The Perks of Being a Sports Fan做體育粉益處多多

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

這項(xiàng)研究表明，做體育粉能享受更美好的社交生活，還能在其他方面收獲幸福。

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世紀(jì)80年代，馬爾科在意大利的一座小鎮(zhèn)長大，他從小踢足球?？傻礁咧挟厴I(yè)時，他的足球生涯畫上了句號。他離家上大學(xué)，攻讀雙學(xué)位——前兩年在意大利，后兩年到國外。

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.

就在這后兩年的時間里，馬爾科到波士頓求學(xué)，與芬威棒球場一街之隔。當(dāng)時是2005年?！拔腋静恢婪彝驁鼍谷荒敲闯雒?。”雖然以前對棒球有所了解，但他只聽說過洋基隊。

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.”

波士頓的求學(xué)生涯告一段落，馬爾科在紐約美林證券公司先實(shí)習(xí)了六個月，后來轉(zhuǎn)為全職。他的美國體育學(xué)習(xí)之路由此正式開啟?！拔页跞朊懒肿C券公司時的兩個領(lǐng)導(dǎo)都是棒球粉。一位喜歡大都會隊，另一位喜歡費(fèi)城人隊。為了跟他們對著干，我自然而然地成了洋基隊的粉絲?！?/p>

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.”

后來，馬爾科換了工作組，他發(fā)現(xiàn)身邊是一群橄欖球粉。為了加入同事們的討論，他也開始看幾場橄欖球比賽?！吧頌橐獯罄?，我跟許多美國人沒有太多共同語言，不過我發(fā)現(xiàn)大家都很欣賞橄欖球運(yùn)動員的體能、速度和技巧。”碰巧，當(dāng)年愛國者隊火力全開，常規(guī)賽季以16勝0負(fù)的戰(zhàn)績收尾?！拔铱瓷系氖且恢軇?chuàng)造歷史的球隊?！瘪R爾科說，“于是我舉辦了一場超級碗派對。”

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.

劇透警告：愛國者隊最終輸了。不過，在嘗試與同事建立社交聯(lián)系的過程中，馬爾科推動了體育粉的“飛輪”。這個飛輪從此轉(zhuǎn)動起來。

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.”

到了下一個賽季，馬爾科又參加了一項(xiàng)粉絲活動：加入夢幻橄欖球聯(lián)盟?！斑@非常有利于我跟其他人拉近關(guān)系，找到和他們聊得來的共同話題，也能促使我更多地關(guān)注、更深入地了解橄欖球運(yùn)動，畢竟規(guī)則很復(fù)雜。”

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.

隨著飛輪越轉(zhuǎn)越快，馬爾科的社交聯(lián)系越來越廣泛，他對橄欖球也越來越狂熱。觀看美國職業(yè)橄欖球大聯(lián)盟紅區(qū)頻道、管理一支夢幻橄欖球隊，二者結(jié)合便成為增進(jìn)他對大聯(lián)盟全面了解的絕佳渠道。

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，馬爾科和幾個同事自主創(chuàng)業(yè)，他立刻想到一個團(tuán)結(jié)隊伍的辦法：與同事一起組建一支夢幻橄欖球隊。無論是在美林證券公司的球隊，還是在新球隊，馬爾科都保持活躍，因?yàn)榧骖檭烧?，他就能“跟許多不同的人建立關(guān)系、保持聯(lián)系”。

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

馬爾科的粉絲飛輪起初或許轉(zhuǎn)得慢，但獲得動力之后就開始自由轉(zhuǎn)動，馬爾科的社交聯(lián)系也隨之變得越來越多。

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.”

最終，馬爾科看到粉絲飛輪給自己的生活和工作帶來了諸多益處。“在工作場合之外跟同事成為至交，會使我們在工作中的協(xié)同合作更順利。一旦成為朋友，就更加會為對方負(fù)責(zé)，誰都不愿讓對方失望?！?/p>

Fandom’s intrinsic benefits

身為粉絲的內(nèi)在益處

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.

