How do I deal with this obcession?

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I have a very strong interest in sports. I'm a huge sports fan, but I do have some strange behaviors with it. I tend to switch back and forth between different sports teams all the time. I'm from Massachusetts and have grown up watching the Patriots and Red Sox. However, I tend to switch back and forth between rooting for them and any other teams. Alot of times what I do is even find myself rooting for other teams at the expense of my Boston teams. I do think I do this because I like to be contrary and draw attention to myself anyway. But, why do I do it like this? Is there something wrong with me mentally and what can I do to stop it? I would appreciate any help I can get because I tried posting about this before and only got 1 reply which didn't help at all. So, please do your best and reply to this post because I find it frustrating that I try to turn to this site to get some advice and insight and no one replies. I don't appreciate it at all. So, I would like replies on this post. If everyone else get replies on their posts, I should get the same. Now please reply.

I would appreciate any help.

Last edited by iluvgod on 18 Jul 2015, 12:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.

There is Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), but it might just be human contrarianism. If it is limited to your sports preferences, it is probably just contrarianism.

By the way, it takes time for new topics to get noticed (sometimes, up to 24 hours). This isn't because people are avoiding your posts, just that they haven't read them yet.

In Utah, the joke is "I support the University of Utah athletic teams, and anybody playing against BYU." Hehe.

Ah, I see. What can I do to combat it?

Hm. I haven't read about therapies. But, I suspect that they would include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. In any case, it is probably a slow process. Start small with the easy self-changes, and, as you succeed with them, move on to bigger challenges. With my own OCPD (kinda, sorta related), I realize that I need to remain calm (eating protein snacks helps a lot) and knowing that failing all the time in my behavior is a lot worse than failing some of the time. So, I don't beat myself up for not getting it right every day.

Combat what? You rooting for non-New England teams? There isn't anything wrong with that, I don't think anything is wrong with you, why do you do it? If you're just getting caught up in the game that's normal, I'm a fan of my teams but I am a fan of sport as well. I love watching guys like Lebron James and Tim Duncan play and respect their accomplishments on the court, they don't play for my team but I can appreciate their talent and natural ability. Now it might not be too popular to be say a Yankees fan in Boston, if that matters then I probably suggest just not rooting for other teams around your fellow New England sports fans.

All I know is that it would NOT of been okay for me to be a Bears fan growing

Does your obsession create any problems for you?

Yeah, because I tend to get annoying about it and make people upset. I do have low self-esteem and always do things to get noticed. It's almost as if this is the outlet in which I do, like an attention-seeking behavior thing. Know I mean? Idk, I probably could've elaborated more lol

If you come to a UK football match and loudly support the wrong team in the wrong place at the wrong time, you could get beaten up - that might help

But you've taken the first step by saying to yourself that you have a problem that you want to address. Now the task is to take small steps to slowly address it.

..." Contrary To Ordinary " - Jerry Jeff Walkwe Or , is there a line is the Alice In Wonderland books which covers this ?

Now, that is some tough-love aversive therapy, especially in Scotland!

I don't see anything wrong with switching to a different team, but then I don't know or care much about the ethics of team sports. From the way I've heard sports fans talking, I get a vague impression that team loyalty is valued and can be an expectation. Me, I suppose I'd just switch if a team was letting me down by boring me, like I say I just don't get the unqualified loyalty thing.

Hmmm......if you yourself think that you're switching in order to get attention.......yes I suspect that's the thing. People who can't get the positive attention they want from others sometimes fall into the trap of going for negative attention instead. I wouldn't recommend it. I don't think the result is likely to be very nice for you, it would only invite contempt. I find people respond much better to me when I'm nice to them and try to make them happy. It often takes a while, and many people don't ever give me the feedback I'd like them to, perhaps because I only thought I was helping them (but actually wasn't doing any good), or perhaps because were shy, or didn't think, or sometimes maybe they were just plain ungrateful. Best advice I can offer is, ask not what they can do for you, ask what you can do for them. And don't wind them up just to get a response.

I love baseball. Mainly for the statistics, but that's a different point. But it seems every season I have a "favourite" team. There is nothing wrong with it at all. A friend of mine (one of the only two that I have and who is actually my father in law) is into baseball as much as I and he also has seasons where he has a secret favourite. I have often rooted for the opposing team just to piss people off for the simple fact that they care way more than I do. Overall, sports are just games and entertainment. As enthralling and exciting as they are, they serve no other purpose that entertainment and exercise for you if you play them.

It's just my opinion, so take it or leave it, but I think you are thinking way too much into it due to the fact that it is an obsession. Things that others wouldn't even notice may give you anxiety for days for the simple fact that your head has been filled with this obsession for who knows how long. I have been there for sure. I just tell myself either "it's just for fun, relax and enjoy it!" or if it is really bothering me I tell myself "it's just an obsession, you'll burn out soon enough and find something else". Those work every time for me because both are true and once I figure out what is going on in my head, I can usually sort it out so it doesn't bother me anymore. But again, just my opinion....

So the nub of the issue is the need to get attention.

Well...find some better, more constructive, way to get attention.

Get good at actually playing some sport maybe.

Start shooting hoops maybe. And work up to team basketball in the neighborhood.