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True Believers: The Tragic Inner Life of Sports Fans
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Bestselling author Joe Queenan's True Believers explores the world of sports fans in an attempt to understand the What does anyone get out of it?
For Yankee, Cowboy, and Laker fans the answer is fairly the return on investment is relatively high. But why do people root so passionately for formerly inept teams like the Boston Red Sox, the Chicago Cubs, and the Philadelphia Phillies? Why do people organize their emotional lives around lackluster franchises such as the Cleveland Cavaliers, the San Diego Padres, and the Phoenix Suns, of whom decades passed with only winning a single championship in their entire history? Is it pure tribalism? An attempt to maintain contact with one's vanished childhood?
In True Believers , humorist and lifelong Philly fan Joe Queenan answers these and many other questions, shedding light on―and reveling in―the culture and psychology of his countless fellow fans. Making pilgrimages to such cradles of competition as Notre Dame Stadium, Fenway, and Wrigley Field, Queenan delves into every aspect of fandom in such illuminating chapters as Fans Who Love Too Much (men, like the author, who actually resort to psychotherapy to deal with their unhealthy addiction), Fans Who Run in Front (which meticulously delineates the differences between Retroactive, Municipal, and Vicarious Frontrunners), and Fans Who Misbehave (those who spill beer on women, moon other fans, or throw half-eaten sandwiches at innocent bystanders simply because they look like the current coach of the New York Jets).
True Believers is a hilarious but also heartfelt look into the world of those fans who realize that it is, in fact, more than just a game.
For Yankee, Cowboy, and Laker fans the answer is fairly the return on investment is relatively high. But why do people root so passionately for formerly inept teams like the Boston Red Sox, the Chicago Cubs, and the Philadelphia Phillies? Why do people organize their emotional lives around lackluster franchises such as the Cleveland Cavaliers, the San Diego Padres, and the Phoenix Suns, of whom decades passed with only winning a single championship in their entire history? Is it pure tribalism? An attempt to maintain contact with one's vanished childhood?
In True Believers , humorist and lifelong Philly fan Joe Queenan answers these and many other questions, shedding light on―and reveling in―the culture and psychology of his countless fellow fans. Making pilgrimages to such cradles of competition as Notre Dame Stadium, Fenway, and Wrigley Field, Queenan delves into every aspect of fandom in such illuminating chapters as Fans Who Love Too Much (men, like the author, who actually resort to psychotherapy to deal with their unhealthy addiction), Fans Who Run in Front (which meticulously delineates the differences between Retroactive, Municipal, and Vicarious Frontrunners), and Fans Who Misbehave (those who spill beer on women, moon other fans, or throw half-eaten sandwiches at innocent bystanders simply because they look like the current coach of the New York Jets).
True Believers is a hilarious but also heartfelt look into the world of those fans who realize that it is, in fact, more than just a game.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1,2003
This edition
- Format
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256 pages, Paperback
- Published
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April 1, 2004 by Picador
- ISBN
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9780312423216
- ASIN
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0312423217
- Language
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English
About the author
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Joe Queenan is a humorist, critic and author from Philadelphia who graduated from Saint Joseph's University. He has written for numerous publications, such as Spy Magazine, TV Guide, Movieline, The Guardian and the New York Times Book Review. He has written eight books, including Balsamic Dreams, a scathing critique of the Baby Boomers, Red Lobster, White Trash, and the Blue Lagoon, a tour of low-brow American pop culture and Imperial Caddy, a fairly scathing view of Dan Quayle and the American Vice-Presidency.
Queenan's work is noted for his caustic wit.
Queenan's work is noted for his caustic wit.
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