我們所說的粉絲飛輪可不是微不足道的東西。它不僅促使你去買球服、看更多場球賽、加深對體育知識的理解，還會推著你開展更多社交互動。我們認(rèn)為，這才是真正的益處所在。

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.”

格蘭特研究的首席研究員喬治·瓦蘭特大概會對此表示贊同。格蘭特成人發(fā)展研究始于1938年，對268名男性哈佛畢業(yè)生進(jìn)行了長達(dá)75年的跟蹤研究，分析了構(gòu)成他們健康和幸福的各種要素。2008年，當(dāng)被問及“你從格蘭特研究的參與者身上學(xué)到了什么？”瓦蘭特回答道：“生活中真正重要的東西只有你與其他人的關(guān)系?！?/p>

Knowing that fandom increases social interactions， we leaned into the idea that it could also elevate fans’ sense of wellness. We began studying wellness-related social science and incorporating wellbeing measures into our own research. Soon， the cascading benefits of fans’ rich social lives became clear. In what follows we highlight the impact of fandom across five wellness markers： happiness， satisfaction， optimism， gratitude and confidence.

既然成為粉絲能增加社交互動，那么我們傾向于認(rèn)為身為粉絲也能提高幸福感。我們開始研究與身心健康相關(guān)的社會科學(xué)，并把幸福指標(biāo)納入我們的調(diào)查。很快，粉絲開展豐富社交活動的多重益處就變得顯而易見。接下來，我們著重談一談成為粉絲對快樂、滿足、樂觀、感恩和自信這五個幸福指標(biāo)的影響。

To measure happiness， we borrowed a scale from the Pew Research Center5， an organization that regularly tracks happiness using a simple three-point scale： very happy， pretty happy， not too happy. Just over a third （34%） of high-value fans described themselves as very happy， compared to 25% of mid-value fans and 20% of low-value fans. More precisely， the bigger the fan， the more social interaction; the more social interaction， the happier the person.

為了衡量快樂，我們借用了皮尤研究中心的量表。該中心通常采用簡單的三分制量表（非?？鞓?、較為快樂、不太快樂）來了解快樂的程度。略多于1/3（34%）的高價值粉絲認(rèn)為自己非?？鞓?，而中等價值和低價值粉絲群體中持同樣看法的人分別占25%和20%。更準(zhǔn)確地說，粉絲的投入程度越高，參與的社交互動就越多；而社交互動越多，粉絲本人就越開心。

Next， we employed a life satisfaction scale， also from Pew， asking respondents to rate their satisfaction with life in three areas： their family， their community， and their personal financial situation. With this added level of detail， we saw even more dramatic differences in wellbeing between non-fans and high-value fans.

我們接著采用皮尤研究中心的生活滿意度量表，要求受訪者對生活的三個方面——家庭、社區(qū)和個人財務(wù)狀況——進(jìn)行滿意度評分。通過這項(xiàng)更為細(xì)致的調(diào)查，我們發(fā)現(xiàn)非粉絲群體和高價值粉絲群體的幸福感存在更加巨大的差異。

We turned to Pew yet again to meas-ure optimism， asking respondents to imagine how various aspects of their lives would look a year out. These included overall happiness， personal finances， connection with family， connection with friends， and connection with the local community. A familiar pattern emerged： the bigger the fan， the more optimistic about the future， across all aspects of life.

我們又用皮尤研究中心的量表來衡量樂觀，要求受訪者設(shè)想一年后生活的各個方面會是怎樣的，其中包括總體幸福感、個人財務(wù)狀況、與家人的關(guān)系、與朋友的關(guān)系以及與本地社區(qū)的關(guān)系。類似的結(jié)果浮出水面：粉絲越投入，對未來生活的各個方面就越樂觀。

Interestingly， high-value fans are much more optimistic than lower-value fans about their connection to their local communities. Seeing this， we wondered if loyalty to a local team might drive this connection. But we found no evidence to suggest this. The connection is not driven by an attachment to a local team or that team’s relative success. Rather， the fans’ greater number of social interactions forges stronger bonds with their local communities.

