In baseball, the negative streak of the Chicago Cubs in the World Series is legendary, before 2016 the Cubs had not won since 1908. But it's not the only one. In San Diego, the Chargers haven't won a football championship since 1963, and there hasn't been a Super Bowl since. The San Diego Padres (baseball) in 50 years of history have never got their hands on the World Series. Cleveland is the only American city with at least three teams that in half a century hasn't managed to take home anything (legendary abstinence): the Browns (football) won the Nfl title in 1964, and are one of the few franchises not to have won the Super Bowl; the Indians (baseball), the World Series in 1948; the Cavaliers (basketball) never until 2016. The Stanley Cup (the hockey title) is missing for many teams. Half of America belongs to the club of perennial losers. Fans of all these teams always hope to win, and in the wait, they risk their health.
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The academic journal "Psychological Science" published a study that documents how, the day after the match, fans of losing teams stuff themselves with junk food, eating out of all proportion, putting their health at risk. On the contrary, fans of winning teams eat healthily: 9% less saturated fat and 5% fewer calories. So why, despite everything, do the fans reaffirm their loyalty after the defeats? Why, as happens in all turbulent relationships that cause unhappiness, pain and stress, do they decide to cut the bond? To try to answer, scholars have been theorizing and updating models for about fifteen years.
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First of all, the fan suffers from addiction. The fan needs the group and to feel part of something that they have in common with other fans. This sense of community can be, geographical proximity, a sense of belonging, vanity (jumping on the winner's bandwagon) or a desire to escape (entering the stadium and forgetting the evils of the world). In conclusion, the fan is irrecoverable: either if he loses (taking refuge in junk food) or if he wins, basking in the reflected glory of his team.
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