Edward:
Is it any different from a national affiliation or an ethnic one. The 
desire to belong, to feel a part of something, something that strives for a 
goal and achieves it (or if i doesn't, we boo mightily?). It's also a 
relatively "safe" affiliation. That is, while we might be devastated when 
"we" lose, the consequences typically aren't genuinely life-threatening. I 
still argue that it's no different than identifying (BIRG, whatever) with 
any other entertainment offering -- tv, movies, books, etc.
Maybe you need a bit more whimsy in your life! (Homer Simpson is an 
excellent start!). ;-)
David W.
(btw: Rams, Eagles, Raiders, Steelers -- anyone but Baltimore!)


At 09:04 AM 1/17/2002 -0500, Pollak, Edward wrote:
>Paul wrote
>I've got to admit that I agree on that last point (despite my earlier
>ribbing...). As I understand it, we're 9 point underdogs at the moment. On
>the other hand, the Packers are a better team than they've looked recently,
>and this IS the NFL's 1-loss-and-you're-out playoff system. If it were a 5
>or 7 game series, I'd bet money against the Packers. In one game, though,
>surprising things happen fairly often. It'd be a big mistake for the Rams to
>look past this game before it starts.
>
>You folks have no idea how sorry I am that I started this thread!!!!  Aside
>from all the sports talk/banter it's generated, I remain as discombobulated
>as ever.  As far as I'm concerned, answers involving things like
>"identification," "reflected glory," etc. are decidedly unsatisfactory
>because they beg the question: Why do people identify with these teams and
>why do they experience any perceived glory won by the team?  It's a beef
>I've had with most social psychological explanations for many years now.
>
>Q. Why do people experience joy when the home team wins?
>A. Because they identify with the team,
>Q. How do you know they identify with the team?
>A. Because  they experience joy when the home team wins.
>Q. But why do people experience joy when the home team wins?
>A. Because they identify with the team...................
>
>In the words of Homer Simpson, "DOH!"
>
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>Edward I. Pollak, Ph.D.
>Graduate Coordinator, Holocaust and Genocide Studies
>Department of Psychology,
>West Chester Univ. of Pennsylvania
>Office: 610-436-3151; Home: 610-363-1939; Fax: 610-436-2846
>Office hours: Mondays 12-4 p.m.; Tues. & Thurs.: 8 a.m.-noon
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>Husband, father, grandfather, biopsychologist, bluegrass fiddler and
>herpetoculturist ( http://www.adcham.com)
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>Shameless self promotion:  The Mill Creek Bluegrass Band performs every
>Tuesday night at Dugal's Inn, Mortonville, 8 miles west of West Chester, PA.
>Call 610- 486-0953 for directions.
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>
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David T. Wasieleski, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Psychology and Counseling
Valdosta State University
229-333-5620
http://chiron.valdosta.edu/dtwasieleski

"All I ever wanted to do was to learn how to break this world in two
To teach it all the tricks I wanted it to learn
To teach it how to do what I want it to do
No one really understands how simple and plain and predictable I am..."
         --Everclear
     "Short Blonde Hair"


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