Tribalism

So it has been announced that the St. Louis Rams and the “Greatest Show on Turf” are no more. Say hello to the Los Angeles Rams. The next time we see the famous blue and yellow helmets will be on the well-trodden grass of L.A. Coliseum (well, unless they start with an away match but don’t ruin my flow here). It is a relocation of a mere 1800 miles!

To put that in perspective to my UK readers that is the equivalent of my football team, Everton, suddenly upping sticks and playing next season somewhere like Gibraltar. It is an unfathomable concept for those of us living on this small island (where the uproar caused by Wimbledon FC’s 56 mile relocation to Milton Keynes still resonates strongly, particularly around the London borough). 

Sports teams are part of the fabric of a lot of communities, a source of great pride when things are going well, and utter despair when they aren’t. “Bragging” rights within cities are often worth significantly more than simply 3 points.

But what is it that makes us loyal to a brand, an ideal, a sports team etc..? Is it purely location or is it in fact familiarity and history? Is it that sense of belonging, that feeling of having something you identify with? And what happens when it is stripped away?

How will those NFL fans in L.A. who have been without a team since the Rams themselves left – along with the Raiders – 1994 react? And what about those in St. Louis who are now without a team? Do you follow “your” Rams from afar, or do you seek something closer to home to root for? Within the UK distances are quite a bit smaller and so something on the scale of the Rams relocation simply wouldn’t happen. But in general people will react when their tribal instincts are upset.

Tribalism is a very interesting concept within the human make-up. Rams fans within St.  Louis will feel as though they have been abandoned and many will no longer have a “tribe” to associate themselves with. Within the sphere of sport, this is probably not critically important (though I know Rams fans may disagree) but you can also apply these same principles to the world at large, and the story gets more serious there.

The world is in turmoil, and a lot of it can be traced back to the idea of tribalism – religious, political and socio-economic. Factions (held together by shared beliefs, ideals and goals) have battled each other since before history was recorded. It is inherent in the human condition to find people of like mind, and then to disagree with people of unlike mind. Slights (perceived or real) against “our tribe” are often met with the quickest of retorts, and outside interferences which upset the balance are, by the same token, generally unwelcome.

People want to “belong”, it is an intrinsic need for most humans. And more than that, we wish to thrive. Our tribal needs are (either consciously or unconsciously) seen as more important than competing needs of other tribes and it takes a strong character to be able to see beyond these instincts and understand the benefits of mutual existence.

I’m not saying tribalism is a bad thing, in fact there are many positive elements that can be taken from “pulling together” - the recent floods in the North of England are a great example of how a community united can make a huge difference. But the sense of “us against them” can detrimental.

There are many competing tribes within the world and it is critically important to understand how the tribes we are part of interact with others. How do other people see things? What do other people need from us? What will happen if we interfere (directly, indirectly or even accidentally) with other tribes?

It is very difficult to incorporate these thoughts into our already busy lives. And even if we do it is fair to say that some tribes and some people simply cannot (or will not) be part of the solution. But we have to try. We have to strike the right balance between pride in our tribes and understanding for others.

Human existence is a jigsaw, with many pieces to a large (and ultimately unsolvable) puzzle. We need to work as hard as we can to fit these pieces together in the best arrangement, and to understand how our actions affect these interactions . That takes compromise, communication and compassion.

As for the Rams, hopefully those fans left behind will have a tribe to be part of and hopefully those new fans in L.A. will embrace what has already been built in St. Louis and keep the existing tribe alive.

Till next time,

DT