If we’re being honest, the main reason we root for college sports teams isn’t that we enjoy seeing scholar-athletes succeed. It’s that we think the success of those athletes is a vindication of our life choices, specifically the decision to attend a particular school.
Surely when we cheer for our alma mater, we’re cheering for our own experiences. Those athletes wanted roughly the same college experience we did (granted, they had full scholarships and a professional sports career possibly waiting for them after graduation): They chose to take the same classes we once sat in, in the same buildings and possibly with the same professors. They hang out at the same taverns we once haunted and blast music out of the same dorm rooms. When our teams succeed, we, as alumni, get to credit all the college memories we made with producing a superior brand of athlete. (Even if you didn’t go to college, you probably root for the local team because you think it says something about your state or city.)
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