Study football team allegiance and apply it to religion...?

[heresy]

An interesting concept for a study, don't know if its been done..

A lot of people grow up in a state where a particular football code is popular. In my case, Victoria loves AFL.
I hereby propose the following study...

Do children follow the Football teams of their parents?

How can this study apply to religion?

I would hypothesise that while there might be a correlation between children and parents, there might be a higher level of separation with a lesser atmosphere of fear, damnation, indoctrination, and apostasy.

Such a study could highlight the influence of parents over a child's allegiance to a football team.

[KeithW]

This might depend where you come from. Football to me is played with the feet the majority of the time, not thrown or punched etc like some games called football.

If you live in Scotland your team would almost certainly be detirmined by your religion, although not so much these days. You could not even play for Celtic if you were a protestant, likewise you could not play for Rangers if you were a catholic.

This has changed in recent years but the rivalry of the fans is still religiously entrenched.

While you mentioned the AFL did you know it has the biggest goals of any football code, it is the only game where you get a point for missing, and you can theoretically play a full game of AFL "football" without actually kicking the ball.

[heresy]

ahh well that is interesting to hear about the religious nature of soccer..

As far as I was aware, Australian Rules Football currently have no specific religious connections...

This is why I was interested in whether children followed their parents choice of team. It goes along the lines that most atheists will argue, that children are, for the most part, brought up in the religion of their parents...

[Sanity personified]

Well when I was young, both of my parent barracked for Collingwood, and so did my sister and I. But not that Dad is gone and Mother married into a St Kilda family she has turned to barracking for them and I have followed.

Additionally a mate of mine and his wife barrack for Collingwood as do their three sons. Another mate barracks for Collingwood as does his entire family, though his wife barracks for the Hawks. Their four children have followed their father in barracking for Collingwood. Hope this helps. ;)

[atheist_angel]

blackchampagne.com has an article on this.
LINK to article (http://www.blackchampagne.com/articles/nationalism.shtml) Originally posted by Black Champagne
Let's recap.

Religion:
• Objective selection: Virtually never.
• Irrational loyalty: Usually.

Sports team preference:
• Objective selection: Almost never.
• Irrational loyalty: Til death do you part.

Nationalism
• Objective selection: Never.
• Irrational loyalty: Mandatory.

One last factor could be termed "willingness to criticize". Nationalism seems to take the cake here as well.

[Seamus]

I played football in high school (ruck/ rover)as well as several other sports.


I barracked for Pt Adelaide (black and white) because I lived in my father's house. Dad was a little one eyed and would sulk for 3 days if Port lost. I never went to the football with my dad or any one else.

I have been to two league games: The 1964 Port/South grand final because I was a tray boy,got in for nothing and got paid for being there. The other time was in 1978. I took my wife because she had never seen a game and insisted. It was cold and wet and we were on the mound.She lasted until half time and then we went home. It was never mentioned again.

I enjoyed playings several sports, especially football, cricket,swimming and martial arts. (judo and karate,after I left school) However, I have never enjoyed watching others compete. I don't know why,I wish I did, but it's just not there for me.

Patriotism?

The virtue of the vicious (ascribed to Baron Manfred Von Richthofen)

[SchizoDeluxe]

I don't think there's much correlation as far as religion and sport but certaintly geography plays a part in both sports and religion. Rugby is more popular in QLD and NSW while AFL is more popular in VIC, SA and WA. And depending on where you are born certainly is a factor in what religion you follow, not many muslims born in Ireland just as not many Hindu's born in Norway. It's also a strong argument against religion as well as it seems the god's have favorite regions of the world.

[atheist_angel]

I'm an "Asportist"

[owheelj]

I grew up in a household that didn't follow any sport, but slowly picked teams, I guess based on who kids at school went for. I've also played a great deal of different sports at a fairly high level.

While I guess I irrationally support one team, I also enjoy watching sporting skill regardless of the sport or the team. I regularly annoy my football coach for applauding and congratulating opponents on particularly impressive feats of skill.

