“Room for one more?” asked Orange.
…
None of the games worked for three, but Orange and Little Pear didn’t think to notice.
Big Pear, however, was very bothered.
She was feeling squeezed out, replaced by someone new and zesty.
from A Pair of Pears and an Orange
written and illustrated by Anna McGregor
Scribble, 2021
(accessed on YouTube, 2/9/26)
When my girls were in high school, my husband and I added football games into our weekly schedule. The girls were in marching band. Enough said.
My husband watched the game. I only saw boys running around, chasing a ball, and sometimes hurting each other, or less often, themselves.
The injuries were accidental, I’m sure, but the pain was no less for that, I’m also sure. Football is a dangerous game and I couldn’t (and still can’t) see the point of it all.
The high school half-time show was always entertaining, though, and always too short for my taste.
But the Super Bowl is big business. From the special coin re-struck in honor of the US’s 250th anniversary, (which will reside from now on in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History) to the $188,000 check each player on the winning team will receive (in addition to their regular pay), extravagance is another name for the game.
Even though Bad Bunny was not paid directly, (none of the half-time performers are) all his expenses were paid, and the NFL pays the tab for all the production costs, too. The estimate for this year’s show is $17,000,000 (million). Also, the exposure in front of so many fans can only help his image and streaming numbers.
And what about the ads? The average cost for a 30 second ad this year was $8,000,000.
Putting aside the business aspect of sport in general, let’s focus on the way rooting for a team brings people together. The team spirit, the way we feel when we root for something together, that camaraderie is a real thing. We need that sense of belonging to boost our self-esteem and help us identify what is important to us, what we stand for, our shared values.
Discovering that humans are social beings and need to identify with a group, deeper study of social psychology was in order.
Henri Tajfel, (1918-1982) a Polish social psychologist, did pioneering work on how people learn prejudice. It was a relatively short leap from there to defining and identifying group behavior.
Social Identity Theory grew out of Tajfel’s work and has been popular since the early 1970s. Briefly, the theory explains the three stages of development people grow through to learn where and how to “fit” into our society.
First is Self Categorization. We identify with particular groups and not with others. Some of my groups include mothers, women, librarians (even though I’m retired), writers, (even though I have not been traditionally published yet), environmentalists, religious Jews, baby-boomers, you get the idea. I match my behavior to my self-chosen groups. I’m kind, generous, caring, and helpful. I’m also stubborn, impatient, and tend to procrastinate, but we’ll put those aside for now.
The problem with this type of categorization comes when people see themselves more on a continuum, than on one side of a dichotomy. It puts us in an us/them framework, and leads to the preference of our own group(s) over those we perceive as different. Tajfel discovered this in his work on prejudice.
Next is Social Identification. As I identify with my groups, I match my goals and values to what I perceive these to be. I’m emotionally invested with my family and friends. That’s where I find acceptance and reinforcement of my behaviors in my self-chosen groups.
Finally, Social Comparison involves the belief that membership in my group is necessary to my vision of my self. Since it is most common (and most helpful) to think kindly of ourselves, I must maintain a favorable opinion of my groups, including behaviors, goals, and values. This can lead to feelings of superiority, but it doesn’t have to.
So, back to the Super Bowl in particular, and football in general.
In his halftime show, Bad Bunny portrayed himself as Puerto Rican and American. He called attention in a very large way to his own broad and inclusive American identity.
Our society is in flux. To be overly simplistic, we Americans are redefining ourselves. We highlight our differences in order to define and distinguish ourselves from those who hold different beliefs.
I understand the need to belong to a group that shares my values. Even though I don’t identify as a football fan, I am a fan of renewable energy, religious freedom, and democracy.
But to survive, our values must align. If our common group is Americans, then our values must be what they’ve always been: Patriot dreams that see beyond the years, The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, Liberty and Justice for all.
Let freedom ring.
My next read is Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (Pamela Dorman Books/Viking, 2017). More on that next time.
