Why do sports fans say "we" when talking about the team they root for?

[dragon4ever]

Who exactly is the "we" in phrases like "We need to get this first down," or "We won that game?" These comments are often heard in living rooms, bars, and message boards where people are watching the game on TV. If you don't have a uniform on, you're not "we." And wearing a jersey doesn't count.

This "we" phenomenon seems to be unique to sports fans. For instance, if someone is talking about the Grammys and the award for Song of the Year went to their favorite band, the person never says, "We won!" Or, if they're talking about their favorite movie being nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, the person never says, "We're gonna get that Oscar. It's ours! We can do this!" Why don't they? They contributed money by purchasing CDs, DVDs, tickets, t-shirts, etc., just like sports fans, and surely they provided some vital clapping and cheering.

[Cebby]

Why do we park on driveways and drive on parkways?

WHOMG I JUST BLUE YOU'RE MIND!!!!!

[Chaos81]

I'll tell you why people say we when you tell me why people care about this so much.

[Sandman42]

I don't understand why people care.

[Chip Douglass]

I think you have better things to worry about than how people want to associate themselves with their favorite teams.

[z Revis]

Because it's their team. The team they grew up watching. The team they live and die for. The team they pay money to go to games, buy merchandise, etc. The team they scream for at the games to be the "12th man". That's the way I see it. Fans are definitely apart of the team. Our hard earned money that we spend to go to games and/or buy merchandise goes and contributes to the team. When we go to games and scream our asses off for our team, we're contributing to get that W.. to be the 12th man.

Now, onto the real question, why do you care? It's not really a big deal and I think it's fairly obvious why fans say "we".

[Buckeyes_Doc]

I never do that. It sucks the Bengals lost to the Jets though hopefully next year we can finally win a playoff game.

[ehh]

Listening to Mike Francesca go nuts over this topic over the years is so damn funny. He gets so damn fired up when someone says "we". Who the hell cares?