bilko
03-06-2014, 06:17 PM
Why are Hibs so bad ?
A psychological perspective
In my previous post I offered a sociological perspective which explored why, for over a century Hibs had performed below the standard we could logically expect, suggesting reasons why we appear to have developed a culture with a “soft centre “
http://www.scotzine.com/2014/05/a-sociological-perspective-why-are-hibs-so-bad/
This time the aim is to explore some psychological theories which may explain some other “hidden influences” that may have affected Hibs performances. As with the sociological theory I’m afraid to say these also implicate all of us, the players, officials, managers, owners and fans in our present state of affairs.
We are all, during this period of soul searching, looking for answers as to why we are in our present predicament and perhaps it’s worth looking for clues among other professional sports clubs with similar record of fairly consistent failure.
Is it possible that Hibs have something in common the Chicago Cubs baseball team who despite being the 5th biggest franchise in US baseball are famed for their poor performances, they have not won the World Series in 100 years –sound familiar?
They are famous for performing consistently below expectations to the extent that over time they have been labelled with the nickname “the lovable losers”
“It’s (their stadium ) a shrine to losing…. It’s a tribute to 100 years of embarrassment, and it walks hand in hand with the definition of the Cubs.” (Fox sports MLB 22/4/2014)
“There is the mood of low expectations. … It doesn’t really matter if you win. CUBS SUCK, so what – they’re loveable losers. Relax and enjoy it. It is even enjoyable for the players - those loveable losers – for the pressure is off; they don’t have to worry about playing poorly” (psychology today april 23rd 2014)
So the theory here is that the reason for the Cubs/Hibs poor performances is that everyone involved has accepted that it’s ok to play badly because psychologically, deep down, we expect to play badly. There’s further evidence that from a psychological point of view we may actually be disappointed if we don’t do as we expect. Weird though it may sound, is it possible that subliminally we all find there is something inherently likeable about losing and that we all get some kind of psychological benefit from it ?.
“Is something similar going on with spectators? To pick a team that is known to lose is technically to anticipate a loss, but in a manageable, predictable way. There is no real loss to avoid; a win would merely be an unexpected bonus. Backing a more successful team raises the stakes by making wins just as viable as losses, so losing is more of a loss.
Teams like the Cubs/(Hibs) give people a safe space in which to lose. Fans get the benefits of commiseration without incurring any real costs. The predictable losers also allow other teams to win. (economist 14/7/2011)
In the recent book “Scorecasting” (Moskowwitz & Wertheim 2011,) the authors offer a range of theories relating to hidden influences in sport, some of which may partly explain the Cubs/Hibs phenomenon. They examine of the effect of “loss aversion” which is an economic principle that refers to people's tendency, if given the option, to strongly prefer avoiding losses to acquiring gains —another sporting example of this would be when you have an 8 foot putt at golf you tend to go for the safety of two shots for a par rather than the more risky attempt at a birdie, (and the possibility of taking 3 (they show that even top professionals do this)
Is there an argument is that this is something that Cubs/Hibs fans have bought into along with everyone else involved with the club ? (hints here also perhaps of Mr Petries school of management)
So if you accept these theories apply at Hibs we really have got our work cut out – Not only do we appear with a few exceptions to have been pretty feeble for over 100 years but its possible we might actually get a perverse kind of pleasure out of it – !!!
“But, what makes Cubs/(Hibs) fans so unbearable is that they wear their failure like a badge of courage. They truly believe as if choosing this lifestyle makes them noble. They seem to think that since their team is historically rubbish, they are better fans than anyone else. …… that, apparently, is something to be proud of……. People gladly jump on to experience heartbreak and failure. Every. Single. Year. It's baffling.”
(www. cracked.com)
Despite the anger in the press and message boards over the last week or so - will we all go crawling back to Easter road again next season –even although you probably believe, and in fact deep down probably already know that when it comes to these crunch games against Hearts and Rangers we are likely to lose –because that’s what we expect
Be honest-do you recognise yourself ?
This all appears really depressing however these articles are genuine attempt to find an answer. There is something wrong at Hibs –the question is what.
As for poor old Mr Petrie whose become the scapegoat that everyone’s looking to blame, he has made a few cock ups over the years and given he has been around a long time and maybe a change would be good - but look at the infrastructure he’s created and didn’t we all think Butcher was good idea, didn’t we all think Sauzee was a brilliant idea and even Fenlon had a great record in Ireland.
There appears evidence that the problem could be much deeper and more complex than it first appears and that replacing any individual will make little difference. This problem (whatever it is) involves the fans as much as the players and owners.
