When sports fans say "We" this and "We" that

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Gallbaro said:
Except generally professional athletes are neither born in, or currently apart of the community their fans are apart of, it hasn't been the case in decades, except for exceptions like green bay. Even at NCAA levels you have a hell of a lot of players who are not really apart of the wider academic community.

The inclusionary and tribal aspects are brilliant commercial ploys. "They" takes just as little effort to say as "we."
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Lol this argument again?


Again, players usually have nothing to do with it. Real fans root for teams regardless of who is playing or in the office. And who gives a fuck where a player is from in the first place?
 
The fans of Feyenoord, called The Legion, are often referred to as the 12th player.
Even the number 12 position in the team is reserved for the fans. No player can use that number. So yeah, we seems appropriate.

2015-16%20Feyenoord%20Het%20Legioen%2012%20Home%20Football%20Shirt.jpg
 
I think it's as simple as using "we" for your team because "they" is the other team.

Doesn't necessarily have to be all the ego nonsense some are suggesting.
 
Ahasverus said:
Sports fans are the worst. There's literaly more use in talking about videogames on GAF than in those hours long "analysis" tv and radio shows, not to mention the bar conversations.
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Wow I can feel the edge sitting from over here. What a controversial opinion that no one really asked for.

Know what's worst that sports fans? You, Literally.
 
NoblesseOblige said:
It's "we" until their team loses. Then it's "they lost".
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My response to they lost would be, "So we won?"

I say we lost, unless someone specifically says the name of the team when they ask.

"Did the Steelers lose?"
"Yeah, they lost"

If someone asks un-specifically I say we.

"Did you watch the game?"
"Yeah, we lost"
 
I don't quite get it myself, but posts like this:

ElectricBlanketFire said:
People use "we" to attach themselves to the team so they can inflate their egos.
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and this:
impact said:
It's funny when fans think they are on the team. Just laugh at them and carry on.
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Are pretty indicative of people who are really out of touch with culture. Seriously? Inflate their egos? Laugh at them? What? Do you seriously not hang out with anyone invested in sports enough to realize that's fucking bullshit?
 
Talking to friends about how my team played at the weekend..
"We played really bad" What's wrong with that? Really some things on this forum just amaze me
 
Eh, I only find that annoying when I know the person saying it is the type who will make fun of other people's non-sports hobbies. Even then, it's only a mild annoyance. I don't lecture them or anything. I'm not the fun police.
 
You won't get it if you're not into sports.

Much like people don't "get" other kinds of fandoms and their idiosyncrasies.
 
Players, owners, managers, staff, sponsors, TV companies, stadiums... they're all temporary.
The fans will outlast them all often through multiple generations of the same family, it's not only fine for them to say "we" but they have more of a right than a player or manager that plans to leave the moment they get a better offer.
 
Solid SOAP said:
I don't quite get it myself, but posts like this:


and this:


Are pretty indicative of people who are really out of touch with culture. Seriously? Inflate their egos? Laugh at them? What? Do you seriously not hang out with anyone invested in sports enough to realize that's fucking bullshit?
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People who say stuff like that or stuff like "What position do you play?" often do it just to be a dick. Not the type of people I'd want to be around.

There is no team without a fan base. You often even hear athletes call their fan base a nation or in the Seahawks case (the 12th man). They consider their fans apart of the fun as well even if they're not actually playing.
 
Duster said:
Players, owners, managers, staff, sponsors, TV companies, stadiums... they're all temporary.
The fans will outlast them all often through multiple generations of the same family, it's not only fine for them to say "we" but they have more of a right than a player or manager that plans to leave the moment they get a better offer.
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I disagree there, being a player or manager in employment, you have legitimate individual input into the fortunes of the club/franchise, and therefore the most 'right' to say 'we' imo
 
It doesn't bother me that much when fans do it, but it is annoying.

It really irks me when the teams' announcers do it. First sign of a shitty announcer. Drives me up a fucking wall.
 
Since gaf is cyclical I'll just quote a post I made 4 years ago, almost to the day, in response to the same idiotic statement veiled in feelings of superiority.

dali said:
When speaking in terms of pro sports (specifically pro football), there's a reason the fans are referred to as "the 12th man". The home team advantage exists. The crowd's chanting can hinder play-calling, make the QB's cadence inaudible to other players leading to penalties, or increase pressure on an inexperienced QB. One could also say the crowd has an affect on the calls, but there's probably less evidence to substantiate that. In baseball fans actually play an active role in the game itself and the rules allow for this. Games have been decided by fan's actions. The whole reason any given team exists is because of the fans. Pro sports are full of teams/owners just picking up leaving a city. So yeah, the fans are a part of the team. When they say something like, "we won last night", it's not out of the realm of possibility they had an active role in that victory.
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I can't say it's ever bothered me, in fact it never occurred to me that people could have a problem with the word until seeing this thread.

