Why do you still root for the U?

[calinative umstudent]

Fan psychology
Sports


The drivers that make people fans, and in particular sports fans, have been studied by psychologists, such as Dan Wann at Murray State University. They attribute people becoming fans to the following factors:[4] One element is entertainment, because sports spectatorship is a form of leisure. Sports is also a form of escapism, and being a fan gives one an excuse to yell at something, an activity that may be constrained in other areas of one's life. Fan activities give participants a combination of euphoria and stress (about the potential for their team to lose) for which they coin the name "eustress". Fans experience euphoria during moments when play is going well for their team, and stress when play is going against their team. This tension between the two emotions generates an unusual sense of pleasure or heightened sensations.

Aesthetics are another draw for some fans, who appreciate the precision or skill of play, or of the coordinated movement of the players during a pre-planned "play". Family bonding is a reason for some fan activities. Some families go to sports games every month as a family outing to watch a sports event and form a psychological bond with one another as a family. Going to sports events can create a borrowed sense of self-esteem if fans identify with their teams to the extent that they consider themselves to be successful when their teams have been successful (e.g., as seen in the phrase "we have won"). Fangirls or fanboys are described as term in book characters

Loyalty

Fan loyalty is the loyalty felt and expressed by a fan towards the object of his/her fanaticism. Allegiances can be strong or weak. The loyalties of sports fans have been studied by psychologists and have often been reviewed. Fan loyalty can be threatened by team actions.

That's psychology, not fanaticism. Try again...

You know fanaticism is the result ... "a person with an extreme and uncritical enthusiasm or zeal, as in religion or politics or sports."

But the psychology is "the why" ... It's the more important concept. And as the psychology states ... Fan loyalty CAN be threatened by team actions.

What UAB did to their football program was an act of COMMISSION to end the program... While what the Miami administration is an act of OMISSION.

If it continues, I'll take their hint, and spend my time and resources elsewhere.

Why would I allow this program to ruin my affection for college football? And why would I continue to support an inferior product that CHOOSES to remain inferior?

So, lets pretend next year we have a bad year. So you change to a different team.
Then, we get a new coach, and there is hope again, like there always is and will be when you bring in a new coach.
Will you return to being a Cane fan? Will you ever return to being a cane fan, even if it's not apart of that new teams doing?
If you will come back when we are good again, what's the psychology in that? were you ever truly not a fan?

If your girl gets fat and you break up with her, and then she goes on a diet and gets hot again, will you take her back?

Well using that example, I am married to Miami, so I would never have left in the first place.
It's not just some random girl. And unless you never really loved her you wouldn't breakup over something like that.
But maybe that's just me...

 

[Ekim12]

I didn't attend the school, but there will never be a day I don't root for The U! Yes this admin is frustrating and Al needs to go, but I can't stop the orange and green flowing through these veins! Go Canes and F U FSU!

 

[calinative umstudent]

Fan psychology
Sports


The drivers that make people fans, and in particular sports fans, have been studied by psychologists, such as Dan Wann at Murray State University. They attribute people becoming fans to the following factors:[4] One element is entertainment, because sports spectatorship is a form of leisure. Sports is also a form of escapism, and being a fan gives one an excuse to yell at something, an activity that may be constrained in other areas of one's life. Fan activities give participants a combination of euphoria and stress (about the potential for their team to lose) for which they coin the name "eustress". Fans experience euphoria during moments when play is going well for their team, and stress when play is going against their team. This tension between the two emotions generates an unusual sense of pleasure or heightened sensations.

Aesthetics are another draw for some fans, who appreciate the precision or skill of play, or of the coordinated movement of the players during a pre-planned "play". Family bonding is a reason for some fan activities. Some families go to sports games every month as a family outing to watch a sports event and form a psychological bond with one another as a family. Going to sports events can create a borrowed sense of self-esteem if fans identify with their teams to the extent that they consider themselves to be successful when their teams have been successful (e.g., as seen in the phrase "we have won"). Fangirls or fanboys are described as term in book characters

Loyalty

Fan loyalty is the loyalty felt and expressed by a fan towards the object of his/her fanaticism. Allegiances can be strong or weak. The loyalties of sports fans have been studied by psychologists and have often been reviewed. Fan loyalty can be threatened by team actions.

