The Life of a Superfan

Sports teams, comic book heroes, video games, and all sorts of pop culture avenues have their share of passionate fans that will gobble up apparel, collectibles and more.

For the latter three, cosplay has become an entire industry, where individuals spend hours to craft costumes and dress up as their favorite icon, be it Ironman, Master Chief or Princess Leia. There’s no shortage of folks who not only have an immense talent for this, but also have turned it into a career.

But what of our sports fans who are the first to the stadium, dressed up in their lucky jersey (or more extravagant costumes), ready to cheer on their team. The fans that “bleed” their team colors, whose happiness relies solely on the outcome of the game, and tend to spend inordinate amounts of money on their passion, or some might say obsession?

They don’t fall under the cosplay category ,and they certainly bypass the “big fan” category. They live in the category of “super fan,” and it’s a thin line between sane and sick.

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In Oakland, California, the NFL’s Raiders have a “nation” of fans rooting the team on and, often look scarier than the players on the field. They sport face paint and spiked shoulder pads, all adhering to the team’s black and silver color scheme. The most dedicated of fans create full alter egos that are on display, many taking position in “The Black Hole,” Oakland’s end zone.

The Raider Nation name came about when the team returned to Oakland after time spent in Los Angeles. The term was used as a rallying cry for the Oakland fan base and their blue-collar roots, in addition to drawing in a number of minorities as super fans.

The popularity of these fans and their brand led the NFL to acquire the rights to the name and logos for merchandising. Despite not winning a Super Bowl since their return to Oakland and their recent attempt to move back to Los Angeles, the Raider Nation remains ready to root their team on.

Across the country in New Jersey, Ed Anzalone is wearing his custom firefighter’s helmet and leading a sea of green in chanting “J-E-T-S Jets! Jets! Jets!” Anzalone, better known as “Fireman Ed,” has been a season ticket holder for the New York Jets since 1976 and led the chant starting 10 years later.

Serving an a mascot of sorts for the team, Anzalone was included in the NFL’s Hall of Fans at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, in 1999. Fireman Ed quit his post in 2012, saying harassment from other fans was too much, although he remained a staunch supporter of the team and attended every home game.

His importance to the Jets was noted by other fans and the team itself, as a petition to bring him back was answered this year by the new general manager and head coach, leading Anzalone back to his perch to lead the fans once more.

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While Raider Nation and Fireman Ed have turned their passion and obsession for their team into some notable accomplishments, the sense of connection they feel is notable and begs the question: Why?

Why does it seem these folks get more revved up for a touchdown than the birth of their child? Is it a piece of their childhood reborn, or something greater?

Joshua C. Klapow, a clinical psychologist with The MindSide in Birmingham, Alabama, told LifeZette many factors make a super fan.

“We love our teams because they provide us interesting entertainment, they accomplish athletic feats we can’t do ourselves ,and they represent in many ways ‘superheroes’ through their super human athletic actions,” Kaplow said. “The degree of intensity with which we become fans can vary greatly. The research seems to indicate that it is a combination of a sense of belonging, a sense of identification and for many people an escape. It’s this combination that drives people closer and closer to their teams.

“If that connection has been present since birth, passed down from a parent or grandparent, the connection is even more ingrained. For some fans the process of knowing the team, knowing the coaches, becoming a part of the culture is as much the hobby as is the actual sport their team plays. It becomes significantly larger than the sport itself,” he said.

“Super fans are as connected to the individual players, coaches, history, and rituals as they are the game itself. The longer they are connected, the more memories that are generated, the more being a fan comes to define a part of who they actually are. A child who grows up in a family of fans, has many of their memories in and around the sport and the team. As a result their development includes being a fan.”

For loyalists of the New York Yankees, growing up as a fan of the team meant knowing Freddy Schuman, a constant presence at Yankee Stadium from 1988 until his death in 2010. Known as “Freddy Sez,” Schuman carried a pot adorned with a four-leaf clover for luck and a sign with a message to rev up fans. He would walk the stadium during the game, letting fans bang on the pot for good luck. One of these pots is in the baseball hall of fame.

His importance to the team was acknowledged upon his death at 85 years old, when the team held a moment of silence for him prior to their American League Championship game. Freddy Sez was the definition of positivity and made super fans feel good about themselves, a good thing when the intense fandom can have a large impact on your emotions.

That impact, Klapow told LifeZette, can be the onset of  sports obsession or addiction.

“All of this is fine and can be a wonderful tradition. However, fans can cross the line psychologically when they come to define who they are increasingly by their team and their sport. It’s all about balance, if a fan derives the majority of their pleasure, their mood, their existence by being a fan,” he said. “If they come to identify with a team as the primary source of happiness and sadness in their individual lives, and this does happen, then we see a healthy behavior cross over to an unhealthy behavior. Once you define yourself by your team, then you are likely hooked, because how you see yourself doesn’t change easily.”

As they root for their teams and lead their packs of fans, all seems well with these super fans. Knowing where the line is, and how not to cross it, is perhaps more important than any championship.