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Marketing and University Communication UW-Green Bay, CL 815 2420 Nicolet Drive Green Bay, WI 54311-7001 (920) 465-2626 E-mail: hildebrs@uwgb.edu Last update: 10/10/07 |
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In
the News Archive - Year:
October 7, 2007 Q&A: Life is better when 'we' win By Warren Bluhm
Ryan Martin, a University of Wisconsin-Green Bay assistant professor of human development and psychology, says it's not an illusion that the community's general attitude rises and falls with the fortunes of the team.
Q. What's the root of this feeling that people around town just seem to be in a better mood when the Packers win, and down when they lose?
A. It was one of the first things I noticed when I arrived at UWGB three years ago — in fact a lot of the faculty I work with noticed this. One of my colleagues teaches a Monday morning class and said it has an effect on class participation — students tended to be down and not as interested in class discussion after a Packers loss, and the atmosphere was more vibrant and upbeat after a win.
It revolves around a concept known as social identity — when people are part of a group, and when you get a chance to see your group as superior, you feel better about yourself. The idea is that we bask in reflected success: "We" won, "We" are so good this year. The other side of that is what I imagine has been happening to the south of us, where you want to cut off and not identify yourself with the reflected failure: "They're" terrible, "they" lost, "they" looked so bad Sunday.
Q. It's we when they win, and them when they lose.
A. Exactly. And especially as the success continues, you see more of this, more people jumping on the bandwagon.
Research has been done to determine the effect of team success on mood — it was done with basketball, not football, but the results would probably be the same. For people for whom fanship was important, when they tended to identify with a certain team, their mood was definitely affected. A win or series of wins brought more positive emotions, more positive self-esteem.
Q. So is this healthy for a community, as long as people properly disengage after losses?
A. Well, the thing to remember is there are some negative behaviors associated with sports, as well. Drinking and fighting do, in fact, increase when a team loses.
It used to be considered a myth, but a study was done at Indiana University last year that showed domestic violence does increase on Super Bowl Sunday — and it also showed a small link but definitely a link between the hometown playing and domestic violence incidents. The study was done in 16 NFL cities.
Q. How do we combat these negatives?
A. It's not always easy, but it begins with doing whatever it takes to remind ourselves that it's only a game.
Q. Are there any things we don't yet understand about this phenomenon?
A. There are two questions I have that haven't been answered yet. First, is this effect greater when it's a rivalry game? It does seem that way, looking at the heightened activity surrounding the Packers-Bears game, for example, but that hasn't been formally studied yet.
Q. You'd think that would be true. There's the old cliché, "If we go 1-15, I can live with that as long as the one win is over the Bears."
A. Right. The other question is how long does this last? Do we still have that good feeling for a long period of time, or is it a temporary thing? My hunch is that it goes away fairly quickly after the end of the game, but when we see our friends and co-workers the next day at the water cooler, it comes back as we relive the experience together.
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