That's psychology, not fanaticism. Try again...

You know fanaticism is the result ... "a person with an extreme and uncritical enthusiasm or zeal, as in religion or politics or sports."

But the psychology is "the why" ... It's the more important concept. And as the psychology states ... Fan loyalty CAN be threatened by team actions.

What UAB did to their football program was an act of COMMISSION to end the program... While what the Miami administration is an act of OMISSION.

If it continues, I'll take their hint, and spend my time and resources elsewhere.

Why would I allow this program to ruin my affection for college football? And why would I continue to support an inferior product that CHOOSES to remain inferior?

So, lets pretend next year we have a bad year. So you change to a different team.
Then, we get a new coach, and there is hope again, like there always is and will be when you bring in a new coach.
Will you return to being a Cane fan? Will you ever return to being a cane fan, even if it's not apart of that new teams doing?
If you will come back when we are good again, what's the psychology in that? were you ever truly not a fan?

Using your scenario ... If I were to leave, I'd have to have another program to become emotionally invested with. That investment would take longer than a year to manifest.

So, that's not a likely scenario ...

But if we have another decade like the last one, that would be the a conscious decision from the school to devalue and de-emphasize the football program. And if that's the case, I'd likely be pushed away. I didn't earn my college degree from Miami ... So, if I can't connect with the football program, because of their style of play, I probably wouldn't "jump back on the bandwagon".

And to be clear ... My issue is not with the results, solely. Wins matter, but it's the style of play that is lacking ... It's the lack of aggression and swagger I see. As has been stated .. It's not The U I grew up loving as a kid ... In fact, it's the opposite ... Which is what I was avoiding when I became a fan of Miami when the Canes lost to PSU in the Fiesta Bowl, and EVERYONE was telling me PSU played "the right way" ...

That would have to take there never being a point with more success/hope than right now though. As you say it would need years upon years to actually go from one school to another. And it would also take us not being successful for a very long time. In that time it is very likely that we have at least one good season of finishing with at least 9 wins. In that case it would reverse much of the loyalty you had lost, and you would find yourself rooting for them and investing quite a bit in them again, because you'd have hope again.

 

[Stingarov]

The Hurricanes I grew up watching were about everything I admired as even a little kid:

- ultimate competitiveness
- aggression
- independent attitude
- never back down

We're literally about none of those things now, but the connection runs too deep to sincerely root for anyone else. If we're dead, which we're not, so be it.

That's fine for some people, not everyone thinks that way. Me, I don't think you owe a football team a **** thing.

I mean, I liked McDonalds cheeseburgers when I was a kid, now I prefer a nice steak.

In reality, being a fan is kind of like being a chump. You have literally zero say in the program, and, the only time your voice counts is if you're willing to make someone's pocket a little fatter.

Football is a great sport if you're a player. Or a coach. Or an admin. Those ppl all have skin in the game and get to call the shots. Fans get to sit on the sidelines and cheer.

I guess I'm just done with being a chump fan. Give me a product worth watching and I might pay attention. Or don't, and I'll ignore you just like McDonalds or any other product I don't want.

I guess I just don't understand the undivided loyalty some fans have for a team that doesn't give a single **** about them in return. A lot of ppl think that way.... I just don't get the mentality.

That's your right.

To me, I dont understand the mentality of being a fan (fanatic) of something you treat like a restaurant. I also don't get the cheeseburger/steak analogy. Cheeseburgers probably didn't help mold your mentality or contribute to deep-seeded memories. But, again, everyone follows sports for different reasons. It's not a product or entertainment for me. Otherwise, I couldn't justify the amount of time I've spent investing passion into my teams - they all have basically sucked for over a decade.

It's not a product to you, but it is a product to the people who own, run, and manage the teams. They only care about winning as long as it improves their business.

I think Miami figured out that even if they win and win big, they still won't fill the stands.

I attended the Rose Bowl in 2001 when we destroyed Nebraska. Nebraska fans outnumbered us 10-1, and that's being generous. After the Canes won, the players came and thanked the small contingent of Canes fans who made the trip.

