Not everyone is into American Football, but last month a lot of you could not break away from watching as many World Cup games as you could. Why do some people love sports so much? Why is being a fan so much fun? What are you a huge fan of (sports, games, media)?

It’s fun being part of something bigger than ones self. As someone perfectly contented with spending hours solo on some computer, I recognize how much I need to be around other, especially when sharing a common experience, like listening to live music in a crowded room, or watching a movie with a theater full of fans, or experiencing the Super Bowl in a bar full of crazies. I’ve had so many great experiences with mostly strangers cheering on teams, even watching the Oscars or Emmys. I told my dad about how much fun it can be watching the Super Bowl with folks in the bar that he had us meet at my brother’s place to watch the next Super Bowl. Yeah, there’s a big difference between a bar full of fans and being in someone’s living room with two marginal fans. It didn’t help that the game itself was completely forgettable. Ack.

Yeah, when you get a bunch of strangers in a large room there’s the possibility of some idiot misbehaving or doing something stupid, and your TV/sound system at home is perfect and you can pause the action to take pee-breaks, etc., etc., etc. It’s just not the same. I pick the live experiences in a crowded room any time over solo experiences. I guess I’m just wired that way. I grew up in a family of five kids, so I appreciated shared experiences. But I also live alone and I love that too. It’s just that it’s fun seeing movies, listening to music and cheering on teams with lots of other people. And it’s not about sports, but I’ve had awesome times at tech gatherings like WordPress conferences, or when I coached a First LEGO League robotics team and we spent the day competing (usually getting our butts seriously kicked). But it was fun. It seems to be a very human thing, this business of getting together and celebrating life. Enjoy.