As someone who follows sports and is quite emotional about that, too, my personal fandom journey and how it shapes my social interactions have always been a topic of introspection and curious social study. What makes me and us root for someone? Why does a win/loss of a team we have nothing to do with make or break our week? How does it vary with team sports and individual sports? How do sporting fandom and nationalism tie in? These are some of the questions I explore.

As I type the above paragraph, what started as just a personal anecdotal blog evolved into a potential series of blogs dissecting it from an individual standpoint and social standpoint backed by some research and literature

My relationship with sports

My relationship with sports has been a consistently evolving journey. I have had phases where a certain sport takes over.

A Stereotypical 90s Indian Kid Phase

As many people in India may relate, I started following Cricket in my early years. My parents had been cricket followers since their youth, and it rubbed off on me. It's one of the stereotypical stories of many folks like me who grew up with Cricket.

I actively played Cricket and followed it. Fandom was natural, and in Cricket, where it's usually international matches, fandom also became a concoction of patriotism and love for the sport and its players.

My childhood was filled with memories of watching this long-haired guy hitting sixes off bowlers. Me and I restlessly roamed around the stadium stand to catch a closer glimpse of Sehwag and Sachin. I learned about time zones as I was compelled to wake up early due to the matches happening in the Caribbean islands (Though it was short-lived and usually not worth it). Celebrated in jubilation with my friends when Yuvraj hit 6 sixes off Broad.

Steve Buckner was my enemy, too, and Simon Taufel was the DRS and high-tech camera before they were invented.

In demonstrations of fandom, I wanted an MRF bat for obvious reasons, the far second alternate being a Reebok bat. I missed art classes to watch Sachin smoke the Aussies in a Tri-series final to bunking class on April 2, 2011, for the best reason ever.

By this time in my life, a few more sports made their way.

A new video game and a 115th-minute goal

I was one of those few in my neighborhood with a computer, and video games were essential to my childhood. There was the classic Cricket 07, NFS Most Wanted, Carbon, Max Payne, and the infamous GTA Vice City and San Andreas.

Amidst all these games, looking back if there's one game which I loved the most and has been with me the longest - FIFA 09

Football was occasionally played in the parks and grounds near me; all I knew about football back then was probably Baichung Bhutia, Rooney, Ronaldo, and Messi. FIFA 09 changed it all as I was introduced to this club called Manchester United. It was one of the strongest teams in the game, and in a few months, Rooney, Ronaldo, Tevez, and Van Der Sar were my gaming GOATs.

I remember the article in The Hindu announcing Ronaldo's record-breaking transfer to Real Madrid, and it was also a popular quiz question back then. All this love for this new game didn't translate into me watching the sport, as I needed access to channels that streamed football back then.

Thanks to the FIFA World Cup, it all changed in 2010, when I started watching football matches in bits and pieces.

In hindsight, the world cup was all the vibes. K’Naan’s Wavin Flag to Shakira’s Waka Waka. Jabulani being the coolest looking football to ever exist. A Portugal 7-0 win in the initial weeks.

Football was still squeezed out between a sleep time of 10pm, soap opera-watching grandmother, and news enthusiast parents.

It all changed when I spent the night out watching the World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands. My friend was a Barcelona fan and talked about Iniesta and Xavi; I tracked them both all night as I watched Iniesta clinch the winner late into the game. The exhilaration knew no bounds, and a late-minute winner magic still holds on (Or if you are an Argentina Supporter, late-minute horror holds on)

My friend was a Barcelona supporter, and I was with Manchester United. We were locked in for a life of triumph and misery with our team, week in and week out.

Since then, I’ve been super sad about Sir Alex leaving, facepalmed as we were humbled by Leicester, saw optimism as Mourinho came in. Saw the hand of god saving shots at the Stretford end, witnessed the rise of multiple academy players and firing of many coaches. All this through, I still haven’t evaluated moving away from this team. Not sure why.

May be RCB fans can answer this question. I mean, United atleast won a few trophies, but RCB fans 🙏🏽

Football is the sport I’ve watched, played video game but never really played as much in real life. My play was reserved for the next sport.

An uneventful Saturday, a new place, and a new God

I grew up in a government steel plant township. I was privileged to have access to multiple sporting venues within a few kilometers of my home. We also had a clubhouse with movie screenings and eateries.

