Football Fans and Schadenfreude

It's perhaps one of those "biggest mysteries" about human beings. Schadenfreude is an English term (believe it or not!), meaning deriving pleasure from others' misfortune.

Why would any human feel happy at another another's despair? In football, fans feel this emotion more often than not.

One can't help but think that during the business end of a fiercely contested season, teams which are battling it out for pride, honour, trophies, and/or survival are hoping and praying.

Praying for their own performances to peak, and if those prayers aren't answered, for their rival teams' results to favour them.

It was an incredible couple of days of football in the mid-week. Kieran Gibbs' slip allowed Park Ji-Sung to score an opener which condemned a potential classic between Arsenal and Manchester United to become a damp squib.

What would Tottenham fans have made of the happenings at the Emirates Stadium? Surely, they must have laughed out loud at the poor 19-year-old left-back's plight. "No more than he deserves," one might have remarked. "He is a Gooner after all, it was bound to happen to him!" might have said another.

Whatever they said, they must have felt a strange sense of joy at that moment. Not because their team was doing well, but because their bitter rivals were on the verge of getting hammered by their opponents.

The manner in which Chelsea went out was perhaps the most painful way (other than penalties) to lose in football. After conceding a last minute away-goal and having a couple of decisions going against them, while having dominated the game all along—Chelsea fans must have felt horrible, to put it mildly.

Again, one can only imagine what Arsenal or Fulham fans might have felt. Arsenal fans might have not felt elated at Chelsea's painful KO from the Champions League, but there would have been a part of them which might have felt happy. Fulham fans would have certainly gloated at their fellow West Londoners' plight.

Schadenfreude? No, this is what rivalry is all about, isn't it?

The business end of the season evokes a considerable amount of emotions for the followers of teams at both ends of the table. Newcastle and Middlesbrough fans must be feeling nervous, but their game tomorrow night might be more about who makes the crucial mistake than who produces the moment of magic. The team that wins, if there is a winner, will take that one step closer to survival in the Premier League.

Survival for both teams is possible today because of Hull City's profligacy. After having such a good start to the season, Hull have imploded and find relegation a very real prospect come the end of the season. When Stoke City beat them yesterday, they ensured their survival, while putting Hull City in a very precarious situation. 

But Stoke City fans must've felt vindicated in a certain sense that their team ensured safety ahead of an inconsistent, much talked about Hull City side. There must have been a part of them which said, "take that, Hull!"

Schadenfreude? Noo, emotions run high when your team survives the marathon that is the Premier League.

At the other end of the table, Liverpool continue to battle against Manchester United for the Premier League. One can only imagine what would happen if the Reds do pip the Red Devils to the Premier League title.

Liverpool fans will feel that they were right to stand by Rafa Benitez and his men—but at the same time, will feel happy that Sir Alex Ferguson's team lost.

If Manchester United win, their fans will certainly enjoy this title more than others—because they beat Liverpool. Sir Alex Ferguson himself has said that he'd rather see Arsenal winning the title than Liverpool.

Schadenfreude? No, Sir Alex just wants the best footballing side in the country, aside from his, to win the Premier League—if his side doesn't win it, of course!

Human beings are complex—there is barely any doubt in that. But what a fan feels when he/she sees his/her rival team lose is an inexplicable emotion. One cannot call is sadism or joy—they're both very strong terms.

A football fan wants to see the team he/she supports win, first and foremost. But if that doesn't happen, the attentions turn towards the rival teams' matches and how they perform. Somehow, if those teams lose, the fan will somehow feel better about things in life—despite the fact that his/her team has lost.

Maybe human beings just feel happy at looking at others' misery. Maybe it is just a human condition which even the best of us suffer from.

Schadenfreude—gloating at others' misfortune—is something that I have felt many a time, and as football fans, I'm sure many others would have too!