{"id":31928,"date":"2021-07-09T07:38:10","date_gmt":"2021-07-09T03:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/?p=31928"},"modified":"2021-07-09T07:38:10","modified_gmt":"2021-07-09T03:38:10","slug":"euro-2020-is-this-the-greatest-therapy-session-england-ever-had","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/euro-2020-is-this-the-greatest-therapy-session-england-ever-had\/","title":{"rendered":"Euro 2020: is this \u2018the greatest therapy session England ever had\u2019?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

International football tournaments take us on a rollercoaster of emotions. After the stresses of the past 15 months, watching matches with friends can keep us on a more even keel<\/em><\/span><\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/span>England competes against Germany at the UEFA EURO 2020 in London, on June 29, 2021.\u00a0Xinhua \/ Alamy Stock Photo<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWell how about that\u201d, one BBC commentator said, as full-time was called on the England-Ukraine quarter final match of the men\u2019s 2020 European Championship, and players hugged on the pitch. \u201cEngland dominating and giving the nation not only something to cheer with, an outstanding performance and four goals, but also\u201d, he paused, \u201ca largely stress-free evening.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Stress-free evenings are very much in order for a lot of people after 15 months of pandemic and all the worry that has gone with that. From a psychological perspective, fans\u2019 perceptions of their team\u2019s progress throughout the Euros will resemble many people\u2019s perceptions of daily life during the COVID crisis \u2013 a lack of control over events and uncertainty over what will happen next.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another of the BBC\u2019s commentators talking viewers through the Ukraine match said it had been \u201clike the greatest therapy session England has ever had\u201d. And if so, there\u2019s no doubt it is a mass therapy exercise, especially after the nation was gripped by England\u2019s winning semi-final performance against Denmark.<\/span><\/p>\n

Football (whether you like it or not) is the world\u2019s favourite sport. In England, it\u2019s considered the national game. An estimated 1.9 million Britons played the game at least twice a month in 2020. And England\u2019s major tournament matches are consistently watched by over 10 million households.<\/span><\/p>\n

Social ingroup<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Research shows that international football tournaments can take us on a rollercoaster of emotions. The more we identify with our team, the more our feelings are connected to their performance. In extreme cases, this emotional ride while watching football has been linked to a higher risk of heart attacks.<\/span><\/p>\n

When the England team beat Germany in the last 16, they conquered an arch nemesis. In beating Denmark and getting into the final two, England have reached their first European championship final \u2013 their first international tournament final since the 1966 World Cup. For England supporters, this is a big deal.<\/span><\/p>\n

Things were very different during the Euro 2016 tournament. When the English side lost to Iceland in the round of 16, pundits and fans alike expressed anger and grief. It was \u201cfull-on humiliation\u201d. It compounded \u201c20 years of hurt\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

When you socially identify as part of a group (such as fans identifying with a football team) it makes you feel good. It has been found to be positive for your self-esteem.<\/span><\/p>\n

Conversely, when the status of the group with which you identify is threatened (by, say, an opposing team on a winning streak), there can be a tendency to become protective. You might experience the same emotions that you believe your group is experiencing (as fans do when watching their team during a match) because of this sense of belonging.<\/span><\/p>\n

Collective emotions<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Research has shown that the collective emotions that football teams experience as a whole strongly influence the emotions that distinct individuals in the team \u2013 which psychologists term a social ingroup) \u2013 experience. A similar transference of emotions from the group to individuals can be seen happening between the players on the pitch and the fans in the stands, as the fans are included in the ingroup.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thus, when players and TV pundits respond positively and intensely to a team\u2019s performances, the fans follow suit: the collective emotions are clear to see. The strong social identity that fans derive from those emotions has been found to be positively reinforced.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many fans, therefore will also have found the smoothness \u2013 the stress-free nature, as that commentator put it \u2013 of the England match against Ukraine, reassuring.<\/span><\/p>\n

Living vicariously with England\u2019s progress through the Euros might, however, also be taking its toll. The thought of ending up in another losing penalty shootout with Germany was, for some fans, nerve-wracking and emotionally draining.<\/span><\/p>\n

So too, the run-up to the semi-final against Denmark. When Alan Shearer asked Southgate whether he was able to enjoy this as much as fans are back home, he both smiled and shook his head. \u201cNot really Alan, no, no,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re in another semi-final. That\u2019s three in three years.\u201d And now England is headed to the final against Italy, the pressure is very much on.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ahead of the match against Germany, individual players including Marcus Rashford spoke up to reassure \u2013 or perhaps convince \u2013 people that the new-generation Three Lions team had, as one journalist put it, \u201cended the nation\u2019s penalty jinx\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

The fears don\u2019t stop there though. This weight of expectation for England to end 55 \u201cyears of hurt\u201d and win the tournament is now the new collective anxiety.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is important to recognise that anxiety, and to understand how it might be countered by sharing the moment with like-minded people. Whether the results are good or bad, watching a match with friends and family can help to actively regulate emotions \u2013 to control your own emotional state.<\/span><\/p>\n

Research has found that emotional regulation plays a central role in mental health and wellbeing. So celebrate together if your team wins. And if things don\u2019t go the way you want them to, don\u2019t be alone. Watch with people who care as much as you do.<\/span><\/p>\n

James Rumbold<\/strong><\/span>
\nSenior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology, <\/span>
\nSheffield Hallam University<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

* Published in print edition on 9 July 2021<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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