Tell me why religion and games don't go together

Then I moved to Pittsburgh for college and was shocked to discover a new tribe rooting for a new set of teams.

I still loved my teams and loved cheering them on, but something had already changed. I wanted to be me, and since I played basketball for my high school, I had my own jersey with my own number.

It struck me as strange to want to be someone else, even someone I admired. But as a teenager I stopped wearing player jerseys. I was a passionate sports kid, good at basketball and football, and I felt connected to local teams for that reason: I imagined myself playing professional sports one day. I grew up in NYC and had Yankees, Giants and Knicks posters on my wall, and wore the jerseys of my favorite players to school. We are driven to feel connected, explaining the popularity of music concerts, rallies and events of all kinds.īut when you realize how many teams there are it’s harder to find a good answer for the question: why this team and not that team? This drive is deep in our biology, explaining why it feels good to stand in a stadium with thousands of people all cheering for the same thing. This is a good premise if lives are at stake, as rallying together is what has helped us survive this long. It’s the same cultural premise of rallying together as a tribe, and rooting for the warriors to go fight and defend the community, keeping everyone safe. It’s likely their parents, grandparents and childhood friends all rooted for the same team, and the bond they feel for that team is combined with the bonds they feel for their community. Most people are fans of the nearest team, the team of their home. It’s often an inherited decision, a choice not made but absorbed. Being a fan is not a logical choice, it’s emotional and tribal. If you ask a sports fan why they root for their particular team, it takes them some time to answer. The divisions between one group and another are too arbitrary to hold my attention. I don’t root for sports teams for the same reason I’m not religious.

Tell me why religion and games don't go together