No More Idols. Does the experience of being a fan change as you age?

HunterST

HunterST

Hall of Fame
At a young age, being a fan of a player means something close to wanting to be that player. They're an idol. You want to wear the clothes they wear, play with their gear, and even act and play like them. As I'm growing older, and am now significantly older than the new generation of stars, it seems like that form of fandom will fade away. I just can't look up to or idolize a 20 year old. Sure, we can still admire their strokes and strategies. We can enjoy watching them play, but that youthful habit of idolizing the players doesn't seem to work with players who are younger than you.

I'm wondering if it's possible to be as emotionally invested in a match's outcome without that feeling of idolization. Right now, I still have Federer and Nadal to look up to, as they've been successful sense I was very young. I can get into Federer's matches to the point where I'm jumping up when he wins a big point, or burying my face and cursing when he loses one. I'm not sure I can be as invested in a match between, say, Zverev and Tsitsipas. I would be very interested to watch, but I can't say I would care on an emotional level.

For those of you who grew up idolizing Sampras, Agassi, or even McEnroe and Borg, do you find that your experience as a fan changes? Does it become more about being intrigued by interesting match ups and high quality tennis, rather than rooting for a specific player? Or, can you get behind certain players and still care a lot about their success?
 
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As long as you aren't slurping the cool aid you can find some fault in pretty much everyone. Just enjoy the great tennis. None of these guys are running for pope.

I will say that Fed (generally) is a very classy individual. And I'm not even a Fed fan.
 
I'm more invested in sport without the feeling of idolisation. You take the heroes and villains for what they are STRICTLY IN THE SPORTS CONTEXT and allow old ones to fall and new ones to rise, and take the sport as the big play with many actors and actresses as it is. A neverending soap opera par excellence. That's sport.

This isn't a platform for moral perfection. If Kyrgios rises y'all can enjoy it (he won't). He'd play his role supremely well.
 
-NN- said:
I'm more invested in sport without the feeling of idolisation. You take the heroes and villains for what they are STRICTLY IN THE SPORTS CONTEXT and allow old ones to fall and new ones to rise, and take the sport as the big play with many actors and actresses as it is. A neverending soap opera par excellence. That's sport.

This isn't a platform for moral perfection. If Kyrgios rises y'all can enjoy it (he won't). He'd play his role supremely well.
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Like sands thru the hourglass so are the Days of our Lives
 
HunterST said:
At a young age, being a fan of a player means something close to wanting to be that player. They're an idol. You want to wear the clothes they wear, play with their gear, and even act and play like them. As I'm growing older, and am now significantly older than the new generation of stars, it seems like that form of fandom will fade away. I just can't look up to or idolize a 20 year old. Sure, we can still admire their strokes and strategies. We can enjoy watching them play, but that youthful habit of idolizing the players doesn't seem to work with players who are younger than you.

I'm a little worried this might make I'm wondering if it's possible to be as emotionally invested in a match's outcome without that feeling of idolization. Right now, I still have Federer and Nadal to look up to, as they've been successful sense I was very young. I can get into Federer's matches to the point where I'm jumping up when he wins a big point, or burying my face and cursing when he loses one. I'm not sure I can be as invested in a match between, say, Zverev and Tsitsipas. I would be very interested to watch, but I can't say I would care on an emotional level.

For those of you who grew up idolizing Sampras, Agassi, or even McEnroe and Borg, do you find that your experience as a fan changes? Does it become more about being intrigued by interesting match ups and high quality tennis, rather than rooting for a specific player? Or, can you get behind certain players and still care a lot about their success?
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Nice post and something I wonder often too. Let's see what the others say here.
 
-NN- said:
Ever been to the venues? Quality of footage these days often makes it better to stay at home.
Click to expand...

thats definitely true for NFL. Home viewing is a far superior experience
 
Not being able to idolize anyone younger than yourself seems like a crappy way to go through life personally

What exactly is wrong with idolizing Federer over older players? Between him and Ned they have dragged this sport behind them for a long time. The prize money for winning a slam is more than 5 times what it was when Federer won his first one. The WTF 4 times. His adjusted total winnings would probably be around a ridiculous 300-350 million if he was winning starting now.
 
To answer OP I dont care about someone's age, I was never an idolizer type though, for example I personally don't see the point of an autograph.

In terms of being a fan of someone, their age doesn't play a role for me at all.
 
Deon Sanders said:
Not being able to idolize anyone younger than yourself seems like a crappy way to go through life personally

What exactly is wrong with idolizing Federer over older players? Between him and Ned they have dragged this sport behind them for a long time. The prize money for winning a slam is more than 5 times what it was when Federer won his first one. The WTF 4 times. His adjusted total winnings would probably be around a ridiculous 300-350 million if he was winning starting now.
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I'm using "idolize" in a specific way. I think you can admire people younger than yourself, but for "idolize" I mean the way a 12 year old kid idolizes his favorite baseball player.
 
