Don’t Get Caught Up in the Fan Mentality!
Stop approaching your sport as a spectator! Each person involved has their own role: runners run, coaches coach, referees ref, parents parent, etc.
Know your role – You are a player, an athlete, a participant. This means you must think like a participant, not as a coach, not as an administrator, and certainly not as a fan.
Most athletes have never experienced being a coach or administrator; however, most of us have experience being a fan. We’ve watched track and field on tv at the Olympics, or at a college game, or even at friends and siblings meets. Because we’ve been exposed to track and field from a fan’s point of view, the “fan mentality” is difficult for us athletes to shake.
Fans talk about the importance of the meet, streaks, wins, losses, upsets, records, predictions, rankings, and war stories of individuals. They spend countless hours watching television, listening to the radio, reading articles on the internet, participating in forums, debates, gambling, etc. etc.
We learn all about stats and what indicators to look for in teams and individuals so we can win bets. We know all the stories about people on our favorite teams and past records. We figure out stories and streaks so we have things to talk about while watching these meets with our friends.
We learn very quickly how to become a great fan.
What we do not learn is how to think like an athlete. We just kind of sit back and hope it happens to us. We should be proactive in this process.
Sport Psychology and common sense teaches you to focus on things you can control and stop worrying about things you cannot. When you compete, you cannot think about the stories, records, your opponents scores or times, etc. You need to stop looking at the newspaper, predictions, forums, and rankings.
Many people say that these things do not affect them, so they can still be a competitor and fan at the same time. If that is the case, I challenge you to think of past poor performances. Think of at least 3 of them. What were you thinking before and during the competition? If anything had to do with how good or bad your opponent was, this is partly a result of getting involved in the hype. Walk away when friends and teammates start talking about track as spectators. Do not let that garbage into your mind.
The “fan mentality” is a difficult habit to break. This will take active work on your part, but the results are well worth it. Stop caring what other people think of you, how they will view your performance, what this all means, records, rankings, predictions, streaks, and stories. Read a book on technique or mindset instead of box scores and newspaper articles. Start thinking like a participant.
If you are at a meet, and your brain wanders to the “fan mentality”, bring your focus back to yourself. What are your keys for the race or for the event? Stay in the moment in your pre-race routine. If you are doing a couple of block starts before the race, make sure your focus is in the moment. Focus solely on what your keys are for getting a great start out of the blocks. Since you are already practicing being in the moment before the race, this skill will be easy to carry into the actual race.
Destroy your “fan mentality,” and live in your own reality!