Reminds me of 'Fever Pitch' by Nick Hornby, a very fine novel. Anyway, he describes how football provides a safe place to express dark feelings such as hatred, envy, triumphalism, disappointment, and so on. And also good feelings such as happiness and pleasure. And also companionship, which he found with his father.
I found it convincing when I first read it, and I still do. I learned about it practically, when I used to watch Chelsea, and I would venture some approval of an opposing player's skill, and would be drowned out by 'yeah, but he's a f*** c***'. Well, both arguments have merit.
