Into the late hours of October 21st, I lay alone in my room, completely despondent and low-spirited. My Italian football team, Hellas Verona, had lost once again after a dismal display against the worst team in the league. In fact, such occurrences have unfortunately become the norm for me, with my team finding new ways to enrage me week in, week out, over the past 4 years. The problem? No matter what happens and how low I feel, without fail, there I am the following weekend, ready to endure it all again. 

When it comes to supporting sports teams, oftentimes the choice is not in our hands. Whether you are born into it because of your family or convinced by a friend at a young age, this is a choice that sticks, one that will impact you for the rest of your lifetime. For the lucky few who bleed the colours of teams that have a history of success and winning, weekends are often characterised by joy and satisfaction. However, for the rest of us, although granted, there are some moments of highs, we suffer our teams’ losses, and have our moods dictated by something as simple as a group of overpaid athletes either kicking or throwing a ball around for a few hours. The science is clear: according to a 2018 study conducted at the University of Sussex, the feelings of anger and dejection following our team’s losses often outweigh the joy we derive from a victory. However, just like me, no matter the result, you will always see fans ready for the next game, often hoping that “maybe this time it’ll be different,” while fully knowing that it won't be.

To those who are not devout sports fans, this idea may seem completely insane. Why should we get so affected by something that, fundamentally, is so meaningless? To that I answer the following: sure, in the grand scheme of things, a football team – or any other sports team – may be completely insignificant. But among all of the insignificant things in the world, it ranks at the top, and that counts for something. For many of us avid supporters, our identities and passions are completely interwoven. For me specifically, I have grown up on past stories of championship – winning seasons as well as sharing invaluable moments – whether it be in person or online – with the late family members responsible for instilling this passion in me. It is a passion that allows me to have a sense of belonging, a feeling of being part of something bigger than myself, regardless of how I am feeling outside of sports during any given week. Of course, the social aspect of being a sports fan is one that can either provide elation or frustration like no other. As emphasised by Plato and confirmed more in more recent studies in accordance with developments in modern psychology, as humans, we need others, and we benefit from our social interactions to the extent that without them, we would be left feeling lost. This is why no matter the result every weekend, I find myself either immediately rushing to brag to my friends about the result, or anxiously awaiting the hurl of insults ready to be thrown in my direction. And you know what, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

As we support our teams through the highs and the lows, we eventually come to the understanding that no matter how bad an individual result or bad run of form may seem in the heat of the moment, it is ultimately irrelevant. For the vast majority, supporting our team means so much more. In a globalised society in which our lives are constantly evolving and changing more rapidly than ever before in human history, at least we can always rely on our beloved sports team to be there for us to support. Perhaps we cannot count on them to win all of the time, but we at least have the security of knowing that these very ‘insignificant’ teams will always remind us of who we are and where we have come from.

So with all that said, yes, of course I will be there next weekend to support Hellas Verona once again. And in fact, without fail, I'll be there the next time, the time after that, and every single time after. Because who knows, after all, maybe next time it really will be different.