The Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl, and I was at the game to see it happen. Overwhelmingly delighted could hardly describe how I felt. I lived in Philadelphia four different times and became an Eagles fan before settling in Valencia. This feeling of happiness and elevation made me think about why I was so happy. When our team wins, it makes us happy, but why? Unless we bet on the outcome, there is no financial gain. We are no more accomplished by this, and our careers are no better off unless we or someone we know were part of the winning team.
Sure, if we know the participants personally, we may feel good for them although this does not benefit us unless the winners can do something for us that they could or would not do if they lost.
We get no trophies or accolades as do the participants. We do not get any power or influence from this good result. The team does not love us any more as they most likely do not even know us.
So, why do we support the team, spend money, and invest our time if there is nothing in it for us?
Perhaps it is because we can vicariously share in the victory even though we had nothing to do with the good results. People like to feel self-worth and accomplishment, and our team winning seems to fulfill this need although it was not earned by us. Possibly winning adds to our perceived status although it is not tangible. Perhaps it helps us elevate ourselves by enjoying this victory over other people’s team even though we did not participate in the competition.
The strong feelings that result from winning do not seem logical, but in many ways, life is not logical. Nonetheless, a winner’s feelings are real. It seems the winner’s behavior is just something we do as humans. Although our team winning does not have tangible value, winning does nonetheless make us feel good and provides happiness.
G A Ben Binninger
Valencia
