Illustrated News: THE SOX AND BEARS ARE KlLLlNG CHICAGO FANS (1002 hits)
Category: SportsLabels: sports
Rating: 1.18 on 20 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Habeeb " GO BEARS WOO!!!" Thomas (View user info) at 2005-09-27 13:32:08 EDT
OMG I KNEW IT
I'M SUEING...
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(http://www.dailysouthtown.com/southtown/dsnews/258nd2.htm)
Experts say being a superfan can literally be damaging to your health
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Ira Reifer is having a heck of a time sleeping lately. The 33-year-old father of three has lost his appetite, too. And most days, he's really stressed out.
Reifer's job isn't the problem.
Neither is his family.
It's the White Sox.
"It started when they lost the game to Kansas City in the bottom of the ninth," said Reifer, a Chicago native who remains a die-hard Sox fan even though he lives in Baltimore.
"I woke up the day after Cleveland won 8-0. My stomach was killing me. I felt like I got kicked in the gut. The next week and a half is going to be brutal."
These days, being a Sox fan can hurt — literally.
After a glorious summer taking in the view from the top of the American League Central standings, fans now find themselves watching helplessly as a 15-game lead has slipped away from their beloved South Siders.
Sox manager Ozzie Guillen showed just how sickening the disappointment can be when he recently admitted a loss on the field sometimes results in him losing his lunch.
Orland Park fan Donna McCormack has the opposite problem.
Watching her team unravel has the mother of three popping Oreos as fast as the Sox have been popping up with runners on base.
"I'm stress eating," she said. "I'm gonna blame the Sox for the 10 pounds I'll have gained."
The painful process of watching your team disintegrate can be psychologically and physically draining for those fans, who experts call "high identifiers."
These are the folks who associate themselves so strongly with a team, the losses become personal.
"Their identification with a team is an important part of their self-concept," said Christian End, a psychologist and expert in sport-fan behavior at Xavier University in Cincinnati. "When the team wins, the success reflects upon us. When the team compares unfavorably, you don't feel so hot about yourself."
Research has shown that these superfans are more likely to think they have some power — albeit limited — over the outcome of a game. They think that if they just cheer loud enough, or if they wear their lucky hat, it can make a difference.
"Baseball especially is a very superstitious sport," said Dr. Eric Morse, president of the International Society for Sport Psychiatry. "The notion that you can have a certain amount of power over an outcome doesn't make any rational sense, but it makes emotional sense."
Feeling that power can be a great thing — as long as the team wins.
"If fans believe they have a minimal effect on the team and the team loses, then they're somehow losing as well," End said.
Now that the Sox's spot in the playoffs is in jeopardy, fans such as McCormack find the tension makes it unbearable to watch a game.
"I can't watch the other team batting," she said. "It's too painful to see the other team score a run."
Morse said that fans who do watch often wind up replaying those ugly scenes in their heads, usually at night when they're trying to go to sleep.
"A lot of them are late-inning losses," he said. "You take those images to bed with you and it's like replaying a car accident."
Regardless of how this season ends, the good news for South Siders is that fans have a tendency to bounce back.
"Fans are very resilient to failure," End said. "Just look at the North Side of your city." (HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... so true)
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This article is true man, especially these two lines..
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"Their identification with a team is an important part of their self-concept," said Christian End, a psychologist and expert in sport-fan behavior at Xavier University in Cincinnati. "When the team wins, the success reflects upon us. When the team compares unfavorably, you don't feel so hot about yourself."
Research has shown that these superfans are more likely to think they have some power — albeit limited — over the outcome of a game. They think that if they just cheer loud enough, or if they wear their lucky hat, it can make a difference".
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tHAT IS LIKE TOTALLY ME...
weeps
I think I will move to Boston...
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
(KEELS SELF)
User Reviews
Submitted by Foonbo (user info) at 2005-10-05 14:44:11 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
White Sox fans are all mouth-breathers (perfect example here). Go Bears! Whoo!
Submitted by ipayparis (user info) at 2005-10-01 18:20:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
South side till the day I die. At least all of the chicago teams are due.
Submitted by knucklesnelson (user info) at 2005-09-27 22:27:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Go lions woooooooooo
yeah right
Submitted by munkeypants (user info) at 2005-09-27 20:22:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Submitted by Totally_useless (user info) at 2005-09-27 16:35:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Xcuses (user info) at 2005-09-27 16:29:01 (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Totally_useless (user info) at 2005-09-27 16:18:52 (#)
Ranking: -2
Fuck you.
Try being a Jets fan right now.
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Try being a Lion's fan since 1980
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So you can feel my pain. We finally get a chance to be good, and we still suck.
Submitted by Maddog (user info) at 2005-09-27 16:29:48 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Bengals!!!!! hahahahaha, motherfucker.
Submitted by Xcuses (user info) at 2005-09-27 16:29:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Totally_useless (user info) at 2005-09-27 16:18:52 (#)
Ranking: -2
Fuck you.
Try being a Jets fan right now.
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Try being a Lion's fan since 1980
Submitted by AwesomeJohnson (user info) at 2005-09-27 16:26:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Ditka
Submitted by Totally_useless (user info) at 2005-09-27 16:18:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Fuck you.
Try being a Jets fan right now.
Submitted by Spooner (user info) at 2005-09-27 15:52:57 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I <3 YOU HABEEB!!!
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2005-09-27 15:48:40 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
i'm just going to pretend they're robotic peeners anyways...
Submitted by AsshOly (user info) at 2005-09-27 15:29:21 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I know exactly how you feel.
+2 :(
Submitted by ChristPuncher (user info) at 2005-09-27 15:17:56 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Xcuses (user info) at 2005-09-27 14:53:06 (#)
Ranking: 0
Bears showed their true colors last week
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WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN TOOTHPICK DICK
YOU WANNA FIGHT
PUT UP YER DUKES
Submitted by Xcuses (user info) at 2005-09-27 14:53:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Bears showed their true colors last week
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2005-09-27 14:14:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Goddamn Phillies.
Submitted by cuberat (user info) at 2005-09-27 14:10:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I feel your pain man.
Go Sox.
Submitted by Rope (user info) at 2005-09-27 14:07:57 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
haha, "fill with fluid".
Submitted by Boondock (user info) at 2005-09-27 13:48:26 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Quit whining. Try being a Lions fan.
Submitted by Dead_0hi0_Sky (user info) at 2005-09-27 13:48:18 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Phinch (user info) at 2005-09-27 13:39:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
you've got quite the speaker system there.