are seeking new ways to express themselves and new PHENOMENA to hold on to.
• SO many locality-based, family NETWORKS have given room to other sources such as FAN CULTURES.
• WITNESSED are immense mass media resources, consumer goods and increase in social performativity.
• EXTENDED is an individual's ability to form LINKS with multiple fluid communities in one's daily LIFE.
• RECENTLY, social media has provided individuals with countless communities as options to choose from.

— Timeless Truth Told Tangibly or Terribly Tattered Thrillingly(?) [7T's] —

Research has demonstrated that on the day after a team's win, sports fans feel much better about themselves. Their self-esteem rises and falls with a game's outcome. After a win, diehard fans are more OPTIMISTIC about their personal sex appeal, and their ability to perform well at mental or physical tests. When the team lost, that optimism evaporates. According to BEYONDISM, FANDOM matters deeply, and yet it does not matter at all.

• ALL psychologists claim that fan psychology is rooted in primitive times when we lived in small tribes.
• NO wonder then, warriors fighting to protect our tribe were true genetic representatives of "our people."
• SUBTLY, in today's society athletes play a similar role for a club in the stylised WAR on a playing field.
• WILD athlete's exploits reconnects one with those intense emotions that tribal warfare did for ancestors.
• ENTRENCHED sports fan feels deep emotional investment in what has no actual real-world consequences.
• REAL sports are never guaranteed to end happily; most games simply end in a highly unsatisfying WAY.
• SURELY, a fan, will feel actual joy or pain in relation to events that really does not affect one's LIFE at all.

— Timeless Truth Told Tangibly or Terribly Tattered Thrillingly(?) [7T's] —

Fans do not only connect to sports through stars and places, but also through the communication and social currency it generates. Sports events are ENTERTAINMENT and social gatherings where the supplementary events, and experiences are often more important than the actual game.

• AN advantage of social currency is that it appeals to the deeply rooted desire of people to be part of CROWDS.
• NOW, this is critical to the popularity of fan-zones, travelling to away games, viewing parties and sports-bars.
• SUBSTANTIAL consequences of this 'socialization' is a fan base that is easier to reach and simpler to engage.
• WORLDWIDE, it was in the past more realistic for sports organisations and clubs to target mass MARKETS.
• ESSENTIALLY, this was made more possible when there were fewer competitors and fewer MEDIA channels.
• RECENT dramatic 'socialisation' of the sports fan, entails re-segmenting into smaller and smaller MARKETS.
• SATISFACTORY connecting requires more interaction and more relationship and intense community building.

— Timeless Truth Told Tangibly or Terribly Tattered Thrillingly(?) [7T's] —

Fans seeking uncertainty find the drama and randomness of the sports outcome very compelling. This attraction gives a reason to invest money, time and energy in being a spectator. Today sports fans have access to a wide variety of sports at any time of the DAY. This also partially explains the excitement many fans have for gambling and fantasy sports.

• ARDENT fans find watching a pre-recorded match, less exciting than watching exactly the same game LIVE.
• NOTABLE absence of drama, distance from the REAL experience and control over occurrences is very boring.
• SO many fans robustly love to LOOSE themselves in the UNPREDICTABLE drama of the LIVE sports event.
• WILLFULLY, fans use several media at the same time they CONNECT with each other to talk about the game.
• ESSENTIALLY, they CONNECT with a community of others doing exactly the same thing, at the same moment.
• REAL-TIME ability to communicate about the game, the FEELING of SHARED experience is very nourishing.
• SUBSTANTIALLY, the mere psychological ACT of connecting is an extremely strong MOTIVATION for fans.

— Timeless Truth Told Tangibly or Terribly Tattered Thrillingly(?) [7T's] —

Sports broadcasters, to stem the flight of the TV audience away from watching the MAIN SCREEN to the SECOND SCREEN (a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet) are offering alternative content to the main program. The idea is to stimulate CURIOSITY and enhance viewing experience by presenting content related to the main program, like unseen moments, alternative information, soundtracks, and characters.

