Sports Fans

At my son’s basketball practice tonight, Alex’s dad was reading a book about the Washington Redskins. I asked if he also liked the Ravens, but he clearly let me know he does not like that “bogus” team. Ellen, in my poker game, loves the Ravens. She does not like the Redskins. My son’s teacher, Mr. Soskil? He was going to forgo homework for 2 days if the St. Louis Rams won the playoffs. He lives in the Baltimore/DC corridor, too. So I wonder, what makes a fan a fan? Why do we like some teams better than others? The Redskins are good some years, but not always. But Alex’s dad follows them religiously every year. And the other thing I wonder is when a team wins, we say “WE WON” but we didn’t win, they did. What makes us regular folks feel like a part of the success? When they lose, we usually say “THEY LOST.” Is it less our responsibility than the win?

Don’t get me wrong. I do understand that watching sports is great entertainment and can be cathartic. But it’s the personal connection that escapes me.

Perhaps it’s a little like company spirit. I know people who identify with their company like crazy – carrying logo’d briefcases, using company mugs, etc. They talk up where they work. They love the place. Our best salesmen & spokespeople are those people who love their jobs and their company. Maybe we can do more to make work like sports. Be more like a team. Make people, even those on the periphery or those not even really in the hard-core game, feel like a part of the success or failure. Wouldn’t everyone in the company and the company itself benefit from that?

Incentive programs and profit sharing have been shown to work, of course, but I’m not talking about tangible rewards. I’m talking about pride. I’m going to think more about how to create more personal pride in organizations….