I think the reality is that sport, especially spectator sport as opposed to participatory sport, has the main purpose of being entertainment. The experience is very clearly more entertaining and rewarding if you have an emotional investment in a particular team instead of watching the game objectively. When I watch new sports that I don't know much about, I still choose a team to go for during the game, just because it makes it more exciting.

[Loki]

My wife has 12 siblings still living (one deceased) and was born and raised in a small Victorian town. I get the idea that AFL is the only pasttime on offer in some of these places and this family were and are heavily involved. The father is now gone and it's interesting to note that the remaining siblings barrack for a variety of clubs and enjoy ribbing each other on their losses. The children of these people and the older grandchildren (kids, grandkids and greatgrandkids now approaching the 150 mark, you guess the religion) likewise often barrack for teams other than their parents. Very few of them seem to barrack for non Victorian teams. So my anecdotal research suggests team loyalty is not inherited.

[Darwinsbulldog]

I am a asportist! Sports don't exist! :)

[SchizoDeluxe]

Possibly a sport apostate here. Was a longtime peripheral participant in motorsport, but these days can't really find a lot to get excited about.

Perhaps when there's a world green/electric vehicle racing series or something, I'll wake up again. Hardly any tech from racing gets back into road cars these days.

I find it quite strange that driving cars in a circle all day is considered a sport, if that's the case, we have many fine athletes on the roads every day. I would find it far more impressive if there were some jumps and shooting involved. Again, we have many of those fine "athletes" on the roads every day as well :D

[SchizoDeluxe]

A stint at Bathurst can take 3% off a driver's body weight in fluid loss (http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:BqsHP9QlmvoJ:fulltext.ausport.gov.au/fulltext/2004/ascpub/FuelV8.pdf+bathurst+fluid+loss+body+weight+%5Cdriv ing&hl=en&gl=au&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESiybMaIuxFRLkyykw9ubABXpe5XnEjckI3zOsCT gbRDFH_R3htO5QZ3Cxrwrn5AmXV58RGVO9L3jD2xTaKwPB7HTT au28QfpzmrSikmtJGmKA67OvtwqyNVmo-wAd73Glq1KMED&sig=AHIEtbQzKUlvTgRnhhQddajpA-2ifukiyA).

Formula One drivers are subject to five gravities under braking (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_One_car), and require reaction times that would put many other athletes to shame.

It may not look like much, but you gotta be fit. Oh, by the way, circular driving is speedway.

lol well that may be but losing weight doesn't constitute a sport in my opinion. I just never looked at driving, no matter how difficult it may be in extreme conditions, to be a sport.

[heresy]

So why do people pick different sporting teams?
How does the role and influence of the family affect football team choice..?
My sister and parents all barrack for different teams..

I did follow the team of my mother till I was in primary school and decided that I wanted to find a team of my own.
Then in my step family, all 3 step brothers follow the team of their mother.

I would guess that selection of football team reasons for people who do not follow their parents are vast and uncommon.
I would guess that there would be a large group influenced by and following their parents team. Then the rest following teams for an infinite number of reasons.

Therefor, the decision to follow the parents in an allegiance which makes no consequential sense is a major factor within the population. If religion were to remove all punishment, fear and deception from itself, a majority of children would still grow up to follow their parents religion, even though it made no logical, rational sense, especially when questioned..

[Deceter]

I often ask 'die hard' fans that I know to explain to me why they go for a particular team.

Most have never been able to give me what I would consider a logical answer.

In Tassie, Aussie rules is the dominante sport and as you would be aware Tassie does not have a team. That's why I began to ask people why they went for a particular team. I can understand if you live in Essendon, going for Essendon but I can not work out why someone from a different suburb or a different state can be so passionate about a team of players that they have no actual connection to. Most people usually say that their father went for that team so I do too.