• ATTENTION spans of FANS have changed over the last few years and are increasingly starting to multitask.
• NEW, handheld devices (mobiles, tablets, laptops) are used when watching MATCHES in stadiums or on TV.
• SURELY, the recent surge in smartphone penetration has opened the door to this dramatic SHIFT in behaviour.
• WORLDWIDE, social networks, sports clubs, and sponsors are using second screens to increase FAN loyalty.
• ENGAGEMENT and combining viewing experiences with social interaction tools, is what second screen offers.
• REALISTIC use of Second Screening techniques emphasises involvement instead of PASSIVE consumption.
• SPORTS fans' emotions are now captured through Second Screening for the BETTERMENT of entertainment.

— Timeless Truth Told Tangibly or Terribly Tattered Thrillingly(?) [7T's] —

It is curious that religious attendance rates have dropped off in recent decades. On the other hand, interest in sport spectatorship has soared. Various scholars discuss SPORT in terms of: 'natural religion,' 'humanistic religion,' and 'primitive polytheism'. One anonymous scholar points out that sports stadia and arenas resemble "Cathedrals where followers gather to worship their heroes and pray for their successes."

• ACTUAL ritual may be entertaining; and entertainment, as experienced in a sports stadium, may be ritualistic.
• NOTABLY, ardently committed sports Fans often wear the team colours and carry its flags, icons, and mascots.
• SEE the repetitive chanting of team encouragement, hand-clapping, booing the other team or doing the wave.
• WITTY singing of an anthem at a sporting event has similar psychic effects as the singing of a hymn in church.
• ENTERTAINMENT has obvious similarities to religious rituals, and the connection between fans and their sport.
• REAL comparison to religious experiences; effects that account for religion as a worldwide human adaptation.
• SURELY focusing on sports as a substitute for religion, we find that as a group, sports fans are fairly religious.

— Timeless Truth Told Tangibly or Terribly Tattered Thrillingly(?) [7T's] —

The transformative aspects of fandom are quite close to those associated with religion. Spectator sports serve vested interests as a type of 'cultural anaesthesia.' It is a form of 'spiritual masturbation,' or 'OPIATE'. It distracts, diverts, and deflects attention from the pressing social problems and issues of the day. Like RELIGION, SPORTS has some redeeming qualities. However, it has turned into a passion, and a mania. It is a DRUG far more potent and widespread than any mere chemical substance. It is the new OPIUM of the people.

• ACTUALLY, research has debunked stereotypes about sports fans that seem incompatible with religiosity.
• NOTABLY, fans are not lazy, nor are they particularly prone to violence; male fans do not have bad marriages.
• SOME fans are committed to their favoured stars and teams in a way that gives focus and meaning to LIFE.
• WONDERFUL spectatorship is a transformative experience through which fans escape their humdrum lives.
• ESSENTIALLY, this is just as the religious experiences help the faithful to transcend their everyday existence.
• REALLY, the face painting, hair tinting, and distinctive costumes are thought to satisfy specific religious goals.
• SUBSTANTIAL identification with the team, facilitates escape from everyday limitations and disappointments.

— Timeless Truth Told Tangibly or Terribly Tattered Thrillingly(?) [7T's] —

You do not need to be given a standing OVATION to feel a sense of success in your LIFE. At the same time you are not made for giving standing OVATION to recognise other people's success. It is in MEANINGFUL work that you will come closest to FINDING yourself. By this we do not mean simply gaining "self-knowledge" or understanding one's "true nature." But rather how at some point you can see most plainly that this is WHAT YOU REALLY DO. At its core, this is what BEYONDISM entails. If you are your biggest FAN, the odds are you are your only best FAN. Fulfilled people learn to become their own fondest fan, ACCEPT themselves AS THEY ARE and support themselves in that regard. It is a personal persuasive choice. So be happy and acquire blessings by LOVING yourself and your faults.

• ALMOST all people love engaging most with whatever touches them on a deeply emotional or personal level.
• NO wonder then, people's favourite sports team, athlete or their fellow fans FULFILLS this fundamental need.
• SOCIAL arena is used by celebrities to nurture their reputation; clubs focus on cultivating their communities.
• WHOLLY embracing social media, fans looks for attention, assurance, approval, acclimation and appreciation.
• ENCOURAGING fan-centered strategies enable fans to DEEPLY engage and make the team more accessible.
• RESPONSIVENESS to others, harnesses individual interaction and purposively serves to humanise the team.
• STRENGTHENING the deep personal connection fans feel with their team, is the ultimate structured RESULT.

— Timeless Truth Told Tangibly or Terribly Tattered Thrillingly(?) [7T's] —