Squad Numbers

The psychological concept of Collective Effervescence is “the feeling of energy and harmony that people experience when they come together in a group around a shared purpose” -thanks Google. It is a concept though, which cannot be defined by words and description from someone else, you can only fully understand the pure humane joy it brings by living it. In that instant, you are blissfully unaware of what you are feeling, you are truly living in the moment, you find yourself forgetting all the problems which plague your everyday life. The truly special aspect of this bliss is that it is shared by so many others, I’m talking about this in a Football match going context, so it could be as many as 30,000 people in unison coming together with the same ecstacy.

It starts really with travelling to the stadium, that first kit that you see signals that you are getting closer, you are with your people, you are safe. From personal experience, I can say that coming across fellow fans in random places whilst attending away matches is something of a thrill, it brings with it an acknowledgement of a long journey, and the exhilarating feeling of being behind enemy lines, in someone else’s town. I speak about the feeling of away games a bit in this blog Man United 0-1 Crystal Palace, a day which encapsulates the joy of being a football fan, from the away end. the feeling of being outnumbered, you and your group of companions attempting to be heard over the roar of the home crowd and spur your team on.

The difference in home games and away games is very interesting. Home games bring more of a sensory overload, as you are part of the majority crowd, all chanting and shouting in unison. I personally always get slightly emotional as Crystal Palace walk out to “Glad All Over” at Selhurst Park, as the whole stadium joins in the song to welcome our heroes to their arena. By comparison, away games as I spoke about earlier bring that feeling of 10 against 1, which really plays into almost our primal nature, away games are almost like a fight against this bigger opposition who have more power and strength than you, you are in their territory. That feeling of being outnumbered, whilst in a group is almost reflective of people’s political opinion as well.

Crucially, the people remain the same both home and away, you share that passion and love, which makes both experiences all the more worth living.

Another aspect of collective effervescence is relatability. Football has a remarkable way of bringing people together, regardless of age, race or social class. At times, society can feel incredibly divided, with people politically pertubed and life can feel bleak. Yet, people can forget about all of these issues when they attend football matches and simply enjoy the company of those who think they share a point of commonality with, unwavering passion for the team they support.

I can recall arriving at Crystal Palace vs Manchester United at Old Trafford very early before the game, and having a conversation with the elderly man sat next to me, we spoke about Palace’s season up to that point, and our (my) hopes for the game ahead. We even got onto a bit about our personal lives, he lived in the Lake District, but originated from London, I grew a fondness for him. If I had walked past this man in the street I would have done just that, probably no acknowledgement of each other, and we’d go on living our individual lives, yet love of football brought us together, complete strangers, a man in his 60’s and a 15 year old teenager, nothing in common and at completely different stages of our lives, united.

Right, onto the best bit, the goals and the celebrations. The team are urged on, crowd driving them forward, the stadium holds it breath as the opportunity grows unbearably closer, a collective “Go on” the collective pause, pure ecstasy. It’s complete sensory overload, you lose sight of any detail of what is going on on the pitch due to the leaping up of all around you, your eardrums are pierced by the roar that is let out by the stadium and you forget what you are doing with your limbs. The overwashing collective feeling of joy is unrivalled, it’s an outcry and outburst of emotion, for a moment, just a moment, everything else is forgotten, personal worries, political worries and even football worries just dissappear.

The whole experience of attending football matches is like a drug, and we’re all dependent on it.

Collective effervescence isn’t a concept limited to football however, and I emplore anyone reading this to find something, anything that creates this feeling, as it is an invaluable addition to the life of any human being.