Eli5: Why is England VS Italy so important and heated?
In: Other
It’s a manifestation of tribalism.
In times of economic and social uncertainty, a persons tribal identity, which may be family, neighbourhood, gang, city, country, race, political party etc takes on a new meaning.
Events affecting the tribe become part of the tribes identity and the perceived success or otherwise of their tribe is taken a lot more personally, with an attack or an injustice inflicted on the tribe being taken extremely seriously.
Perhaps the greatest example of tribalism is the Olympics, where the national tribe comes to the fore, in spite of the fact that the success or otherwise of the national team has almost nothing to do with the average citizen of that country. Yet based on their reactions you would think that the teams standing reflected on each citizen specifically and personally.
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