I am trying to find a young player to get emotionally invested in. It's like online dating. I keep putting myself out there, but they keep letting me down. I am looking to feel that spark. Someone needs to accomplish something great to get that spark I think.

I am rooting for Tsitsipas because of his intelligence, openess, creative game, and overall good personality. I am rooting for Zverev because it's fun to cheer for a villain, and I want to see him overcome his demons. That's about it really. No one else is compelling. To me, anyways.
 
beltsman said:
I am trying to find a young player to get emotionally invested in. It's like online dating. I keep putting myself out there, but they keep letting me down. I am looking to feel that spark. Someone needs to accomplish something great to get that spark I think.
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Therein is summarized the whole problem with this idolization business. If you need to latch on to someone because he wins more than anyone else it's time to examine how you feel your own life is going.
 
beltsman said:
I make a wish every hour when the minute hand hits Bull's slam count.
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You'll be ****e out of luck when he reaches 60 or 61.

ollinger said:
Therein is summarized the whole problem with this idolization business. If you need to latch on to someone because he wins more than anyone else it's time to examine how you feel your own life is going.
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You can see with various fans that if a player is their lone crutch, they just disappear when that player disappears. A Slam no longer becomes a couple of weeks of sporting festivities but something of a chore best off ignoring - few go this far though.
 
ollinger said:
Therein is summarized the whole problem with this idolization business. If you need to latch on to someone because he wins more than anyone else it's time to examine how you feel your own life is going.
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Nah it just means I get to watch them in high drama situations. Frankly, I don't care if some guy is playing his heart out to reach round 2 of a 250.
 
Azure said:
I once asked an elderly lady what she saw in Federer, as in, how she idolised him. She said she feels it's her son playing out there ROFL. So I guess each one has their way of finding a way to support a player.
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lol for some reason I can imagine that scene very clearly in my mind. A sort of happy and slightly wistful tone in her expression before great cinematography showing close-ups of "her son's" form.
 
Azure said:
Hahaha well it's also testament to the fact that these guys have influence that span generations
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I wonder who will really stand the test of time. Sport at the professional level is a pretty recent invention. Plato is going strong after 2500 years. Imagine the sheer wealth of sporting greats that will come over the next couple of centuries barring a Graham Hancock cataclysm. How about a 1000 years.
 
-NN- said:
I wonder who will really stand the test of time. Sport at the professional level is a pretty recent invention. Plato is going strong after 2500 years. Imagine the sheer wealth of sporting greats that will come over the next couple of centuries barring a Graham Hancock cataclysm. How about a 1000 years.
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Ha! There's a saying in these parts - Buddha and Krishna came and went and yet the sun still rises and sets everyday.
 
-NN- said:
I wonder who will really stand the test of time. Sport at the professional level is a pretty recent invention. Plato is going strong after 2500 years. Imagine the sheer wealth of sporting greats that will come over the next couple of centuries barring a Graham Hancock cataclysm. How about a 1000 years.
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In 2500 years no one will remember the sport of tennis

Humans might not even exist or be living on this rock in that much time

For the record no one knows who Plato is or if he really existed. That time is merely an endless passing down of stories and almost 99% myths.
 
I'm mostly a team sports guy (from the US, so everything from MLB to the NFL, the NBA and NFL, probably in that order) with a few individual sports, (mostly tennis) that get me excited. I'm not a betting man, so I don't approach it from that point-of-view; my rooting interests are usually enough to stoke my interests.

The nature of idolization (of these human beings) does change somewhat as you get older, and perhaps, from the age (in my case) that I knew I wasn't good enough to play MLB or pro tennis. Still, even at my age, it's good to be able to admire players for not only their performance level, but also for the type of people they seem to be. The latter is probably more important, than the former - on the gut level - and is probably what I most respond to. When it comes to The Big 3, small quibbles aside, they are all easy guys to root for.
 
People are more passionate about things when younger because they don't have mortgages, careers, marriages or other responsibilities to deal with. So when I was a kid, I lived and died on Lendl's matches. I begged my parents to fly me to his matches (and they complied sometimes). There was no Internet so you had to listen to the radio to get his match updates and scores. It was a different time. It took a lot more effort to be a tennis fanatic with no Internet and no live streaming.

Then as a teen, I loved Andre but saw his faults and wasn't as involved as with Lendl. Still drove to many of his matches, still followed every single match he played, still made it a priority to see him live, but wasn't as hyped up as with Lendl. I was an adult when Fed started interesting me in 2000, so I have never been as "living and dying" on every point as when younger. I love his tennis and will miss him terribly when he retires, but that's the cycle of tennis. Your favorite player will ultimately leave and then you have to find someone else to root for.
 
