Why do so many people root for winners, but don't try to be a winner?

[DeletedUser0287]

This is something I truly don't understand.

Why do people want to only root for winners, worship, put on a pedestal, defend, focus on others? Doesn't it ever blow your mind that the majority focus so much of their time on winners in life? Whenever I look at a winner, I don't do any of that stuff above. I only look at them to reverse engineer how they did it and spend all my energy to make myself a winner. I mean you only have one life, why focus on others? This is why I was never interested in sports, celebrities, or became a follower of an influencer.

I know how influence is created, but don't understand the appeal of it.

Examples of the extreme:
1) Followers purchasing tons of merch from the Youtube star that they love.
2) Sports fans fighting over their favorite team.
3) Celebrity stalkers.
4) The followers of an influencer attacking the comment section of another influencer.
5) Defending whatever that high influence individual says, even it is blatantly wrong based on the facts.

I don't care if someone is a highly influential person, I view them on the same level as myself. No pedestal for yah. No elistism.

Thoughts?

 

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[AFMKelvin]

This is something I truly don't understand.

Why do people want to only root for winners, worship, put on a pedestal, defend, focus on others? Doesn't it ever blow your mind that the majority focus so much of their time on winners in life? Whenever I look at a winner, I don't do any of that stuff of above. I only look at them to reverse engineer how they did it and spend all my energy to make myself a winner. I mean you only have one life, why focus on others? This is why I was never interested in sports, celebrities, or became a follower of an influencer.

I know how influence is created, but don't understand the appeal of it.

Examples of the extreme:
1) Followers purchasing tons of merch from the Youtube star that they love.
2) Sports fans fighting over their favorite team.
3) Celebrity stalkers.
4) The followers of an influencer attacking the comment section of another influencer.
5) Defending whatever that high influence individual says, even it is blatantly wrong based on the facts.

I don't care if someone is a highly influential person, I view them on the same level as myself. No pedestal for yah. No elistism.

Thoughts?

It's easier to cheer others. Also our society has lost its strong social cohesion with our neighbors and family. So people look for a replacement through celebrities and their communities.

 

[fastlanedoll]

Because people don't want to go through the process of becoming that winner.

I think some simply feel it's out of reach, so they try to live vicariously through these celebrities.

 

[GravyBoat]

Subbed for other's ideas!

I've never understood this either.

Of course, I know why. People want to feel like part of the "in crowd." They want to identify with something (a team, a famous person, etc).

What I don't get, is why they lack the drive to become the person instead.

My guess is genetics, and also never getting through the desert of desertion.

 

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[SDE]

Cheering from the stands is easier than hitting the ball to the stands.

 

[Alleghenyman]

People who root for winners annoy me. The work of winning is already done - it’s lazy and smug.

In the film There Will Be Blood the protagonist confesses that he likes to defeat people and see them fail. Most of us probably relate to that statement more than we would like to admit. That impulse makes me tend to root for the underdog.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Thoughts?

For the life of me, I can't figure out how a grown man can wear the name of another grown man on their back. Anytime I see someone wearing a sports jersey with some athlete's name emblazoned on the back, for me I don't see the athlete's name, I see "My life sucks but his doesn't."

 

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[peterb0yd]

For the life of me, I can't figure out how a grown man can wear the name of another grown man on their back. Anytime I see someone wearing a sports jersey with some athlete's name emblazoned on the back, for me I don't see the athlete's name, I see "My life sucks but his doesn't."

Ha well said.

I agree with everyone above. The brain is a mystery, but I have noticed that we are drawn to success like moths to a flame. Whether for praise or envy, we go batshit crazy for success. It's like success has an alternative gravity field. Ever since thinking of it like this, I could never look at the term "star" (to describe a celebrity) the same way again.

None of the following ideas are scientifically backed to my knowledge, just my own thoughts. Watching the success of others is like watching porn. At some level, we know we aren't experiencing what we're seeing. Yet, our brains are tricked into feeling the emotions. In the same way as relying on porn for sexual release, if we come to rely on this source of "success" instead of going out to achieve it on our own terms, we stump our growth and develop all sorts of messed up beliefs around "success" and what it actually means. It turns into "having things" versus "experiencing things". This is because people never see or feel the struggles that turn into learning experiences and growth (actual success). They only see and feel the wins, the highlights, and the fancy toys.

Having messed up beliefs around what "success" is can turn ugly. This is why I think social media causes more problems than it solves for the average person.

All that being said, I do find value in having a role model. Role models are positive in that they can help people build confidence and new habits.

However, there is a fine line between a role model and putting someone on a pedestal. Hard to define.

 

[The-J]

They don't think they can.

They don't think they have the talent, the drive, the work ethic, the intelligence, the whatever.

They're imprisoned by their own lack of belief in themselves.

That's how most people live.

 

[Andy Black]

Isn’t it partly driven by a desire to be in a tribe?

 

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[RealDreams]

This is something I truly don't understand.