On an uneventful Saturday in 2010, when I couldn't really enjoy the movie, I stepped out to see this shiny new lawn tennis court. One of my friends from school was out there playing, and I stepped in to try it out for the first time.

Tennis has been present in my life since earlier; I was familiar with Tennis as my cousin used to play at U14 tournaments, practicing daily. Leander Paes, Sania Mirza, Federer, and Nadal were the names I probably knew back then, as they were really at the top of their game, and the former names from India, too. I only really tried it for the first time on that uneventful Saturday. I was a cricketer on a tennis court, so obviously, I was hitting the net or outside the court. Amidst this incompetency, I got interested with the game.

I went out occasionally playing it with my friends, trying to 'read' about forehand grips and player analysis. I was finally convinced to give this sport a chance in around 2011 when I convinced my parents to buy INR 3000 worth of racquets and shoes. I've never been more nervous to ask something.

In hindsight, I shouldn't have fallen in love with an expensive sport. 😛

On another eventful evening, I tuned into Roland Garros finals to witness Federer and Nadal battle it out. Nadal was the GOAT on Philippe Chatrier, and Federer was already a legend. I managed to get 1 week's paid top-up on our family's newly acquired Airtel Dish TV. What I witnessed made me fall in love with the sport. Despite being amazed by his forehands, Nadal was suddenly the enemy for defeating Federer. Though, spoiler alert, it's about to change.

The beauty of Federer's game captivated me to try to imitate him in my next tennis class. I still try to emulate his game, hitting a flat forehand and single-handed backhand with this God’s personal choice of weapon - Wilson ProStaff Racquet.

With all these nuances, he became my God and the journey I kept tabs on

Federer’s career probably dipped since then and I may have joined the bandwagon a bit late. After a 2012 season, it was a draught of almost 5 years. It almost felt like I will ever closely see him win just 1 tournament - Wimbledon 2012. What happened in 2017 was the absolute stuff of dreams, as I sat in the corner of our photography studio in my undergraduate college watching Australian Open on a shady steaming link and felt a roller-coaster of emotions of him coming close, losing grip and finally re-grouping to hit that forehand cross court. The 10 second of line review by Nadal, every federer fan held their breath till the umpire confirmed the ball was on the line and Federer did win the Australian Open.

As I type this, it's almost 2 years since his retirement; every reel and video of his I come across prompts me into playing Tennis that very day. I never hesitated to go back to the court for every injury I've had, just because I wanted to hit a bullet of a backhand cross-court like Federer has hit for the entirety of 2017.

My Tryst with Fandom

Fandom has exhibited in various ways for me:

• I cheered like anything when Dhoni finished it off in style
• I got irritated as I got to know about 'Agueroooooooo’
• I bawled my eyes out, and still do, when I saw 'that' photo of Federer-Nadal at the Laver Cup
• I go through weekly ups and downs as Manchester United turns a corner every few months
• Jump out of my chair and run around whenever United scores that 'Fergie Time' winner.

I always ponder what fandom has brought me, apart from the periodic depression Manchester United puts me in. I can probably not quantify fandom or even rationally justify it, but I can always introspect it.

It's easy to bond with people on sporting fandom. Typing this as me and my colleague lamented about the sad state of our respective clubs - Manchester United & Chelsea.

My college time was the best, as I connected with people while watching football matches. We trolled each others’ teams first before checking in on how our lives were.

A recurring way to connect with my friends is also through sports. I have tennis-following friends and football and cricket friends. A Real Madrid win prompts me to text a friend, and a Nadal announcement reminds me of another. Though on Nov 19, me and my cricket friends have also been silenced. That’s until IPL where we are enjoying the innings of the same person who silenced us 6 months ago.

Many of my friends are connected to sports and players, and any mention of these sports/players reminds me of them. Then, we resume our banter and rants.

Social interactions asides, scores and competition aside - Sports are a lot about narratives; the Boy Wonder storyline, the underdog storyline and a comeback of the 35-year-old storyline. Every such story affects me personally to push myself forward and act as a beacon of hope.

At every setback, I always look at Federer in 2017 to make a comeback. If Leicester can do it, so can I do that tough task. As I joke with my friends, Manchester United has disappointed me so much that I can never disappoint myself that much. But I also look forward to the next day and match with optimism to do it better.

As I recall all these memories and anecdotes of my friends about how they started following sports and how they feel about their team or player, I am even more curious to dive deep into the broad social aspects of sporting fandom.

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