Does Fandom Reminds Religion?

Michael Serazio, an assistant professor of communication at Fairfield University, asks an unusual question Just How Much Is Sports Fandom Like Religion? In his article published in The Atlantic on January 29, 2013, Serazio compares being a fan of a sports team to being a follower of a religion. Serazio mentions that when a person worships some deity, he or she worships himself or herself first. A person’s fandom of any kind is an expression of personality. People have faith in artifacts since early ages, just now artifacts often come from sports.  

If you ever wore a t-shirt of a favorite team on a game day, bought sports branded pillow or blanket, or went tail gaiting before the game, you may understand the comparison. Just think of the SJU Bookstore and all the branded apparel. And then think of all students who wear branded SJU clothes around campus. Does it remind you of worship? To some extent yes.

Besides fanaticism of sports and religion, the idea of not only worship but the war comes to mind. Sports fans of rival teams hate each other which is a very similar (but not so aggressive) way as religion fanatics hate each other. Whether this comparison of fandom and religion is valid or not, sports apparel companies continue to produce “artifacts” and capitalize on fan engagement this way.