A person who is a supporter of something or someone is called a fan . The term can be used as equivalent to sympathizer , fan , or fanatic .
For example: “A Barcelona fan entered the playing field to greet Lionel Messi in the middle of the match,” “The fans came to training to support the players,” “I'm a fan of Roger Federer, I don't get lost.” none of his parties."
The group of fans makes up a fan group . The concept is usually used in the field of sports to refer to the group of individuals who sing songs of encouragement to their team in a coordinated manner and who usually display flags.
The fans of a club share various rituals . They can throw papers when their team goes out onto the field or use pyrotechnics as a celebration, to name two common actions in soccer .
Sometimes, fans adopt violent behavior . They may fight with supporters of the rival team, insult athletes or judges or even throw blunt objects onto the field .
At its best, the concept of fan relates to a passion that millions of people share for a sports team, and this feeling of belonging has immeasurable power. It is often said that the love of sport breaks down any barrier, whether linguistic or national, since it allows us to interact with people from all over the world simply using our body.
Let's imagine that a child arrives with his parents to a country whose language he does not understand. At first, your life may seem quite difficult, since years of deep work of adaptation and learning await you to communicate verbally and do such everyday things as watching television or going to the movies. However, if you take him to a park where other children are playing a sport he is passionate about, he can probably join them regardless of their cultural differences.
Being a fan of a sports team, in short, is a very deep and pure question, which has nothing to do with violence but rather arises spontaneously after having witnessed the majesty with which its players perform on the field . This feeling is so genuine that we cannot force it or modify it voluntarily, and it usually accompanies us throughout life.
The true fan does not leave his favorite team in difficult times; On the contrary, he supports him more than ever when he goes through bad times, trying to get him up and shining again in style. In the company of friends and family, or even strangers who share the same passion in a bar or public space, fans have a marked tendency to get together with other people to celebrate their love for the sport and their devotion to their team, reaching to create an energy exchange that is unmatched.
It is common, on the other hand, for the notion of fan to be confused with the idea of barra brava or barrabrava . The barra brava is characterized by violence and committing crimes using their “membership” to a club as an excuse or shield. The fan, on the other hand, is motivated by passion and not by economic interest.
The barra bravas, in fact, may not be fans of the club under which they group. Its objective is to profit through criminal activities such as reselling tickets, extorting certain players and coaches or illegitimate control of some club spaces (charging those who wish to use infrastructure that, in reality, belongs to all members). .