Why do people want to only root for winners, worship, put on a pedestal, defend, focus on others? Doesn't it ever blow your mind that the majority focus so much of their time on winners in life? Whenever I look at a winner, I don't do any of that stuff above. I only look at them to reverse engineer how they did it and spend all my energy to make myself a winner. I mean you only have one life, why focus on others? This is why I was never interested in sports, celebrities, or became a follower of an influencer.

I know how influence is created, but don't understand the appeal of it.

Examples of the extreme:
1) Followers purchasing tons of merch from the Youtube star that they love.
2) Sports fans fighting over their favorite team.
3) Celebrity stalkers.
4) The followers of an influencer attacking the comment section of another influencer.
5) Defending whatever that high influence individual says, even it is blatantly wrong based on the facts.

I don't care if someone is a highly influential person, I view them on the same level as myself. No pedestal for yah. No elistism.

Thoughts?

This is the cuckoldry age, no wonders.

Instant gratification is turning high testosterone men into weak, unambitious people.

This is no bro science neither. There's science behind "dopamine overdose" and how it makes you much less likely to achieve shit in the real world.

Watch porn 3 times and 5 episodes on Netflix in one single day and then see how dead you feel inside.

MJ describes such stuff as "Hyper-realities" on Unscripted if I'm not wrong. I consider 95% of today's entertainment as a hyper-reality and something that might quickly trap you and destroy your dreams.

 

[PizzaOnTheRoof]

1. Tribalism
2. Talking about doing something triggers the same feeling as actually doing it

This is the cuckoldry age, no wonders.

Instant gratification is turning high testosterone men into weak, unambitious people.

This is no bro science neither. There's science behind "dopamine overdose" and how it makes you much less likely to achieve shit in the real world.

Watch porn 3 times and 5 episodes on Netflix in one single day and then see how dead you feel inside.

MJ describes such stuff as "Hyper-realities" on Unscripted if I'm not wrong. I consider 95% of today's entertainment as a hyper-reality and something that might quickly trap you and destroy your dreams.

Guilty... watching Netflix right now...

 

[DeletedUser0287]

Isn’t it partly driven by a desire to be in a tribe?

Is this something built into us as humans?

 

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[William Steele]

For the life of me, I can't figure out how a grown man can wear the name of another grown man on their back. Anytime I see someone wearing a sports jersey with some athlete's name emblazoned on the back, for me I don't see the athlete's name, I see "My life sucks but his doesn't."

View attachment 32788

The comedian Chris D'elia (hilarious guy) said the exact same thing (slightly different language used) in one of his Netflix specials.

It's true.

Instead of wearing someone else's name, wear the logo of the brand you're building.

Let others wear your name or your companies brand on their back.

 

[Walter Hay]

It's called Vicarious pleasure or success.

If you can't do it, but cheer for those who succeed at whatever it is, you get a similar feeling to what the real doer feels.

A vicarious pleasure or success is a substitute that seems to satisfy without the ability or the effort.

Walter
P.S. One of the meanings of the word Vicar is Substitute

 

[Madame Peccato]

As a (mostly retired) competitive gamer, I'm going to tell you that not only it's a lot of work to get there, but it's also chok-full of terrible moments once you actually get there.

You WILL read people trash talking you, saying how bad you are at the game, and how they'd do it (despite being COMPLETELY UNCAPABLE of doing it). The most infuriating part by far is having people who wouldn't even be allowed around the field due to how bad they are talking trash and pretending they know what they are talking about.

The same happens with regular sports: people will only remember the few last games (recency bias) and determine your worth based on these (unless you are a legend of the game, then you might get a pass for a bit). So if you put up a couple of bad performances you suddenly become the worst player in the world.

I feel like most people would break if they had to read negative comments day in, day out, and so they fear working to get there. Kinda like "rich" people are hated and keep receiving constant criticism, so you wonder if you even want to become one and get all of that hate.

 

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[Thinh]

@MoreValue you should be thankful that people root for winners, are fans of X, support Y, and follow Z.
I am. Without those people, one wouldn't be able to build an audience, a following, sell products, etc.

We couldn't have a chance to be producers if there were no consumers.

 

[FirstLawMotion]

This is something I truly don't understand.

Why do people want to only root for winners, worship, put on a pedestal, defend, focus on others? Doesn't it ever blow your mind that the majority focus so much of their time on winners in life? Whenever I look at a winner, I don't do any of that stuff above. I only look at them to reverse engineer how they did it and spend all my energy to make myself a winner. I mean you only have one life, why focus on others? This is why I was never interested in sports, celebrities, or became a follower of an influencer.

I know how influence is created, but don't understand the appeal of it.

Examples of the extreme:
1) Followers purchasing tons of merch from the Youtube star that they love.
2) Sports fans fighting over their favorite team.
3) Celebrity stalkers.
4) The followers of an influencer attacking the comment section of another influencer.
5) Defending whatever that high influence individual says, even it is blatantly wrong based on the facts.

I don't care if someone is a highly influential person, I view them on the same level as myself. No pedestal for yah. No elistism.

Thoughts?

It's easier to root for a winner than it is to be a winner. I agree with your point. It boggles my mind to see people putting celebrities and others on a pedestal instead of valuing and working on themselves.