{"id":30103,"date":"2021-01-26T07:10:41","date_gmt":"2021-01-26T03:10:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/?p=30103"},"modified":"2021-01-26T07:10:41","modified_gmt":"2021-01-26T03:10:41","slug":"voters-are-starting-to-act-like-hard-core-sports-fans-with-dangerous-repercussions-for-democracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/voters-are-starting-to-act-like-hard-core-sports-fans-with-dangerous-repercussions-for-democracy\/","title":{"rendered":"Voters are starting to act like hard-core sports fans \u2013 with dangerous repercussions for democracy"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Researchers find that the most devoted fans take their team’s defeats personally and often blame losses on the refs or cheating. Sound familiar?<\/em><\/span><\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/span>The lines between political fandom and sports fandom have blurred.<\/strong>\u00a0Wesley Hitt\/Getty Images<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

During Donald Trump\u2019s presidency, the American electorate became more divided and partisan, with research suggesting that the ongoing division is less about policy and more about labels like \u201cconservative\u201d and \u201cliberal.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Essentially, voters increasingly see themselves in one of two camps \u2013 a \u201cred team\u201d and \u201cblue team,\u201d each with a faction of hard-core members.<\/span><\/p>\n

The dangerous extent of this devotion was on display when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, convinced that the election had been stolen despite no credible evidence of widespread voter fraud.<\/span><\/p>\n

How did American politics get to this point?<\/span><\/p>\n

As sports communication researchers who have written extensively on the vast and powerful influence of identity on attitudes and behavior, we believe our work can offer some ways to understand recent events.<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve noted parallels between political identity and sports fandom that, when unpacked, point to some of the dangers associated with what we call \u201cpolitical fandom.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Fandom can be central to identity<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

In sports, the spectrum of fandom is easily observable. Some fans might casually enjoy games simply while wearing their team\u2019s shirt, whereas others ardently support and uproariously react to every play while cloaked in elaborate, outlandish outfits.<\/span><\/p>\n

But fandom can go beyond outfits. It can become a core component of your identity \u2013 your sense of who you are.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sports communication researchers refer to this connection as \u201cteam identification,\u201d a concept that transcends simply supporting a team and is, instead, characterized by a deeper, emotional attachment in which fans feel psychologically connected to their favorite team.<\/span><\/p>\n

These fans \u2013 called \u201chighly identified fans\u201d \u2013 are more likely to express their love of their team on social media, attend events and consume more team-related media. They\u2019ll even buy team-related products when they don\u2019t particularly like the product itself. For the fan, it\u2019s all about demonstrating allegiance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Research shows that being a fan and belonging to a group can be beneficial to someone\u2019s well-being. But there can be a darker side to this kind of devoted fandom \u2013 particularly when a favorite team loses.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wins and losses become personal<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

In sports, the final whistle signals a game\u2019s end.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the level to which fans identify with their team can actually influence how they feel and act after the game has been decided. For highly identified fans, a win feels like a personal victory; a loss, on the other hand, feels like a personal defeat.<\/span><\/p>\n

After wins, highly identified fans are more likely to bask in the glory of victory, tying themselves to the team through the use of language like \u201cus\u201d and \u201cwe.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For those same highly identified fans, a loss isn\u2019t simply disappointing. Instead, it poses a threat to their identity and causes psychological discomfort that leads to stress, depression and a greater willingness to confront others. They\u2019ll often double down in support of their team. They might declare their team the best, regardless of the outcome. They\u2019ll say the loss was a fluke and that external causes were to blame \u2013 poor officiating, an injury or cheating by the other team.<\/span><\/p>\n

As with sports, political identification and participation can occur on a spectrum. Some people simply vote every election cycle for their preferred political party. Others, however, are heavily invested in the party and its candidates. They devour media, purchase campaign-affiliated merchandise and frequently flaunt their support in public and on social media.<\/span><\/p>\n

After the 2020 presidential election, we wanted to know to what extent the concept of team identification applied to politics. We surveyed voters between Dec. 16 and Dec. 20, 2020, just days after the Electoral College vote confirmed Joe Biden as president-elect. Administering a questionnaire that\u2019s used by sport communication researchers, we were able to show \u201cteam identification\u201d \u2013 when applied to politics \u2013 can help explain certain beliefs and behaviors after the election.<\/span><\/p>\n

We found that 55% of Trump voters in our survey still falsely believed that Donald Trump had won the 2020 election. This result was significantly influenced by their level of team identification; voters who were highly identified Trump supporters were more likely to hold this false belief.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, Trump, some members of Congress and conservative media outlets reinforced those false beliefs by sharing baseless information alleging election irregularities and voter fraud.<\/span><\/p>\n

When we asked highly identified Trump supporters if they were likely to distance themselves after the loss, we found they retained unfettered loyalty to Trump, similar to the way a sports fan would react after a big loss. When asked why Biden had been declared president-elect, overwhelmingly, they blamed everything but Trump, most often echoing Trump\u2019s false voter fraud claims.<\/span><\/p>\n

The ball is in the politician\u2019s court<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

This issue, however, is not unique to Trump and his supporters.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many politicians have devoted fans. Our results showed \u2013 perhaps surprisingly \u2013 that both Biden and Trump voters rated similarly in terms of their levels of political team identification.<\/span><\/p>\n

To us, this signals the extent to which our politics have become polarized, with voters existing in separate camps that are unflaggingly devoted to their \u201cteam\u201d and its leaders.<\/span><\/p>\n

The onus, then, increasingly lies on politicians, whose words wield even more power when their followers closely identify with them.<\/span><\/p>\n

In sports, after losing a close playoff game, a star player can congratulate the other team and admit to being outplayed or can blame the refs and accuse the other side of cheating without offering evidence. The former reaction might temper the emotions of die-hard fans, while the latter could easily exacerbate their negative feelings.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span>Vancouver Canucks fans riot after losing Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals to the Boston Bruins.<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>Bruce Bennett\/Getty Images<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s important for political leaders to consider the influence of political fandom. After an election, conceding after the \u201cfinal whistle has blown\u201d is an important norm and tradition, while divisive rhetoric that fans the flames of false hope is a dangerous tack to take. After all, in sports, highly identified fans are much more likely to become aggressive when they expect their team to win, only to witness a loss.<\/span><\/p>\n

Politics, though, isn\u2019t a game. And on Jan. 6, the world saw what happens when political fandom is harnessed and unleashed by unfounded, inflammatory rhetoric.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

* Published in print edition on 26 January 2021<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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