有意思的是，對于自己與本地社區(qū)的關(guān)系，高價值粉絲遠(yuǎn)比低價值粉絲樂觀。有鑒于此，我們曾猜測這可能源于對本地球隊的忠誠，但并未發(fā)現(xiàn)有力證據(jù)。這種關(guān)系既非源于對本地球隊的喜愛，也不是因?yàn)榍蜿犗鄬Τ晒Φ谋憩F(xiàn)。更確切地說，粉絲們的社交互動越多，他們與本地社區(qū)之間的情感紐帶就越牢固。

As an additional measure of wellbeing， we used The Gratitude Questionnaire6. The bigger the fan， the higher the degree of gratitude， across the board.

為了更進(jìn)一步地衡量幸福感，我們采用了感恩調(diào)查問卷。結(jié)果表明，粉絲越投入，在各個方面的感恩程度就越高。

Finally， it occurred to us that people with robust social networks， and with elevated levels of happiness， satisfaction， optimism， and gratitude， might also move through the world with more confidence. To measure confidence and self-worth among fans， we borrowed attributes from the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. We see， once again， that high-value fans outpace all other segments.

最后，我們想到，有了穩(wěn)固的社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)，再加上快樂、滿足、樂觀和感恩的程度都有所提高，這樣的人大概在生活中也會更有信心。為了衡量粉絲的自信程度和自我價值感，我們借用了羅森伯格自尊量表。結(jié)果再次表明，高價值粉絲比其他所有受訪群體的自尊水平都高。

This is the fandom flywheel in action. Propelled by its feedback loop， the flywheel spins ever faster with each added activity， not only pulling fans deeper into their engagement with sports， but also producing greater social connectedness， which generates an elevated sense of wellbeing among fans.

這就是轉(zhuǎn)動中的粉絲飛輪。在自身反饋循環(huán)的驅(qū)動下，每多參加一項(xiàng)粉絲活動，飛輪的轉(zhuǎn)速就更快一點(diǎn)，不僅促使粉絲更加深入地參與體育活動，還會帶來更強(qiáng)烈的社交聯(lián)結(jié)感，進(jìn)而提高粉絲的幸福感。

When we remove our preconceived notions， connect the dots， and understand the logic that underpins fandom， the connections between fan activities and heightened wellbeing become clear. When leveraged mindfully， that sense of wellbeing can grow beyond individual fans’ lives， positively impacting entire communities.

當(dāng)我們摒棄先入為主的想法，把線索串聯(lián)起來，理解支撐粉絲群體的邏輯所在，那么粉絲活動與幸福感提高之間的關(guān)系就不言自明了。如果合理利用這種關(guān)系，身為粉絲的幸福感會從粉絲個人的生活中蔓延出來，對整個社區(qū)產(chǎn)生積極影響。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎?wù)撸?/p>

1芬威球場于1912年投入使用，是波士頓紅襪隊（Boston Red Sox）的主場，也是目前美國職業(yè)棒球大聯(lián)盟中最古老的球場。

2此處指“飛輪效應(yīng)”。為了使靜止的飛輪轉(zhuǎn)動起來，一開始必須花大力氣一圈一圈地推，但是每一圈的努力不會白費(fèi)，飛輪會越轉(zhuǎn)越快。達(dá)到某一臨界點(diǎn)后，飛輪的重力和沖力會成為推動力的一部分。這時，無須再費(fèi)更大的力氣，飛輪依舊會不停地快速轉(zhuǎn)動。" 3此處指美國職業(yè)橄欖球大聯(lián)盟的衍生游戲。

4美國職業(yè)橄欖球大聯(lián)盟電視網(wǎng)（NFL Network）旗下的一個頻道。常規(guī)賽季期間，球迷可在每個周日下午觀看每場聯(lián)盟賽事的每一個觸地得分時刻。

5皮尤研究中心是美國的一個獨(dú)立性民調(diào)機(jī)構(gòu)，總部設(shè)于華盛頓特區(qū)。該中心對那些影響美國乃至世界的問題、態(tài)度與潮流提供信息資料。

6由心理學(xué)教授邁克爾·麥卡洛（Michael McCullough）等人根據(jù)感恩情感體驗(yàn)理論中的層面觀點(diǎn)編制的六項(xiàng)目感恩問卷。