At that moment, I just knew in my gut that we were never going to win another title again. These kids, who just won a national championship, deserved better fan support than they were ever going to get from Canes fans.

And sure enough, in the years that followed the Canes de-emphasized football, and we haven't won a championship since.

Because it's a product, and the fans are a market. The Canes are not a big enough market to justify investing in the program in any meaningful way.

And so, we'll continue to suck for the foreseeable future.

What they (and maybe you) seem(s) to be missing is that, while that may be true in a limited sense, the University's big strategic initiative is to create a Health brand built on innovation. The Football team is potentially their biggest marketing tool and could be a massive brand association for literally millions of people. If you look at the football program in the narrow (revenue - expenses) sense, you're missing out on enormous potential.

Ha - I applied to their medical school because of the football team and my childhood memories. Didn't get any response, so went to my alma mater at UW-Madison instead, who seem pretty happy with my performance. Though I'm glad I didn't end up at Miller, going to all these games during the Golden era, the Butch Built era did influence my choices. Thought I'd throw that in. Classmate of mine did the same, Duke neuroscience grad now up here at UW.

That might not be their aim, but the sphere of influence football has can't be measured. Unfortunately it's close to "had" status in terms of influence anymore.

P.S., Russell Wilson year up here wasnt too shabby a consolation prize.

 

[Category5Hurricane]

 

[rok]

When you grow up during the 80's and 90's in the Orange Bowl, one does not simply stop being a Canes fan.

 

[Tano]

I don't. I went to their games and watched them on TV, but I was essentially uninterested in the outcome because I knew it wouldn't make a difference in the grand scheme of things.

 

[CaptJackSparrow]

I was here before Al Golden and I will be here after Al Golden

 

[jvcane]

This stupid tattoo!

 

[77cane]

I sat in the OB on those nights in the 70's with 20,000 in the stands while we took a regular butt kicking, so this B.S. is not going to run me off to some other school.
This program cycles like the stock market, lay dormant than rise for a while, reach the top them crash and start the roller-coaster all over again. It is the mental torture of being a Canes fan. Embrace it or go postal!

 

[Spindrift]

I grew up in Miami and was and still root for the Canes and the Phins.
I could never imagine rooting for anyone else.
Both teams played a big part in my life.

For those who say they can change their allegiance like they do their underwear, you were never a true fan anyway. Bye Bye traitors.

 

[HarryCarayisGoat]

Because I love em. It's in the blood and I can't take it out.

 

[bxcanesbomber]

The more I sit and see what the administration is doing the less I tend to give a fck about my favorite sports team of all time

 

[sebastian91]

LOL. People are fans in different ways, dude. I'm not some diehard who's going to be loyal to a team no matter what.... I mean what the **** has that team ever done for you?

It's entertainment, pure and simple. When it stops entertaining you, go find something else that does entertain you.

People who have unfettered loyalty to a football team confuse me. I don't get that mentality. The team, the admin, they don't know who the **** you are, nor do they give a ****. But you're gonna act like you're married to them or something?

LOL dumb IMO. Follow them as long as they entertain you, and when they no longer do, then stop. You don't owe the U anything, just like they'd tell you they don't owe you anthing.

I suggest that you and the other non-fans look up the definition of "fanatic", if you know how...

Fan psychology
Sports


The drivers that make people fans, and in particular sports fans, have been studied by psychologists, such as Dan Wann at Murray State University. They attribute people becoming fans to the following factors:[4] One element is entertainment, because sports spectatorship is a form of leisure. Sports is also a form of escapism, and being a fan gives one an excuse to yell at something, an activity that may be constrained in other areas of one's life. Fan activities give participants a combination of euphoria and stress (about the potential for their team to lose) for which they coin the name "eustress". Fans experience euphoria during moments when play is going well for their team, and stress when play is going against their team. This tension between the two emotions generates an unusual sense of pleasure or heightened sensations.

