Amid the weeklong euphoria following the Eagles’ Super Bowl victory, some fans were feeling a lot of emotions — and we’re not talking Chiefs fans.
In fact, a handful gathered at CultureWorks Greater Philadelphia one night for a Sad Boy Fanatics Group meeting, an hour-long peer support group that helped them to recall and process the highs and lows of the past season, and look ahead to the next few months without the structure and rituals they’ve become accustomed to with the NFL season.
“I think it’s really big for people to be able to put the season in perspective and think about what we’re going to do with our lives after it’s over,” said Robert Bautista, who also brought vintage Eagles merch for attendees to purchase. “I think anything that brings people together in a safe environment where we could talk and come together is very important.”
During the hour-long conversation, hosted and moderated by artist and mental health advocate Clancy Philbrick, attendees were asked to pick out their high and low points of the season, who they would like to forgive for some of their in-season frustrations, and what they look forward to in the coming weeks. Answers targeted people on and off the field, tied to the team or within the attendee’s personal lives.
“It helped that we had good conversations around just like reflecting, looking back and seeing how it could be taken too far, or it could be labeled as rude, and how do you check yourself moving forward, or how do you provide that safe space in a sporting environment where, you know, alcohol and shenanigans might be involved,” said attendee Carlos Aponte.
While the dejection of a loss is far easier to identify, Philbrick highlighted that negative emotions can sneak up on diehard fans when the familiar Sunday routines and communities around an Eagles game are no longer in their lives.
“It’s not necessarily like a soul-crushing defeat in a playoff game … I’ve been referring to it as like riding a wave. The wave has ended and now you’re sort of back to life.” Philbrick said.
A happier ending
Previous Sad Boy Fanatic Group meetings have been around losses, including when Philadelphia earned the bleak honor of becoming the first city to lose two major sports championships on the same day in 2022. A meeting after winning it all was uncharted waters for Philbrick, he admitted.
“A standard group at the end of the season would be more about processing a big loss and really processing negative emotions,” he said “This is more about how can we take all the high vibes and feeling of a good season and everything that involves … how can you intentionally consider re-creating that once the season’s over.”
Solutions that came out through the discussion were finding ways to stay connected with immediate communities. Attendees suggested joining rec leagues, hosting dinner parties or just simply having a drink with someone you had been watching games with. The aim was to create a similar intentional time as you would in your communal sporting rituals.
“I think — especially right now, the world outside of sports feels overwhelming at times and a lot’s going on — what we can do is take care of each other and take care of those around us,” Philbrick said.
Philbrick has no group meetings planned, but said he is always “looking at ways to use sports as a lens and catalyst to have important conversations of our time.”
Can we suggest a “sad Sixers fan meeting”?