HunterST said:
At a young age, being a fan of a player means something close to wanting to be that player. They're an idol. You want to wear the clothes they wear, play with their gear, and even act and play like them. As I'm growing older, and am now significantly older than the new generation of stars, it seems like that form of fandom will fade away. I just can't look up to or idolize a 20 year old. Sure, we can still admire their strokes and strategies. We can enjoy watching them play, but that youthful habit of idolizing the players doesn't seem to work with players who are younger than you.

I'm a little worried this might make I'm wondering if it's possible to be as emotionally invested in a match's outcome without that feeling of idolization. Right now, I still have Federer and Nadal to look up to, as they've been successful sense I was very young. I can get into Federer's matches to the point where I'm jumping up when he wins a big point, or burying my face and cursing when he loses one. I'm not sure I can be as invested in a match between, say, Zverev and Tsitsipas. I would be very interested to watch, but I can't say I would care on an emotional level.

For those of you who grew up idolizing Sampras, Agassi, or even McEnroe and Borg, do you find that your experience as a fan changes? Does it become more about being intrigued by interesting match ups and high quality tennis, rather than rooting for a specific player? Or, can you get behind certain players and still care a lot about their success?
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The nature of fandom changes with age.

Fed is younger than me, yet I still idolize him because of the way he plays and carries himself. When I was younger, I was a big fan of Agassi so yeah fanhood can change.

I might not idolize anyone the same way after Roger retires, but I'll sure root for players whose game style+personality appeals to me.
 
HunterST said:
For those of you who grew up idolizing Sampras, Agassi, or even McEnroe and Borg, do you find that your experience as a fan changes? Does it become more about being intrigued by interesting match ups and high quality tennis, rather than rooting for a specific player? Or, can you get behind certain players and still care a lot about their success?
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For me it has changed over the years. I rooted for Lendl more than I have for anyone after him. There is no tennis result today that could possibly bother me.

I idolised a certain football (soccer) player and my local club when I was a kid and a teenager/early 20s man. These modern times have actually been more successful and I am still passionate and watch a lot of games live (though only because I am well organised), but I don't feel as hyped as I used to be. Once you get older, you usually get your life priorities sorted out. As soon as I founded my family and started to work, everything else became secondary.
 
I disagree.

As I have gotten older I have become more of a fan of the sport as a whole and find I idolize favorite players less, if I ever did idolize them. I have a lot more favorites. I also base my idea of favorites on more than just playing tennis and more about who they are as people. I also appreciate all players more in what they are able to accomplish and how it impacts our sport.

I do find, when I don't like a player they usually are a tool.
 
Don't idealize people, idolize only their thoughts and actions which you admire. If you idolize anyone, you are bound to be disappointed because they will have negative points and weaknesses, or you will become one of those who will overlook everything and be their apologist.

As the Rock said in a movie trailer I watched recently, while advising a younger female wrestler: Don't try to be the next me. Try to be the first you.
 
I never was a guy who had "idols" in the sense OP said (including clothes, lifestyle etc.). Everything only belonged to the playing style or in other words: To the player on the court (or on the football field, the track and so on; I was interested in many sports, though tennis was always on top). In my inner circle of friends at home (apart from school) nobody cared much about clothes or any superficialities.

But I knew some other guys who were exactly different: They had the clothes of the stars but always had to ask me how they played in their last match. :-D

And I made another observation: If we played team competitions against other clubs, my teammates with the "right" clothes were always overrated before the beginning compared to me when I just came along with a “boring” shirt, the racquet under my arms and often already wearing my tennis shoes.

As for when I was a bigger fan, back then or now, I have to say: Rather now! In my youth so many other things were interesting, and my friends and me thought the world belonged to us. We were busy with outdoor activities almost all day, and everywhere was something new to discover. There was no place for really big idols, we were our own kings (or wanted to be). If I had the time I watched quite a lot of sports though, much more than movies.

But then when I got older, everything became more monotonous. The other people changed more than I did. Increasingly they lacked enthusiasm for anything special. Always the same parties, always the same conversations about everyday life (school, job, relationships etc.). And the worst: Contrary to the old days appearance now is more important than intrinsic values. Deep inside I’m bored by this, so being a fan is one method to preserve my own enthusiasm and to flee from everyday life for a few hours.

Another reason why I watch more tennis compared to 15 years ago is of course the internet. Back then I had to rely on regular TV programs. Now I watch almost every Federer match regardless where I am and also many old matches from Youtube or other sites.

And as a fun fact: Now that I’m over 30 I own my first Roger Federer shirt. It was a surprising birthday present from my mother. :giggle:
 
There has always been one player I've wanted to win in any period-and it always happens organically.

