Jets' playoff run taps into 'our evolutionary roots' and takes emotional toll on fans

The Jets' playoff run has brought Winnipeggers together, uniting them through elation to the point that strangers hug, sing and cheer together.On the nights the team wins, at least.

Ever notice a shift on those days after a loss?

Does it seem thatpedestrians staremore at their shoes than looking for a friendly connection in theeyes of a passerby? Do buspassengers sit in glum silence rather than engaging in animated chatter? Does it take longer for someone to let you merge into traffic?

"It is not at all your imagination," saidDr. MichelLarivire, a clinicalpsychologistand professor atSudbury's Laurentian University. The university's bachelor of arts in sport psychology programis the only one of its kind in Canada.

"There is something about sport, and certainly when the stakes get higher, that draws real deeply into our evolutionary roots of teams, of armies, of combat,of victory and loss. Those kinds of things really do affect our emotions."

Sure, the Jets and their fans experience plenty of wins and losses during the regular season and they adapt to the emotional wave.

There is something about sport, and certainly when the stakes get higher, that draws real deeply into our evolutionary roots of teams, of armies, of combat,of victory and loss.- MichelLarivire

But in the playoffs, when more weight is placed on the outcome of every game, everywin is celebrated like a championship, and each loss is a crushing defeat and a step toward elimination.

"Emotions certainly run very, very high and there's at least a little bit ofresearch to show just howimpactfulthese times are for people," saidLarivire.

A study in theNew England Journal of Medicineconcluded that "viewing a stressful soccer match more than doubles the risk of an acute cardiovascular event."

While some people will dismiss a sporting event as simply a game, that's a simplification of something much more significant, saidLarivire, who is alsoassistant coach of Laurentian'svarsity men's baseball team.

"It is a game but it touches on something so much deeper,on who we are," he said. "And who we are, really, are social creatures that emerged from small groups and clans and then villages, usually around some task that needed to be completed as a group.

"I think these are the strings that it [sports bonding] is drawing on. Sothe more people there are with the same common goaland hope and expectation, who rally together over a common cause, it is absolutely exhilarating."

But when things go bad, for some people the response will be the exact opposite to turn away from others andisolate themselves, he said.

Obsessive passion

BenSchellenberg, a post-doctoral fellow in the school ofpsychologyat the University of Ottawa,conducted research on people's passion for their favourite activities and how that affects their lives.

He said there are two varieties of fan passionharmonious and obsessive and they handle the impact of a win or loss differently.

Forthose with harmonious passion, "lossesaren't great and victories are awesome" but "their emotions arebalanced and in control," Schellenberg said.

The obsessive passion, however, is overpowering and dominates a person's sense of self.

"They really experience the highs and lows of supporting their team," he said of the latter. "Their self-esteem and life satisfaction changes depending on how that activity is going."

Research in Quebec has shown that obsessive fans also tend to have conflict at home as their passiongets in the way of their personal relationships, Schellenbergsaid.

He was involved in a study of hockey fans during the 2012 lockout-shortened NHL season. It revealedthat obsessive fans really struggled without their teams playing, perceiving it as a threatto their identity, he said.

And it was those fans who were more inclined to use drugs and alcohol during the lockout "to get through this time," Schellenberg said.

Coping with disappointment

Sometimes the emotional connection can be so intense, it leads to things like the Vancouver riots that followed that city's loss in the 2011 Stanley Cup final,Larivirenoted.

• Riots erupt in Vancouver after Canucks loss

"It can get to extremes and in those cases, there's a lot of social psychology involved. There's group dynamics that evolve and groups of like-minded people who may be prone to aggression, or sadness or disappointment to act in similar ways."

If people can identify that they're prone to experiencing an emotional crash, there are ways to cushion that plunge, he said.

"In the world of psychological treatment, what we try to do is help people reframe situations that they find distressing and help them maybe understand the situation in a way isn't quite so harmful," Larivire said.

"For instance, the narrative might sound something like: 'Well, we do have a young team so we'll be as good a team next year.' Or, 'there's no other fan like a Winnipeg Jets fan,' for instance.

"It's about how weframe things in our mindand the words that we use to explain things. It helps people cope with whatever disappointment might emerge now or after the season."

• More on the Winnipeg Jets playoff run

Time is also a great healer, although some emotional injuries can last a long time for certain people, Lariviresaid.

"We just have to think about the Chicago Cubs and how long they went before tasting victory again," he said, referring thethe Major League Baseball club, which won the 2016 World Series, ending a108-year championship drought.

To better prepare for the immediate roller-coaster of emotions, Larivire suggests people do the following:

• Try to eat well ("Even though pub fare may not be always the best").
• Try toexercise andkeep active.
• Be with people you enjoy being around.

For the record, Schellenbergwho is from Winnipeg and will join the faculty at the University of Manitoba later this year has been cheering the Jets from afar.

"It's been amazing to watch," he said.

Larivire being of a French background admits he was indoctrinated into being a disciple of the Montreal Canadiens.

"But for the rest of the playoffs, it's go Jets," he said.