We all have to take some responsibly if we are to get out of this mess
A psychological perspective
In my previous post I offered a sociological perspective which explored why, for over a century Hibs had performed below the standard we could logically expect, suggesting reasons why we appear to have developed a culture with a “soft centre “
http://www.scotzine.com/2014/05/a-sociological-perspective-why-are-hibs-so-bad/
This time the aim is to explore some psychological theories which may explain some other “hidden influences” that may have affected Hibs performances. As with the sociological theory I’m afraid to say these also implicate all of us, the players, officials, managers, owners and fans in our present state of affairs.
We are all, during this period of soul searching, looking for answers as to why we are in our present predicament and perhaps it’s worth looking for clues among other professional sports clubs with similar record of fairly consistent failure.
Is it possible that Hibs have something in common the Chicago Cubs baseball team who despite being the 5th biggest franchise in US baseball are famed for their poor performances, they have not won the World Series in 100 years –sound familiar?
They are famous for performing consistently below expectations to the extent that over time they have been labelled with the nickname “the lovable losers”
“It’s (their stadium ) a shrine to losing…. It’s a tribute to 100 years of embarrassment, and it walks hand in hand with the definition of the Cubs.” (Fox sports MLB 22/4/2014)
“There is the mood of low expectations. … It doesn’t really matter if you win. CUBS SUCK, so what – they’re loveable losers. Relax and enjoy it. It is even enjoyable for the players - those loveable losers – for the pressure is off; they don’t have to worry about playing poorly” (psychology today april 23rd 2014)
So the theory here is that the reason for the Cubs/Hibs poor performances is that everyone involved has accepted that it’s ok to play badly because psychologically, deep down, we expect to play badly. There’s further evidence that from a psychological point of view we may actually be disappointed if we don’t do as we expect. Weird though it may sound, is it possible that subliminally we all find there is something inherently likeable about losing and that we all get some kind of psychological benefit from it ?.
“Is something similar going on with spectators? To pick a team that is known to lose is technically to anticipate a loss, but in a manageable, predictable way. There is no real loss to avoid; a win would merely be an unexpected bonus. Backing a more successful team raises the stakes by making wins just as viable as losses, so losing is more of a loss.
Teams like the Cubs/(Hibs) give people a safe space in which to lose. Fans get the benefits of commiseration without incurring any real costs. The predictable losers also allow other teams to win. (economist 14/7/2011)
In the recent book “Scorecasting” (Moskowwitz & Wertheim 2011,) the authors offer a range of theories relating to hidden influences in sport, some of which may partly explain the Cubs/Hibs phenomenon. They examine of the effect of “loss aversion” which is an economic principle that refers to people's tendency, if given the option, to strongly prefer avoiding losses to acquiring gains —another sporting example of this would be when you have an 8 foot putt at golf you tend to go for the safety of two shots for a par rather than the more risky attempt at a birdie, (and the possibility of taking 3 (they show that even top professionals do this)
Is there an argument is that this is something that Cubs/Hibs fans have bought into along with everyone else involved with the club ? (hints here also perhaps of Mr Petries school of management)
So if you accept these theories apply at Hibs we really have got our work cut out – Not only do we appear with a few exceptions to have been pretty feeble for over 100 years but its possible we might actually get a perverse kind of pleasure out of it – !!!
“But, what makes Cubs/(Hibs) fans so unbearable is that they wear their failure like a badge of courage. They truly believe as if choosing this lifestyle makes them noble. They seem to think that since their team is historically rubbish, they are better fans than anyone else. …… that, apparently, is something to be proud of……. People gladly jump on to experience heartbreak and failure. Every. Single. Year. It's baffling.”
(www. cracked.com)
Despite the anger in the press and message boards over the last week or so - will we all go crawling back to Easter road again next season –even although you probably believe, and in fact deep down probably already know that when it comes to these crunch games against Hearts and Rangers we are likely to lose –because that’s what we expect
Be honest-do you recognise yourself ?
This all appears really depressing however these articles are genuine attempt to find an answer. There is something wrong at Hibs –the question is what.
As for poor old Mr Petrie whose become the scapegoat that everyone’s looking to blame, he has made a few cock ups over the years and given he has been around a long time and maybe a change would be good - but look at the infrastructure he’s created and didn’t we all think Butcher was good idea, didn’t we all think Sauzee was a brilliant idea and even Fenlon had a great record in Ireland.
There appears evidence that the problem could be much deeper and more complex than it first appears and that replacing any individual will make little difference. This problem (whatever it is) involves the fans as much as the players and owners.
We all have to take some responsibly if we are to get out of this mess