The Perks of Being a Sports Fan做体育粉益处多多

This research shows how being a fan can lead to a better social life and other markers of wellbeing.

这项研究表明，做体育粉能享受更美好的社交生活，还能在其他方面收获幸福。

Raised in a small town in Italy in the 1980s， Marco grew up playing soccer. But when high school gradu-ation came， his soccer days ended. He headed off to college， pursuing a dual degree that allowed him to study for the first two years in Italy and the second two years abroad.

20世纪80年代，马尔科在意大利的一座小镇长大，他从小踢足球。可到高中毕业时，他的足球生涯画上了句号。他离家上大学，攻读双学位——前两年在意大利，后两年到国外。

For those second two years， Marco landed in Boston， across the street from Fenway Park1. That was in 2005. “I had no idea Fenway was such a big deal.” Though he had some familiarity with baseball， he had heard only of the Yankees.

就在这后两年的时间里，马尔科到波士顿求学，与芬威棒球场一街之隔。当时是2005年。“我根本不知道芬威球场竟然那么出名。”虽然以前对棒球有所了解，但他只听说过洋基队。

At the end of his stint in Boston， Marco accepted a six-month internship， and then a full-time position， at Merrill Lynch in New York. This is where his true education in American sports began. “My initial bosses at Merrill were both baseball fans. One was a Mets fan， and the other was a Phillies fan， and so I naturally became a Yankees fan to antagonize them.”

波士顿的求学生涯告一段落，马尔科在纽约美林证券公司先实习了六个月，后来转为全职。他的美国体育学习之路由此正式开启。“我初入美林证券公司时的两个领导都是棒球粉。一位喜欢大都会队，另一位喜欢费城人队。为了跟他们对着干，我自然而然地成了洋基队的粉丝。”

Then Marco switched work groups and found himself among a bunch of American football fans. To join in their discussions， he started watching some football. “Coming from Italy， I didn’t have a lot in common with a lot of Americans， but I found a lot of appreciation for football players in terms of their physicality， the speed， the techniques. ” As it happened， that year the Patriots were on fire， ending their regular season 16–0. “I got interested in a team that could make history，” Marco said， “so I hosted a Super Bowl party.”

后来，马尔科换了工作组，他发现身边是一群橄榄球粉。为了加入同事们的讨论，他也开始看几场橄榄球比赛。“身为意大利人，我跟许多美国人没有太多共同语言，不过我发现大家都很欣赏橄榄球运动员的体能、速度和技巧。”碰巧，当年爱国者队火力全开，常规赛季以16胜0负的战绩收尾。“我看上的是一支能创造历史的球队。”马尔科说，“于是我举办了一场超级碗派对。”

Spoiler alert： the Patriots lost. But Marco， in search of social connection with his colleagues， had pushed the fandom flywheel2. And it started to spin.

剧透警告：爱国者队最终输了。不过，在尝试与同事建立社交联系的过程中，马尔科推动了体育粉的“飞轮”。这个飞轮从此转动起来。

The next season， he added another fan activity： joining a fantasy football league3. “It was a big opportunity for me to get closer to other people， to have something in common to talk about. It would force me also to pay more attention and understand the game better because the rules are complicated.”

到了下一个赛季，马尔科又参加了一项粉丝活动：加入梦幻橄榄球联盟。“这非常有利于我跟其他人拉近关系，找到和他们聊得来的共同话题，也能促使我更多地关注、更深入地了解橄榄球运动，毕竟规则很复杂。”

As the flywheel gained momentum， Marco’s social connections grew， and his fandom deepened. Watching NFL RedZone4 and managing a fantasy football team， in combination， became a great way for him to become more knowledgeable about the NFL in general.

随着飞轮越转越快，马尔科的社交联系越来越广泛，他对橄榄球也越来越狂热。观看美国职业橄榄球大联盟红区频道、管理一支梦幻橄榄球队，二者结合便成为增进他对大联盟全面了解的绝佳渠道。

In 2018， when Marco and a few colleagues founded their own business， he immediately recognized an opportunity to bring the group together： He started a fantasy football league with them. He remained active in the Merrill Lynch league and in the new one， because together they allowed him “to network and stay in touch with a lot of different people.”

2018年，马尔科和几个同事自主创业，他立刻想到一个团结队伍的办法：与同事一起组建一支梦幻橄榄球队。无论是在美林证券公司的球队，还是在新球队，马尔科都保持活跃，因为兼顾两者，他就能“跟许多不同的人建立关系、保持联系”。

Marco’s fan flywheel might have started slowly， but once it gained momentum， it started to spin freely， and his social connections flourished.

马尔科的粉丝飞轮起初或许转得慢，但获得动力之后就开始自由转动，马尔科的社交联系也随之变得越来越多。

In the end， Marco sees the benefits of the flywheel in his personal and work lives. “Becoming close friends outside of work makes it easier to collaborate and work well together. When you become friends， then you become more accountable to each other. You don’t want to let each other down.”

最终，马尔科看到粉丝飞轮给自己的生活和工作带来了诸多益处。“在工作场合之外跟同事成为至交，会使我们在工作中的协同合作更顺利。一旦成为朋友，就更加会为对方负责，谁都不愿让对方失望。”

Fandom’s intrinsic benefits

身为粉丝的内在益处

This flywheel we’re talking about—it’s not trivial. It doesn’t merely pull you into buying jerseys， or watching more games， or deepening your sports knowledge. It pulls you into initiating more social interactions. And that， we suspect， is where the real payoff lies.

我们所说的粉丝飞轮可不是微不足道的东西。它不仅促使你去买球服、看更多场球赛、加深对体育知识的理解，还会推着你开展更多社交互动。我们认为，这才是真正的益处所在。

George Vallaint， principal investigator in The Grant Study， would agree. The Grant Study of Adult Development， which began in 1938， followed the lives of 268 men， all Harvard graduates， for 75 years， analyzing various components of their health and wellbeing. When asked in 2008， “What have you learned from the Grant Study men？” Vallaint responded， “The only thing that really matters in life is your relationships to other people.”

格兰特研究的首席研究员乔治·瓦兰特大概会对此表示赞同。格兰特成人发展研究始于1938年，对268名男性哈佛毕业生进行了长达75年的跟踪研究，分析了构成他们健康和幸福的各种要素。2008年，当被问及“你从格兰特研究的参与者身上学到了什么？”瓦兰特回答道：“生活中真正重要的东西只有你与其他人的关系。”