I idolised Borg when I was younger, switched to Connors when Bjorn retired and then found myself rooting for Lendl, even though he was never my kind of player or personality. Agassi was the natural next step as he was such a fresh, exciting personality and seemed to have doubts and issues -which separated him from the cool-headed Sampras. I disliked Federer's personality (too smug) so I gravitated towards Nadal -a good move, it brought many of my happiest moments watching tennis. When Murray reached maturity I had to support him, as he was a Scottish player with a brilliant, dry sense of humour. I currently probably favour Djokovic, as I admire his ability to defeat his demons.

One things for sure, I wouldn't enjoy tennis half as much if I wasn't invested in any of the players.

Someone will emerge from the younger guys in the next few years who will steal my tennis heart.
 
Our fandom diminishes with age, just like our emotions do. The is the upside and also the downside of growing up. Even though I have nearly everything that I could ever want, I still experiences the highs like I did when I was a kid.

With all of that being said, I wouldn't be able to follow any sport on TV if I didn't have a player(or team) to root for. Half the fun to me is rooting on a player that I want to win. Where this differs is when I go the USO to see everybody live. Once I'm there, then I have to see all of the interesting players, which include Federer(duh), Djokovic, Nadal, and even Kyrgios. Watching tennis live is more about seeing as many of the interesting players as possible. Watching it on TV is about cheering on your favorite.

Everybody is different this way. But this is the way I see it.
 
Good question.

For me i dont think my age is that important. Ive been into cycling longer than tennis, and was a big fan of Greg Lemond. Cycling was never the same after he retired, and i still havent supported a cyclist the same way, even though its been 25-30 years. In tennis there have been two, Edberg and Federer, but i still get emotionally involved, just the same way. For me it probably just happens very rarily. So im a bit scared what will happen when Federer retires, i sure hope i will support someone new before 25-30 years pass:eek:
 
I think that as we mature and gain experience and wisdom, our priorities and our perspectives change. I still idolize Federer and LeBron James not so much for their on-court talents, but for their charitable and community work off of the court. Players like that seem to get it. They make a boatload of money playing a game and while they work very hard at it, they don't perceive their success in their games as life or death or even important. Players like that have a place in my heart.

Pete Sampras is my favorite all-time on the court but off the court he has been such a huge disappointment, to me, about staying involved and giving back to the sport.

I have also come to be more observant and become more interested in the business side of the game.
 
In my case, it has changed. I'm much more interested in the technical details of the wins and losses rather than the ego-driven side of fandom. I don't just want to know who won, but why, in as much detail as possible.
 
BeatlesFan said:
People are more passionate about things when younger because they don't have mortgages, careers, marriages or other responsibilities to deal with. So when I was a kid, I lived and died on Lendl's matches. I begged my parents to fly me to his matches (and they complied sometimes). There was no Internet so you had to listen to the radio to get his match updates and scores. It was a different time. It took a lot more effort to be a tennis fanatic with no Internet and no live streaming.

Then as a teen, I loved Andre but saw his faults and wasn't as involved as with Lendl. Still drove to many of his matches, still followed every single match he played, still made it a priority to see him live, but wasn't as hyped up as with Lendl. I was an adult when Fed started interesting me in 2000, so I have never been as "living and dying" on every point as when younger. I love his tennis and will miss him terribly when he retires, but that's the cycle of tennis. Your favorite player will ultimately leave and then you have to find someone else to root for.
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I remember being glued to our 25 inch Sony with Trinitron and recording every Lendl matches. So much so that I learned my one-hand backhand from imitating him. Even played with saw dust in my right pocket.
 
-NN- said:
Ever been to the venues? Quality of footage these days often makes it better to stay at home.
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Not even. Television never comes close to translating the speed of live tennis at the highest levels. Live tennis can be both humbling and awesome.

125downthemiddle said:
thats definitely true for NFL. Home viewing is a far superior experience
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Not if you are a hard-core, season ticket holding, tailgating Raiders fan. The game day experience for us is (was) purely an awesome good time.
 
You definitely become more cynical as you age and see your "guys" lost more often and especially retire. Only natural. The highs become lower and the lows less painful.


Except for maestronians. That's a level of hero worship that transcends reason.
 
weakera said:
You definitely become more cynical as you age and see your "guys" lost more often and especially retire. Only natural. The highs become lower and the lows less painful.


Except for maestronians. That's a level of hero worship that transcends reason.
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Why did you give up on tio Toni, though? :P
 
I personally never “idolized” my favorite athletes, I just found them likable for one reason or another and so was very happy for their success. I’ve only been an Osaka fan for 2-3 years and she is younger than me, but it was thrilling as ever to see her enjoy the victory (& heartbreaking as ever for poor p3tra)
 
I idolised Sampras, since he dominated when I was a kid/adolescent.

I empathise with Federer, since he is my generation.

I shall only appreciate the excellence of future generations, not emotionally invest in them.
 
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