-—Be curious! (and show your colors)
…
None of the games worked for three, but Orange and Little Pear didn’t think to notice.
Big Pear, however, was very bothered.
She was feeling squeezed out, replaced by someone new and zesty.
from A Pair of Pears and an Orange
written and illustrated by Anna McGregor
Scribble, 2021
(accessed on YouTube, 2/9/26)
When my girls were in high school, my husband and I added football games into our weekly schedule. The girls were in marching band. Enough said.
My husband watched the game. I only saw boys running around, chasing a ball, and sometimes hurting each other, or less often, themselves.
The injuries were accidental, I’m sure, but the pain was no less for that, I’m also sure. Football is a dangerous game and I couldn’t (and still can’t) see the point of it all.
The high school half-time show was always entertaining, though, and always too short for my taste.
But the Super Bowl is big business. From the special coin re-struck in honor of the US’s 250th anniversary, (which will reside from now on in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History) to the $188,000 check each player on the winning team will receive (in addition to their regular pay), extravagance is another name for the game.
Even though Bad Bunny was not paid directly, (none of the half-time performers are) all his expenses were paid, and the NFL pays the tab for all the production costs, too. The estimate for this year’s show is $17,000,000 (million). Also, the exposure in front of so many fans can only help his image and streaming numbers.
And what about the ads? The average cost for a 30 second ad this year was $8,000,000.
Putting aside the business aspect of sport in general, let’s focus on the way rooting for a team brings people together. The team spirit, the way we feel when we root for something together, that camaraderie is a real thing. We need that sense of belonging to boost our self-esteem and help us identify what is important to us, what we stand for, our shared values.
Discovering that humans are social beings and need to identify with a group, deeper study of social psychology was in order.
Henri Tajfel, (1918-1982) a Polish social psychologist, did pioneering work on how people learn prejudice. It was a relatively short leap from there to defining and identifying group behavior.
Social Identity Theory grew out of Tajfel’s work and has been popular since the early 1970s. Briefly, the theory explains the three stages of development people grow through to learn where and how to “fit” into our society.
First is Self Categorization. We identify with particular groups and not with others. Some of my groups include mothers, women, librarians (even though I’m retired), writers, (even though I have not been traditionally published yet), environmentalists, religious Jews, baby-boomers, you get the idea. I match my behavior to my self-chosen groups. I’m kind, generous, caring, and helpful. I’m also stubborn, impatient, and tend to procrastinate, but we’ll put those aside for now.
The problem with this type of categorization comes when people see themselves more on a continuum, than on one side of a dichotomy. It puts us in an us/them framework, and leads to the preference of our own group(s) over those we perceive as different. Tajfel discovered this in his work on prejudice.
Next is Social Identification. As I identify with my groups, I match my goals and values to what I perceive these to be. I’m emotionally invested with my family and friends. That’s where I find acceptance and reinforcement of my behaviors in my self-chosen groups.
Finally, Social Comparison involves the belief that membership in my group is necessary to my vision of my self. Since it is most common (and most helpful) to think kindly of ourselves, I must maintain a favorable opinion of my groups, including behaviors, goals, and values. This can lead to feelings of superiority, but it doesn’t have to.
So, back to the Super Bowl in particular, and football in general.
In his halftime show, Bad Bunny portrayed himself as Puerto Rican and American. He called attention in a very large way to his own broad and inclusive American identity.
Our society is in flux. To be overly simplistic, we Americans are redefining ourselves. We highlight our differences in order to define and distinguish ourselves from those who hold different beliefs.
I understand the need to belong to a group that shares my values. Even though I don’t identify as a football fan, I am a fan of renewable energy, religious freedom, and democracy.
But to survive, our values must align. If our common group is Americans, then our values must be what they’ve always been: Patriot dreams that see beyond the years, The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, Liberty and Justice for all.
Let freedom ring.
My next read is Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (Pamela Dorman Books/Viking, 2017). More on that next time.
-—Be curious! (and show your colors)
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