Jay Van Bevel is a social psychologist and professor at New York University. He says we identify with groups like our favorite football team or video game company. Fandom can give you status if your team wins the championship, he says. But when they lose, fans try to distance themselves from each other psychologically - this aspect of fandom still has value.
It’s fun to obsess over pop stars and racecar drivers — but is fandom making our politics even more toxic?