They call them "high-identifiers" -- you know, guys like Berley W. Visgar, a 23-year-old from South Beloit, Ill. who jumped out of the stands and tackled Astros right fielder Bill Spiers in the bottom of the sixth inning. Consequently, visgar himself then closely identified with the boots of Spier's teammates.

Or how about the touching story of the father-son duo that pummeled Kansas City first base coach Tom Gamboa. While we all know that nothing brings family closer than tackling pro-athletes together, you have to hope it doesn't become a Ligue family tradition.

While these are extreme examples of outrageous fan behaviour, it does beg the question, "What in the world is going though the heads of these fans?"

What exactly is a "high-identifier"?

While you're not at home planning the perfect assault of some unsuspecting ball-player, you may feel the intense passion that can accompany the emotionally charged world of sport spectatorship.

A study in Pscyhology Today tells us this: "Fans who become part of the game are what researchers call "high-identifying sports fans" -- people whose identity is intertwined with a team. High-identifiers tend to have extreme emotions in the face of defeat, compared with average sports fans."(1) These fanatical spectators are consumed with their team; they live and breathe their victories and defeats just as if they were right there on the bench.

"When we root for a team we all, in a sense, become its partners, because the team becomes an extension of our ego," says a study from the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology quoted in Newsweek.(2) When a team's results are poor, some extreme fans choose to ignore common sense and decency acting like poorly bred animals. Other passionate fans may exert frustration by performing an energetic jig with colorful language expertly interweaved into the performance.

Are you a die-hard fan? Yes? Don't let it kill you. Psychologists found that rooting for the team of your choice can be hazardous to your head. After a string of losses, for instance, fair-weather fans can cope, but true grandstand groupies are denied that option. They're stuck with their team, in sickness and in health; it becomes part of their identity. "The team's performance reflects directly upon the fan: team success is personal success, and team failure is personal failure."(3)

Although you probably won't be seen on an episode of "When Fans Attack," you may feel passionate about your team. Is your day and the day of anyone around you ruined when you digress into one of your intensely pissed-off moods each time your team performs badly? Why should the results of a sporting event totally outside of your control and in a city 500 miles away cause you to become so distraught you question the meaning of life? Well, there are a few reasons. A number of studies have indicated that the reactions of sport fans often mimic those of athletes:

• High-Identifiers experience intense emotional reactions to their team's successes and failures (Sloan, 1989; Wann, Dolan, McGeorge, & Allison, 1994; Wenner & Gantz, 1989)
  
  
• They possess a high level of knowledge about the team and the players, consequently they report strong team loyalties (Warm & Branscombe)
  
  
• High-Identifiers Form self-serving causal attributions to explain the team's performances (Wann & Dolan, 1994), and may react violently when the team's image is threatened (Branscombe & Wann, 1994; Wann, 1993).

Due to the intimate nature of the fan-team relationship, "Identification with the team is a central component of the self-identity of highly identified fans. Because individuals are motivated to protect and maintain a positive self-identity (Tajfel, 1981; Tajfel & Turner, 1979), the team's performances have strong implications for the self-worth of these persons." High-identifiers cannot distance themselves from their teams after a loss; they are part of the team.

Inability to separate yourself from your team dictates that successful performance of your team is vital in order to keep from experiencing a negative self-identity. Do you fit this profile? If the Spurs beat the Mavs, can you handle the news without considering driving into oncoming traffic? What about your team losing a game they should have won? Isn't that the worst? They really needed the win, but NO! They couldn't do it...AGAIN!

Is there hope for high-identifiers?

If you are letting sports dictate the outcome of your day or mood, congratulations! Your a "high-identifier." Your behavior is not healthy. You are putting undue stress and anxiety on yourself by allowing something that you can't control to control you. So what to do? Well, let's look at your condition two different ways:

1. Your anger is reflective of an event that happened earlier on in life.
   
   
2. You are a hope-junkie.

Only doctor Phil can help you if you fall into category number one, but if you're a hope-junkie then maybe something can be done without following a five-step plan. Hope-unkies are waiting for a huge emotional payoff. You have stuck with your team through the thick and thin, and when they win "OH BOY!" Will it be good! But what happens when they don't win? You slide down the spiral of despair. O.K. that's Dr. Phil lingo, but you get the meaning.

1. The first thing you need to do in addressing your problemis to admit that you have one.
   
   
2. The next thing is to understand that dealing with your problem is going to make your life better in a number of ways; you are going to be living life with less anxiety and anger.
   
   
3. Once you have created the right frame of mind for yourself, you need to visualize how you will react when your team is losing. You must determine to be in control of your emotions; you are the one who allows yourself to lose control.
   
   
4. Your ability to change is in your hands. There is a final step that may be unpopular with some fans. You may need to turn off the game and do something else.

Remember, you are not responsible or accountable for your favorite team's results; their failures are not your failures. If you have recognized that you are a high-identifier and you have the desire to change, you are well on your way to getting a grasp on your problem. Good Luck!

Matthew Palmer is a recent business grad who loves soccer and hockey and would be willing to eat his own weight in Greek food.

Related reading:

• How does your image reflect your true identity? 
• Looking to the spiritual realm for the source of true and lasting change
• Living with passion for life

Notes:

1. "The Crowd Goes Wild," Palazzolo, Rose. Psychology Today, Aug2003, Vol. 36 Issue 4, p14, 1/3p, 1c; (AN 10065933)
2. "Fans who love too much" Newsweek, 2/1/93, Vol. 121 Issue 5, p66, 2/3p, 1c;
3. "Fans who love too much" Newsweek, 2/1/93, Vol. 121 Issue 5, p66, 2/3p, 1c;