Pro-Tip: Stay out of the Sports threads, you'll be happier for it :)
 
Montresor said:
It's fine to be perplexed at the usage of "we" when referring to sports, but the gaffer who said he says to his co-worker "Oh really? What position do you play on that team" is such a hopelessly socially inept person.

When you act like that towards someone else, you've moved beyond being genuinely curious about why people use the word "we". In your mind it's now a foregone conclusion that saying "we" is a dumbfuck thing to do and you've made it your mission to "humiliate" others with "hilarious" gotcha remarks. What a complete dick.
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The only thing more annoying, to me, than a hardcore fan is someone who goes out of their way to let you know how stupid they think sports are.
 
Lol nine time out of ten when I'm talking football with other football fans and a non-football fan comes in they'll pretty much always say something like "What do you mean we? You didn't do anything". It's just down to attachment, nothing to do with ego like some people are suggesting. I guess I can see how it's a bit strange, but it's really no big deal.
 
The thing is these professional teams would be nothing without the fans. They simply wouldn't exist if the business/fan base isn't there because there would be no money to be made. The team needs the fans to survive so I think fans of the team do have a right to say "we" as they are supporting the very existence of their team.
 
Tence said:
The fans of Feyenoord, called The Legion, are often referred to as the 12th player.
Even the number 12 position in the team is reserved for the fans. No player can use that number. So yeah, we seems appropriate.

2015-16%20Feyenoord%20Het%20Legioen%2012%20Home%20Football%20Shirt.jpg
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Was about to post this hehe.

As for the op: It's a sports thing and yes, it sounds weird, but when you support a team you sort of adopt it. Hell, I'm a Feyenoord supporter as well and whether it's win or lose, the fans always talk about we and us. I do it as well. If Feyenoord loses a match I'll say "god we sucked hard today" or something like it. Now I have to admit, the Feyenoord fanbase are the most passionate in our national league.
 
When Germany won the World Cup I observed people coming into work greeting each other with "Morgen, Weltmeister!" (~"Morning, world champion!"). How little do you have to have to be proud of in your life.

Reminds me of this song by Garfunkel & Oates which I know is way exaggerated but there is a tiny bit of truth in it:
Sports
 
Banzai said:
How little do you have to have to be proud of in your life.
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Being proud of one thing doesn't stop you from being proud of other things. There isn't like a very limited pool of pride. "You've used your pride on your national team, you can't be proud of your degree or your child anymore!"
 
Banzai said:
When Germany won the World Cup I observed people coming into work greeting each other with "Morgen, Weltmeister!" (~"Morning, world champion!"). How little do you have to have to be proud of in your life.

Reminds me of this song by Garfunkel & Oates which I know is way exaggerated but there is a tiny bit of truth in it:
Sports
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Did you feel left out?
 
Ah, basking off reflected glory. People feel good when they take the accomplishments of something else, they do the opposite when losing. It's natural though, parents do it with children too. Ever notice how a kid does something amazing and it's "you'll never believe what my kid did." but when they are in trouble, people often say, "you will never believe what your daughter did at school today." I find it fascinating
 
I don't think it is a sports thing but basic human psychology. They represent our town so we feel kinship with them. Humans select into groups they identify with or are told they are members of and, in this case, it happens to be groups of people chasing balls.

It's not a particularly useful thing for sports affiliations but it doesn't seem harmful. It's not like they are using group identity to justify harming percentage perceived opponents of the group (e.g., "go Hutus!")
 
MikeyB said:
I don't think it is a sports thing but basic human psychology. They represent our town so we feel kinship with them. Humans select into groups they identify with or are told they are members of and, in this case, it happens to be groups of people chasing balls.

It's not a particularly useful thing for sports affiliations but it doesn't seem harmful. It's not like they are using group identity to justify harming percentage perceived opponents of the group (e.g., "go Hutus!")
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Yeah, in the context of a war with aliens; I say we would kick their ass. Even though what I mean is the worlds military.

We'd probably lose.
 
markofhavoc said:
Ah, basking off reflected glory. People feel good when they take the accomplishments of something else, they do the opposite when losing. It's natural though, parents do it with children too. Ever notice how a kid does something amazing and it's "you'll never believe what my kid did." but when they are in trouble, people often say, "you will never believe what your daughter did at school today." I find it fascinating
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Your mind must get blown when somebody says "we lost" or "we suck".
 
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