Here’s a fun fact: I never really watch the news or read the newspapers. The truth is, I hardly care to know what’s going on with anything outside my own circle. I’m quite particular about what I listen to and watch for the most part. I never saw the news as beneficial or helpful for me.
Any news worth knowing, I’ll either find through social media, or it will come up in conversation. If I don’t know about it, it’s not worth knowing.
But I have realised how much the news is concerned with other people’s lives, particularly on social media. It’s like The Truman Show in real life. What interests me is our ability to be so invested in them personally. But I guess that’s what makes celebrities celebrities…
Our Beloved Celebrities
Celebrities are those people ‘in the spotlight’. They’re the movie actors, music artists, social media influencers, sports athletes, and more. They make up a large part of our news, media, and entertainment. Most of us have our favourites. We listen to all their songs, watch their movies, and know every detail of their lives.
Besides Instagram’s own profile, Cristiano Ronaldo is the most followed account with over 367 million followers. All the top 10 have at least 200 million. (Personally, my favourite is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.)
All of those celebrities are within entertainment or sports. But those who have died can still be equally, if not more, influential.
On 28th August 1963 in Washington DC, at the Lincoln Memorial, was a day that changed history. One special man was able to change and revolutionise the civil rights movement. Martin Luther King Jr delivered one of the most famous speeches of all time – “I Have a Dream”.
Many others, such as Michael Jackson and Harriet Tubman, dead or alive, still remain a staple of our societies and lives.
The World of Sports
But of course, when talking about following, support and commitment, you have to talk about sports.
Sports is one of the most engaged and beloved means of entertainment worldwide. Sports, undoubtedly, has the most invested and loyal fans than any other industry. The Super Bowl. The World Cup. The Olympics. Tour de France. Rugby World Cup. Cricket World. I could go on. But the fact is, sport is an integral part of western culture.
Collectively, the top 5 sports worldwide have a total of 10.4 billion fans, with 4 billion alone for football (or soccer if you’re in the US). Even the individual teams have their dedicated fans. Real Madrid has a following larger than the population of Brazil!
The Spectrum of Support
But of course, not all supporters and fans are the same; they come on a spectrum. On one end, you have supporters who barely keep up with the sport.
But then you have the other extremes. The crazy fans. They can tell you the name, DOB and passport number of every player and manager from that club. They’ve remained more loyal to their team than they have to some of their friends and family. They haven’t missed a game in the past decade.
When their team wins, they have enough energy to feature in a Red Bull advert. They party, drink and celebrate like it was 1999.
But now turn the tables around, and suddenly are the blue skies become dark and grey. You’ll see the tears flowing. They’ll become solemn and deflated like an old birthday balloon.
I have a friend who went to watch the UEFA finals in 2021. When we lost, he managed to get a video of the unified deflation of England supporters. It speaks for itself…
The Sad Reality
But believe it or not, these hardcore fans and supporters are fantastic role models. How so? They are the perfect examples of unconditional loyalty, passion and love. They support what they believe in, and they live by it. Whether they win or lose, you’ll never see them abandon their team.
They have become so invested mentally, emotionally and physically into their club. It’s a part of their identity. Their team’s victories become their own, likewise their losses.
But how many of us can say we are like that for ourselves? For our own goals? For our own mission? Are we as invested and loyal to our own lives and endeavours? How many of us can say we support ourselves the way we support our favourite teams, artists or actors?
When last were we a die-hard fan for ourselves? We spend so much time and energy on a team we don’t even play for, but not for ourselves. Think about it:
- Even when our team is at the bottom of the league or their results aren’t the best, we still die by them. We remain loyal, but when there is a little hiccup in OUR pathway and vision, we abandon it and give up?
- We aim for our teams to be #1 and strive for nothing less, but yet many of us accept mediocrity in our own lives?
- We walk with pride when we represent our team, but don’t protect our vision and shy away from ourselves and our goals?
- We study our teams, learn about all their history and everything there is to know. But we fail to spend 10mins of our day evaluating ourselves to see how we can improve for the next day?
Shouldn’t we support and invest in ourselves the same way?
The Change We Need to Make
We are clearly capable of it. Those football extremists prove it to us every time there’s a game going on. We see it on the TV, we follow our favourite personalities on social media. It’s proof we can be dedicated and support things external to ourselves.
Obviously, not everyone is into football, though. Some love basketball, NFL, or whatever it may be. But the point is we can.
It’s time we applied the same skills to our own lives. I think it’s about time we were there for ourselves as much as we are for our football team or our favourite artists.
Your goals, achievements and successes should mean more to you than a sports team.
Next time we get the opportunity, let’s be there for ourselves. Be there for ourselves as much as we are for our favourite artist or actor. Take the time out to have faith in our vision. Use the same pride we have with our sports teams, with ourselves. When we mess up or trip up, remind ourselves that’s okay. It’s not the end of the season; we can bounce back.
There is nothing wrong with supporting a team or having a passion. There is nothing wrong with having a love for a celebrity. That’s okay. But let’s not lose sight of what’s really important. Let’s not forget what will benefit us the most. Invest in yourself. Support yourself. Protect your goals and vision. Have that pride and confidence in yourself. Just as much, if not more. You owe it to yourself. Why aren’t you your biggest fan?