It's like politics too, I know of a lot of people that will vote Labor simply becasue they're from a 'Labor' family. Most wouldn't have a clue how voting for Labor affects them but they do it anyway!

And I guess you can liken that to religion, people just following something blindly without asking why.

It's time to wake up!!

[Spud Henley]

I follow league and am a diehard Raiders fan. Living in Sydney where there are 8.5 team and Canberra I find that I am a rarity. But most people on this website were probably not rasied atheist and broke the mould and sporting team alliegences might be the same. I don't really think you can get a positive answer here.

[Jaar-Gilon]

Supporting a different team from your parents won't get you an eternal stint in the nether regions of satan's domain!!

[Senexis]

I grew up in Sydney, following (and playing) Rugby League.

I started off as a Balmain (now Wests) supporter, the same as my maternal grandfather, who I loved dearly and who I spent a bit of time with. We had quite a few things in common, and the shared support of Balmain was one more.

My father is a die-hard Rabbitohs fan, and Mum followed Parramatta (which I second-strung for a while, since a bunch of school mates such as Sterlo and Liddiard played for them) and now Penrith since they live near there. I never followed their teams.

In my early thirties I discovered American Football, which has consumed me ever since, to the tune of 12 seasons as a player in the Sydney and Canberra comps, and now my second year coaching. In the NFL I've been a Buffalo Bills supporter every since I tuned in and they captured my imagination during the playoffs in their second run at the Superbowl.

I think there are more positives to being a supporter than there are being a parishoner (or whatever the others call it). For me this is more about shared experiences, mateship (especially during adversity) and loyalty than any indoctrination.

[Xeno]

My family sincerely believed in sporting teams yet did not support any in particular. How does one describe that? Gnostic, perhaps?

[deesl4e]

Supporting a different team from your parents won't get you an eternal stint in the nether regions of satan's domain!!
Oh really. In my house it is an unwritten law that the demons be barracked for.:p

[Spud Henley]

Supporting a different team from your parents won't get you an eternal stint in the nether regions of satan's domain!!

Oh really. In my house it is an unwritten law that the demons be barracked for.:p

In my house barracking for anything AFL will get you the evil eye. Well from me anyway, the rest just ignore anything fumbleball / aerial pingpong. I'd rather have to payback tax at the end of finacial year than watch that sport.

I mention not to insult AFL which I don't mind doing but to go back to the original post about team indoctrination. I know I'd like to instill my kids if ever I have some with passion for the Raiders and Rugby League and a dislike for the Rabitohs, Bulldogs and Sea Eagles. However I do see the hypocrisy of indoctrination in that and in the end Atheists might be a little less insistent to having their offspring follow their team.

[Jaar-Gilon]

Oh really. In my house it is an unwritten law that the demons be barracked for.:p
:D My dad played for the Dee's so I should be a supporter, then again his dad played for the Hawks before the war so.......Actually I have no interest in football at all, I played when I was younger but I am much more of a doer than a watcher. I still play cricket but as long as the league I play in continues I couldn't care if no other cricket was ever played again same goes for football...any type!

As far as OP goes I think another factor in why people support a particular team is how well the team is going when someone discovers the sport ie memberships go up for particular teams when they win a premiership...maybe.


In my house barracking for anything AFL will get you the evil eye. Well from me anyway, the rest just ignore anything fumbleball / aerial pingpong. I'd rather have to payback tax at the end of finacial year than watch that sport.

I mention not to insult AFL which I don't mind doing but to go back to the original post about team indoctrination. I know I'd like to instill my kids if ever I have some with passion for the Raiders and Rugby League and a dislike for the Rabitohs, Bulldogs and Sea Eagles. However I do see the hypocrisy of indoctrination in that and in the end Atheists might be a little less insistent to having their offspring follow their team.

You sound religious!
What happens if your kids hate rugby?

[Spud Henley]

You sound religious!
What happens if your kids hate rugby?

I wouldn't like that but I guess I'd have to accept it the same way I hope people accept my lack of faith / lack of brainwashing.