Opinion
The United States is experiencing an invasion of the benevolent kind by countries Donald Trump has threatened to bomb (Mexico), absorb (Canada), and one he has an unrequited love for: Scotland.
The Tartan Army have been drinking the bars of Boston dry, and filling the city’s streets with kilts, the melody of bagpipes, and good cheer. At least up to the moment their team was eliminated by Brazil.
Their MO, according to New York Times global sports reporter Tariq Panja, is: “be loud, be fun, drink all the beer, but leave the people happy you were there.”
A three-hour flight west, and the University of Kansas’ marching band welcomed Algerian players and football fans by donning their jerseys and performing the African country’s national anthem.
In the small Tennessee town of Chattanooga, the Spanish national team were also received warmly with fans waving flags and, per New York Times, sangria, bacon-wrapped dates and watermelon skewers courtesy of the city’s only tapas restaurant.
Back on the East Coast, Norway’s “Viking Row” cheer, where fans move in unison, as if rowing a longboat while chanting, “Row!” has become a World Cup phenomenon.
People from vastly different cultures and opposing sides of the world have collided, and it is a beautiful thing to behold. Rather than highlighting the divisions among us, for the most part, it has been a beacon of goodwill, joy and unity.
This magic is happening at a time when much in the world feels bleak, regressive and xenophobic – a time when it would be easy to sink into a cultural malaise.
Some believe we have already sunken into one.
“The proliferation of wars, increase in mental health disorders, devaluation of speech, and loss of connection to reality are troubling signs of the tipping point our societies are facing,” wrote French journalist, Nicholas Truong in a recent Le Monde feature titled, “The new malaise of civilisation”.
But this moment on the World Cup stage is like positive affect therapy en masse.
“Traditional therapy often helps people feel less bad,” says Dr Kelly Gough, president of the Australian Psychological Society. “Positive affect treatment also helps people feel more good. Mental health isn’t just the absence of distress, it’s also the presence of joy, purpose and connection.”
Positive affect therapy (PAT) is a relatively new approach in psychology, designed to focus on strengthening our connection to one another, cultivating and savouring uplifting moments, and redirecting our attention to the good or successful aspects of our lives.
It doesn’t mean dismissing what is wrong in the world, including, at the World Cup, where there have been accusations of poor treatment by the Iranian team, bans on fans from certain countries and a Somali referee being denied entry to the US. But it does mean recognising that joy can co-exist.
“Although no person is immune from negative life experiences … there can be a tendency to dwell on the bad stuff and what is not going well and which generates a spiral of negative symptoms including rumination, catastrophising and having a less hopeful outlook,” says Professor Maria Kangas, head of the School of Psychological Sciences at Macquarie University.
“In contrast, PAT is about recalibrating this negative slant and shifting towards equilibrium by also recognising what is also worthwhile and meaningful in one’s life including community and broader environment. This latter point is indeed relevant for the current World Cup.”
And though it might not be PAT in the clinical sense, the World Cup contains the ingredients of it, agrees Gough.
“Being a sports fan can help fulfil fundamental human needs for belonging, reduce feelings of loneliness, foster a sense of community and provide opportunities to share and regulate emotions,” she says.
“As with any major event, these positive experiences are not universal, but they can still show the psychological value of shared joy, community and connection.”
The ability to look forward to an event or occasion is another ingredient of PAT. On Saturday morning, when our team, the Socceroos, go up against Egypt, that anticipation will be a communal experience as many of us wake in the dark together, watching with bated breath.
Whether they win is beside the point. It’s the connection, the hope and conviviality that count.
“It brings out the positive nature of the human shared bonding experiences,” Kangas says. “It also provides some relief (and ‘time out’) from the bleakness that is occurring.”
For Americans, whose international reputation has suffered in recent years, the warmth off the field is redemptive in many ways. For all of us concerned by the current state of the world, it is a reminder of the good that exists.
It’s the therapy I know I could use right now. I’d argue it’s the therapy we could all use.
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Sarah Berry is a lifestyle and health writer at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.
