Are Sports Fans Happier Analysis

After reading an article by Sid Kirchheimer called “Are Sports Fans Happier?” Instantly answering the question before even reading… how in the world could they be?! Me being a person who cannot sit still and watch a sport simply because sitting still and watching others be active is not something I can do. If you are not helping the team win how is it that you, as an individual sitting on your couch, feel so much like you have just won? Being completely understandable a team you are watching has a family member on it and feeling excitement for the player on the team for getting their victory but, feeling “bona fide joy” as Kirchheimer says in the article that this is real joy the fans feel when the team they are watching wins. There is no way …show more content…
Although a quote from Daniel Wann, Ph.D. says “Being a fan gives us something to talk about, to share a bond with others. And for the vast majority of people, it’s psychologically healthier when you can increase social connections with others.” So in actuality that proves that these sport fans do not even realize that it is not the sport itself that makes them so happy, it is the togetherness. Wann also states “there’s a longer, more drawn out event that provides more opportunities to engage in social opportunities and connections. And bonds tend to be stronger with a longer passage of time.” Easily Wann is continuing to give information about the fact that these men are bonding over time together, versus the games. Going back to a part in the article that should be pointed out the article goes into detail about how sports fans “people who identify themselves as sports fans tend to have lower rates of depression and higher self-esteem than those who don’t.” Seeing that Wann gave so much information saying, the fans are able to talk to one another and “bond”, they are not bonding with the sport, they are bonding with one another. So someone who considers themselves a sports