Claire Yan, special to wtop.com
WASHINGTON – Sports fandom can spark a roller coaster of emotions ranging from euphoria to depression, but in the recent case of one crazed soccer fan, it brought many sleepless nights and eventually death.
A Chinese soccer fan, given the pseudonym Jiang Xiaoshan by the Sanxiang Metropolis newspaper to protect his family’s identity, died from exhaustion after staying awake for 11 straight days. The 26-year-old Jiang had refused sleep to ensure that he would not miss a single moment of the 2012 Euro Cup games.
Due to the time differences between China and the countries in which the games are being held, most matches did not start until 1 to 3 a.m. for the fans in China.
According to friends, Jiang opted to stay up all night watching the games and go to a full day’s work afterwards. The lack of sleep eventually caught up to him after Italy’s 2-0 win over Ireland on June 18. Jiang took a shower and fell asleep at approximately 5 a.m. He died in his sleep June 19, Time magazine reports.
Such instances of extreme fandom are more common than one might think. Though Jiang’s death is the first reported case of accidental suicide for the sake of soccer, Fox News reports several fans were admitted to hospitals due to exhaustion during the 2006 and 2010 World Cup games.
Julian Ragland, from Potomac, Md., says he only reacted angrily one time when his favorite soccer team lost, but it came nothing close to self-induced sleep deprivation.
“I just threw a fit,” Ragland says. “I didn’t cry, but I was cussing everywhere and yelling at the television. Nothing too violent though.”
Ragland believes that some fans react the way they do because to them, their team is their life.
“When things don’t go their way, they get mad because it’s the one thing they support; that they’re passionate about,” he says.
“It’s primarily based off of passion, and the more passion you have for a team, the more drastically you’re going to react.”
Not only can sports push spectators to self-destruct, apparently it can cause them to react violently against others as well. Soccer fans in Rome are so widely known for their violent behavior that the city has now been dubbed “Stab City” by soccer fans after a number of rival fans were stabbed in the buttocks.
BBC News reports the stabbings from behind are so frequent that there is even a slang word for it in the local Roman dialect, “puncicate.” BBC says that though “puncicate” is not deadly, it can still cripple a victim for life if main nerves in the leg are damaged.
And it’s not just soccer. Many know at least one loyal American football fan that jumps and screams until their face turns various shades of red. Some may also be familiar with the New York Giants fan turned Internet sensation who sobbed uncontrollably after a loss to the Eagles, whimpering, “We were the best team in the NFL.”
Ed. Note: The video contains language that may be offensive to some viewers.
Some fans react so passionately because of loyalty to their home state or country, says Mide Omogbehin, who was born and raised in North London.
“The overall appeal of football is that it’s a beautiful game,” he says. “It allows me to get behind my country or my hometown, and I really feel linked to all the excitement.”
However, Omogbehin says he would never behave unreasonably for the sake of his favorite sport.
“Why do some fans act irrationally? Because people are stupid,” he says.
No one is really sure what it is about sports that can reduce grown men to blubbering tears or, in the most severe cases, push spectators to self-destruction or literally stabbing others in the back.
Much of it has to do with putting emotional investment in something that has no guaranteed success rate, which is always the case in the world of sports.
CNN reports the research indicates that sporting events may release a mix of chemical responses in the brain. Studies show that a winning game can bring fans a rush of the feel-good chemical dopamine, especially because dopamine cells respond most when a reward happens unpredictably.
The brain’s desire to experience these euphoric feelings again causes a greater desire for yet another win, a yearning that could explain the frantic behavior of some fans.
American football enthusiast and Cincinnati Bengals fan Chelsea Jordan of Frederick, Md., completely sympathizes with extremely passionate sports fans.
“There have been times when my obsession with the team has brought out a different side of me,” Jordan says. “During a football game between the Bengals and the Steelers, I got into a screaming match with a 12-year-old Pittsburgh fan.”
“I think that the atmosphere creates a lot of tension and drama that makes people react out of the norm,” she explains. “I think the games can bring out the best and worst in people, but ultimately the emotion is what makes being a fan of the sport so exciting.”
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