Why It is WE

Today on my favorite website (that isn't Facebook), Grantland.com, there was a piece on why saying "we" in reference to a sports team is the dumbest thing ever.  The crux of the piece was that unless you are actually attending a college, a Green Bay Packer shareholder, or employed by the team there is no "we."  The writer made a point that we as a society don't say "we" when watching a movie, seeing a band, reading a book.  He used the Florida Marlins as an example of how little fans mean to sports.

I respectfully don't agree with this approach.  The flaw to me is comparing your favorite sports team to a book, a movie, a band.  When I go see a movie I know that what is going to happen will happen no matter how much I don't want it to (just tell Joaquin Phoenix you'll be loyal to him Maximus!).  Same goes when I read a book, or listen to a band play.  I can't influence the outcome.  That is not the feeling we get with sports.  And there is plenty of evidence to prove that.  In the last two Detroit Lion home games Ford Field was so loud the Bears and 49ers combined for 14 false start penalties.  No fan influence there.  Arsenal vs. FC Barcelona in the Champions league: at the Emirates in North London 2-1 to the home team, in the Nou Camp 4-1 to the home team (Arsenal only getting a goal on an own goal by FCB as they had 0 shots on target).  No home field advantage there.

I have been in stadiums, bars, field houses where the crowd is an entity.  Seattle and Texas A&M call their crowd the 12th man.  Players pick up on the vibe of the fans, the fans pick up on the vibe of the players.  There is a give and take, an actually relationship.  You cannot tell me that it does not exist because I have been on both sides of it.  Fans can provide the energy to lift the team's level of play.  Fans can provide the chaos to strike fear, or at the very least poor execution, into the hearts of the opponents.  There is an emotional connection between team and fan you don't have in any other area of society.  We wear our lucky jerseys (or don't wear unlucky ones in some cases), sit in our lucky seats, pray to whatever god we chose for success of our team; Our days are ruined by a poor performance and completed by a great one.  I don't run around screaming for joy when Colin Firth nailed his performance in The King's Speech but I do when Chipper Jones belts a game winning homer.

It is the emotion that makes it We.  It is the personal connection between fans, players, owners, towel boys, coaches.  It is being a part of something bigger, no matter how small your contribution, that makes sports a WE endeavor.  We don't say "Let's Go!" for no reason.