Root for Sports Teams, Not Politicians
The following is the transcript of my closing editorial from episode 126 of my news podcast The Mind Killer. If you like it, please consider subscribing to the podcast
In intellectual circles, it’s generally considered uncool (or in intellectual-speak, “low status”) to watch sports, but I think this is a mistake. Not only are sports fun, they serve an important social function: they give people an outlet for harmless tribalism.
I’m a big Philadelphia Eagles fan. When the Eagles win, it doesn’t improve my life at all. I suffer no concrete harm when they lose. There are no actual stakes here. And yet, I watch games with excitement and anxiousness unrivaled by nearly anything else in my life. Why? Because I’m a fan, and that’s what it means to be a fan! I’m from the Philadelphia area, so I root for the Philadelphia team. It’s pure tribalism.
Humans are tribal creatures. We love dividing people into ingroups and outgroups, and we do it with everything. The most popular thing we do it with is politics. In politics, our side are all noble freedom fighters. The opposition are evil racists fueled by nothing but hate. When our guy wins, it’s the greatest thing that ever happened. When their guy wins, the world is plunged into darkness for four years until we have another shot at the title. When our side does bad things, it’s just enemy propaganda and double standards. When their side does bad things, it proves how awful they are, and how foolish and evil their supporters are.
This is obviously a stupid way to look at things, but people can’t help it. Tribalism is inevitable. We need a team to root for. But I recommend choosing a sports team to root for instead of a political team. Tribalism in sports is mostly harmless. Sure, you get the occasional fan maimed in a soccer riot and a dude who falls into a years-long depression because his team lost the World Series, but mostly it’s all in good fun. Even fans of your hated rival are fun to trash talk with, and there’s usually a sense that everyone is just playing around. I don’t think I need to tell you what politics does to people. Parents are ghosted. Children are disowned. Our entire news media (save for the Mind Killer podcast) drips with seething hatred for the other team.
So get your tribalism out the fun and mostly harmless way! Pick a sports team and root for them! If you’re having trouble activating your instincts, bet some money on the team! Suddenly you’ll be extremely interested in the outcome. It will make it that much easier to approach the rest of your life with equanimity and inclusiveness.