Aesthetics are another draw for some fans, who appreciate the precision or skill of play, or of the coordinated movement of the players during a pre-planned "play". Family bonding is a reason for some fan activities. Some families go to sports games every month as a family outing to watch a sports event and form a psychological bond with one another as a family. Going to sports events can create a borrowed sense of self-esteem if fans identify with their teams to the extent that they consider themselves to be successful when their teams have been successful (e.g., as seen in the phrase "we have won"). Fangirls or fanboys are described as term in book characters

Loyalty

Fan loyalty is the loyalty felt and expressed by a fan towards the object of his/her fanaticism. Allegiances can be strong or weak. The loyalties of sports fans have been studied by psychologists and have often been reviewed. Fan loyalty can be threatened by team actions.

That's psychology, not fanaticism. Try again...

You know fanaticism is the result ... "a person with an extreme and uncritical enthusiasm or zeal, as in religion or politics or sports."

But the psychology is "the why" ... It's the more important concept. And as the psychology states ... Fan loyalty CAN be threatened by team actions.

What UAB did to their football program was an act of COMMISSION to end the program... While what the Miami administration is an act of OMISSION.

If it continues, I'll take their hint, and spend my time and resources elsewhere.

Why would I allow this program to ruin my affection for college football? And why would I continue to support an inferior product that CHOOSES to remain inferior?

See ya. You were never a fan. Bye.

 

[MIATL513]

Let's discuss when the Canes play in Cincinnati this season ... Or does Pittsburgh work better for you?

 

[rsa coral gables]

The Hurricanes I grew up watching were about everything I admired as even a little kid:

- ultimate competitiveness
- aggression
- independent attitude
- never back down

We're literally about none of those things now, but the connection runs too deep to sincerely root for anyone else. If we're dead, which we're not, so be it.

That's fine for some people, not everyone thinks that way. Me, I don't think you owe a football team a **** thing.

I mean, I liked McDonalds cheeseburgers when I was a kid, now I prefer a nice steak.

In reality, being a fan is kind of like being a chump. You have literally zero say in the program, and, the only time your voice counts is if you're willing to make someone's pocket a little fatter.

Football is a great sport if you're a player. Or a coach. Or an admin. Those ppl all have skin in the game and get to call the shots. Fans get to sit on the sidelines and cheer.

I guess I'm just done with being a chump fan. Give me a product worth watching and I might pay attention. Or don't, and I'll ignore you just like McDonalds or any other product I don't want.

I guess I just don't understand the undivided loyalty some fans have for a team that doesn't give a single **** about them in return. A lot of ppl think that way.... I just don't get the mentality.

That's your right.

To me, I dont understand the mentality of being a fan (fanatic) of something you treat like a restaurant. I also don't get the cheeseburger/steak analogy. Cheeseburgers probably didn't help mold your mentality or contribute to deep-seeded memories. But, again, everyone follows sports for different reasons. It's not a product or entertainment for me. Otherwise, I couldn't justify the amount of time I've spent investing passion into my teams - they all have basically sucked for over a decade.

It's not a product to you, but it is a product to the people who own, run, and manage the teams. They only care about winning as long as it improves their business.

I think Miami figured out that even if they win and win big, they still won't fill the stands.

I attended the Rose Bowl in 2001 when we destroyed Nebraska. Nebraska fans outnumbered us 10-1, and that's being generous. After the Canes won, the players came and thanked the small contingent of Canes fans who made the trip.

At that moment, I just knew in my gut that we were never going to win another title again. These kids, who just won a national championship, deserved better fan support than they were ever going to get from Canes fans.

And sure enough, in the years that followed the Canes de-emphasized football, and we haven't won a championship since.

Because it's a product, and the fans are a market. The Canes are not a big enough market to justify investing in the program in any meaningful way.

And so, we'll continue to suck for the foreseeable future.

What they (and maybe you) seem(s) to be missing is that, while that may be true in a limited sense, the University's big strategic initiative is to create a Health brand built on innovation. The Football team is potentially their biggest marketing tool and could be a massive brand association for literally millions of people. If you look at the football program in the narrow (revenue - expenses) sense, you're missing out on enormous potential.

Lu, you've mentioned this several times, the football being the U's biggest marketing tool. I'm not sure that is as true as it use to be. It is known for many other things now which is unfortunate.