The Philippine Online Chronicles

Ginebra basketball fans often fill the Araneta Coliseum's airspace with so many coins that they could almost blot out the lights, to express pleasure or displeasure with game developments. Barangay Ginebra denizens usually throw so many coins that as legend goes, referees collect them after each incident.

Sports fans may devote themselves to an athlete, a team, a sport or sports in general. They are different from occasional viewers in that they monitor - very closely - the status of their idols. If they don't watch games live, they do so by watching television, listening to the radio, reading the sports section, or joining forums and social networking sites. They may want entertainment, to learn from the plays, or to meet people and socialize with sympathetic peers.

Here in the Philippines, malls and restaurants become jam packed with sports fans whenever Manny Pacquiao has a fight. In some instances, these fans shout louder than those watching from the sidelines, especially if they know that a broadcast company's camera is taping their emotional show of support for the “People’s Champ.”

Hooliganism

In most countries, cheering and jeering are the main forms of voicing out excitement or frustration during competitions. However, there are extreme cases where the sports fans' love for their idols go to the extreme, causing significant injury to fans of opposing teams, sometimes resulting to death. They throw bottles or even garbage cans, as can be seen when European football hooligans go wild. In their zealous display of devotion, football fans intentionally hurt their "opponents."

Football hooliganism in France and Germany is attributed to racism and social conflict. In France, when the Paris and Marseille groups clash, and the riots leave behind burning cars and smashed store windows. In June 1998, after the Germany versus Yugoslavia FIFA World Cup game, a French policeman was beaten to a pulp by German fans, leading to brain damage for the officer. The following year, a German fan was charged with attempted murder.

In the Philippines, while incidents of hooliganism only happen in state university campuses (without any connection to sports whatsoever - fraternity rumbles), there are sports incidents that hurt both fans and athletes alike. Take the Katigbac-Arboleda brawl last October 16, 2009 where the allegedly verbally abusive Alain Katigbac was kicked in the groin by Burger King player Wynne Arboleda and repeatedly struck in the head. Katigbac was booing Arboleda along with many other fans because of his repeated hard fouls against the national team aspirants. Katigbac lost some of his pride; Arboleda lost about P2 million.

For the most part, sports fans are people who are depressed, and have low self esteem, the Association for Applied Sports Psychology (AASP) stated. For many fans, being in a stadium is like having "a brewsky after a hard day’s trudge," the AASP mused.

In a Cardiff, Welsh medical emergency ward, researchers suggested that sports fan violence comes mainly from those who win. When Welsh teams win, there are more injured people rushed to local emergency rooms. The AASP paper also cited domestic violence if the male partner’s team wins. They link the violence to increased “self-confidence, assertiveness, or patriotism.”

Washington Post’s Karen Goff stipulates that the stadium is a place where alcohol, jeers and altercations are tolerated.

Good sports fans

It is a comfort to know that the world can learn a thing or two from Filipino sports fans, especially those hailing from Porac, Pampanga. Hundreds of Pacquiao fans who watched his fight versus Miguel Cotto last November 2009 brought plastic canopies as a makeshift roof for their gym. Senior citizens were given seats while the others remained in floor mats. Fans, food, and refreshments, were not sold, but rather given for free. Linda Punzalan, one of the octogenarians, brought her grandchildren and gave away some ripe guavas.

For the weird ones

Why all the violence? Some pacifists show support for their favorite teams in a more sober manner by simply dressing up in team colors. Others bring foam hands mimicking Spock’s “live long and prosper” gesture. More adventurous fans shave their favorite player's jersey number in the back of their heads.

AEL hooligans in Cyprus (AELntou).

Photo: “Jonás” by Raúl Pastor Martos, c/o Flickr. Some Rights Reserved.