‘50/50’ and Mike Ryan’s Irrational Need to Root for Movies at the Box Office
Right now, the St. Louis Cardinals, a team made up of 25 men that I have never met personally, are playing in the National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, another group of 25 men that I’ve never met personally. I am openly rooting for the players on the Cardinals to beat the players on the Phillies — even though this causes strife with my girlfriend because she’s originally from Philadelphia. It makes sense, though: I am originally from St. Louis; even though I don’t know the players personally, there is a feeling of civic pride when the team that bears the name of your hometown does something good. In turn, when your team loses a game, it makes sense that you’d feel sad deep-down because of that loss. There is nothing that makes sense about feeling sad because ‘50/50’ didn’t perform as well as it was expected.
