Also written by Max Fendrich
Sports have the ability to bring people together under a common hobby, but sometimes sports fans take it too far. Where do we draw the line between supporting a team in good interest and supporting a team to the point of causing harm?
Fans become toxic when they put more energy into directing hatred toward their opponents instead of directing positivity toward their team. This can even lead to violence breaking out between different fan bases. During a week 10 game between the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions, a Lions fan was celebrating a win and mocking the other team’s fans, this led to a fan of the Chicago Bears shoving him down two flights of stairs, which could have resulted in serious injury.
“I think that [sports fans] let the success of their team determine their mood and a lot of the decisions they make, and I think that’s a problem,” said senior Elan Brown, a fan of the Green Bay Packers, the Denver Nuggets, the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Denver Broncos.
Fans can become upset at their team’s players for not performing to the high degree they hold them to.
During the 2020 Euros, a European soccer tournament the English national team and the Italian national team faced off in the championship. When the game was still tied at the end of the match, it went to penalty kicks. However, two Black players on the English team missed their kicks which led to the loss of the team. They faced racism from fans all across the country online blaming them for their loss. In extreme cases, toxic fan bases can lead to violence and crime, like the murder of Andres Escobar, a Colombian soccer player who scored an own goal, leading to Colombia’s elimination in the 1994 World Cup.
Toxicity in sports fandoms, while evident in the real world, is often even more intense online. This can be anywhere from a hateful comment to death threats and doxing. Behind a digital curtain, people are more inclined to use slurs, and insulting or hateful language. Sexism in sports is specifically an issue online.
Often I’ll be scrolling through social media and see a women’s soccer or basketball clip and I’ll scroll to the comments, expecting to see compliments. Instead, I see people undermining the women’s skills and entirely ignoring the point of the video. This toxic behavior becomes very, very frustrating for female athletes specifically, who need support and encouragement to overcome stereotypes and discrimination. Playing a sport at a high level is difficult for anyone and diminishing their accomplishments isn’t acceptable just because you’re hidden behind a screen.
However, good things can come from sports as well. Often when kids play a sport at any level elementary, middle, or high school, or even out of school, they make friends with most of their teammates. These friendships can last a lifetime and they can become your best friends for a long time simply because a kid ventured out and played a sport that looked fun.
Just like toxicity, positivity isn’t just held to in-person interactions. Online, the Buffalo Bills fans known as Bills Mafia, donated to the opposing quarterback of division rival Miami Dolphins, Tua Tagovailoa’s charity after a bad concussion that could have left him in the hospital for weeks.
The internet also provides a source of worldwide support, with millions of people coming together to share their love of a sport. When runner Sha’Carri Richardson was disqualified from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics for failing a drug test, the internet showed its support for her by starting an online movement expressing their outrage over the situation.
Especially during the World Cup, we have been seeing the immediate effect of sports bringing people together. Fans have been able to bond over the wins and losses of the competition and people have been able to connect with others because of it, not just in their country, but all over the world. Even people who aren’t typically soccer fans have bonded over rooting for their country.
How can we as students be positive sports fans and support our favorite teams and athletes?
“Going to their games, donating, or watching them on TV,” said junior Anika Bagal. Bagal is a fan of the U.S. Women’s National Team, the Brazil Men’s National Team, the New England Patriots, the Boston Celtics, and the Colorado Rapids.
So, while supporting sports teams or athletes is a great way to connect with others and be involved, we must make sure that the way we are showing our support is positive and that we aren’t supporting our favorite teams in a way that causes harm to anyone else.