Quote:
Originally Posted by ShortNCuddlyAm
I've tried to get some of the guys at work to explain it, and they can't. It usually ends up being "but it's still <club>!" with the slightly fervent and glazed expression of a cultist. OK - I'm being unfair on them a bit. There's something I clearly don't understand, and I'd actually like to understand it.
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In sports you cheer for a team mainly, not the particularly players.
At least not in the era of free agency with players moving around and it being very rare for players to stay with one team. College sports have always been that way since players can only play four years.
Reasons for following a particular team can be varied. It can be the local team in the city or state you live (or country in the World Cup case) etc. Or it can be more random reasons.
For instance, I'm a huge fan of West Virginia University football and basketball as I grew up an hour from campus and did my undergrad there.
With pro sport, there are no pro teams in the state of WV so I have more random reasons for getting behind the teams I support.
Baseball I root for the Atlanta Braves as every game of there's was on TBS (cable channel for those not in the US and not aware of what it is) and for several years those where the only baseball games we got on our very limited cable plan.
NFL football I root for the Oakland Raiders. Loved the uniforms/logo and they had a few former WVU stars on their roster when I was young which really got me into them.
NBA basketball I follow the Orlando Magic, got into them when Shaquille O'neal and Penny Hardaway played there and stuck with the team after they left.
So at the end of the day it's really just a matter of loving sports and having various reasons for getting behind a team--and most people will stick with those teams even after players move around.
For your World Cup example, people are going to root for their home countries most of the time. Some will also root for the countries their favorite pro team players play for--as long as they're not playing their home countries of course! Though I know several people who root for other countries besides the US--some because their parents or more distant ancestors immigrated from there, others for no reason I know of.