Reflected Glory

I’m dejected. My favorite team, the Buffalo Bills, is not going to the Superbowl.  The Bills lost in the divisional round two weeks ago. I’m still in the dumps over it.  I didn’t cause the loss. No more than I contributed to success in making the playoffs. But I committed emotionally to the pursuit. I jumped and cheered and scared Goldie off the bed for 18 weeks.  As the stakes rose, so did my belief in our chances for the Big Game.  Our chances, ha, as if I am officially a team member. 

If you are a sports fan, you understand. Perhaps we become sports fans out of loyalty to our roots or our hometowns. I’ve been a fan since the 80s, when a western Pennsylvania native became the Bills’ reliable quarterback, and a hometown athlete joined the team as offensive coordinator. Besides, I’d been through Buffalo so many times the Bills felt like my home team. 

Psychologists say joining a fan base satisfies a need to belong. Sports fans have higher levels of self-esteem and lower levels of loneliness.  When I wear team apparel other Bills fans often strike up a conversation. I’m not a fanatic. I don’t shovel snow in the stadium or trounce on folding tables, but I am loyal. I am attached to my Flutie jersey and Flutie Flakes box.  I’ve attended two Bills’ games, both versus the Dolphins. Squish the Fish. A stadium filled with your team’s fans gives you instant camaraderie. 

Being a fan entitles me to take pride in the players’ skills and athleticism, traits I don’t possess. When Josh Allen scrambles for yardage or completes a long pass, I celebrate as if I’ve accomplished some feat. When the coach astutely manages the clock, I beam. When the team wins, I win. Psychology calls that feeling Basking in Reflected Glory (BIRG). 

But when the team loses, there’s no basking, only slogging until the next win. For thirty-one teams the season ends with a loss. So, I’m in the company of a lot of disappointed fans. We have eight months to recover. Now what? Hope for the draft, new coaches, or better referees.  

And maybe get back to real life. Next season everything is still possible.