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Q: Given that T20 matches are so very unpredictable, even strong teams can’t be sure of winning. Should there be a call for citizens from both India and Pakistan border to temper their emotions in case their side loses?
A: I understand from where your concern emanates. It’s a legit concern but in a ubiquitous social media environment, this trend of losing temper on the outcome of a match (irrespective of the type of sport) is increasing at an alarming rate. Perhaps this trend is also an offshoot of hyper-nationalism camouflaged as patriotism. There are psychological theories which rationalise crowd behaviour.
- First is Contagion Theory, which proposes that crowds exert a hypnotic influence on their members that results in irrational and emotionally charged behaviour, often referred to as crowd frenzy.
- Secondly, Convergence Theory that argues the behaviour of a crowd is not an emergent property of the crowd but is a result of like-minded individuals coming together. If it becomes violent is not because the crowd encouraged violence yet rather people wanted it to be violent and came together in a crowd.
- Thirdly , Emergent-Norm Theory that combines the two above arguing that a combination of liked-minded individuals, anonymity and shared emotions leads to crowd behaviour.
Why am I going into a conceptual framework for a simple question? Simple, no amount of a clarion call on this subject would cause a change of heart of crowd behaviour as such. It should perhaps be combined with a mix of advocacy of the essential spirit of sports and a some punitive steps for the recalcitrant behaviour. There is no readymade solution to it. Only rational behaviour at every level can mitigate the rampant growth of such negative behaviour.