#1 ·
I was scrolling through my feed the other day and stumbled upon a thread about some university-level attempts to "coordinate" fan behavior for upcoming seasons. It wasn't even about the athletes or the tactical side of the game, but rather this weird, highly structured way of telling people exactly what they should be wearing or how they should be presenting themselves to maximize a certain "aesthetic" for social media. It got me thinking about how much of our modern fandom—and honestly, our social lives in general—is being replaced by these pre-packaged, choreographed rituals.
Don't get me wrong, I love the energy of a big game. I love the sea of a specific color in the stands, the chants, and that feeling of being part of something much bigger than yourself. There’s a primal, beautiful chaos to a crowd of thousands of people all reacting to the same play in real-time. But lately, it feels like there’s this growing push to sanitize that chaos. There’s this subtle pressure to move away from being a "fan" and toward being a "performer."
When you start seeing official or semi-official "schedules" that dictate the visual vibe of the crowd, it feels less like a community coming together and more like a marketing department trying to curate a brand. It’s like we’re moving toward a world where the "vibe" is more important than the actual experience. I remember going to games back in the day where the crowd was a messy, beautiful patchwork of different eras of gear—grandpas in faded jerseys from the 80s, kids in brand-new gear, people just wearing whatever they had on. It felt authentic. Now, it feels like there’s an unspoken rule that if you aren't part of the "color scheme" of the week, you’re somehow doing it wrong or breaking the immersion.
This isn't just limited to sports, though. You see it everywhere now. Social media has turned everything into a backdrop. Whether it's a wedding, a concert, or a stadium, there is this increasing pressure to "curate" the moment so it looks perfect in a 15-second clip. We are increasingly living our lives for the "grid" rather than the moment. When organizations start leaning into this by creating these rigid visual guidelines, they aren't just organizing a crowd; they're essentially telling people, "This is how you are allowed to participate in this culture." It feels incredibly reductive.
I find myself wondering: at what point does the "organized enthusiasm" cross the line into being performative nonsense? If we lose that element of spontaneous, unscripted human emotion—the ability to just show up as we are without checking a manual to see if our shirt is the "correct" shade of red or blue—do we actually lose the soul of the thing we’re supposed to be celebrating? I worry that we are trading genuine connection for a highly polished, highly controlled simulation of connection.
It feels like we’re being coached to be spectators of our own lives. Instead of being participants in a shared passion, we're being told to act as extras in a highly produced production where the goal is to look cohesive for the cameras. It’s a strange shift in human behavior. We used to gather to witness something; now, it feels like we gather to be witnessed.
I'm curious to hear what you guys think. Do you think this kind of coordination adds to the excitement and the "unity" of a fan base, or do you feel like it's just another layer of artificiality being forced onto something that used to be organic? Is the "aesthetic" worth losing the authenticity?
Don't get me wrong, I love the energy of a big game. I love the sea of a specific color in the stands, the chants, and that feeling of being part of something much bigger than yourself. There’s a primal, beautiful chaos to a crowd of thousands of people all reacting to the same play in real-time. But lately, it feels like there’s this growing push to sanitize that chaos. There’s this subtle pressure to move away from being a "fan" and toward being a "performer."
When you start seeing official or semi-official "schedules" that dictate the visual vibe of the crowd, it feels less like a community coming together and more like a marketing department trying to curate a brand. It’s like we’re moving toward a world where the "vibe" is more important than the actual experience. I remember going to games back in the day where the crowd was a messy, beautiful patchwork of different eras of gear—grandpas in faded jerseys from the 80s, kids in brand-new gear, people just wearing whatever they had on. It felt authentic. Now, it feels like there’s an unspoken rule that if you aren't part of the "color scheme" of the week, you’re somehow doing it wrong or breaking the immersion.
This isn't just limited to sports, though. You see it everywhere now. Social media has turned everything into a backdrop. Whether it's a wedding, a concert, or a stadium, there is this increasing pressure to "curate" the moment so it looks perfect in a 15-second clip. We are increasingly living our lives for the "grid" rather than the moment. When organizations start leaning into this by creating these rigid visual guidelines, they aren't just organizing a crowd; they're essentially telling people, "This is how you are allowed to participate in this culture." It feels incredibly reductive.
I find myself wondering: at what point does the "organized enthusiasm" cross the line into being performative nonsense? If we lose that element of spontaneous, unscripted human emotion—the ability to just show up as we are without checking a manual to see if our shirt is the "correct" shade of red or blue—do we actually lose the soul of the thing we’re supposed to be celebrating? I worry that we are trading genuine connection for a highly polished, highly controlled simulation of connection.
It feels like we’re being coached to be spectators of our own lives. Instead of being participants in a shared passion, we're being told to act as extras in a highly produced production where the goal is to look cohesive for the cameras. It’s a strange shift in human behavior. We used to gather to witness something; now, it feels like we gather to be witnessed.
I'm curious to hear what you guys think. Do you think this kind of coordination adds to the excitement and the "unity" of a fan base, or do you feel like it's just another layer of artificiality being forced onto something that used to be organic? Is the "aesthetic" worth losing the authenticity?