The Sports Psychology Blog
This Sports Psychology blog comes after Charlton Athletic begin their home game against Blackpool with a tribute to their fans who passed away in 2007.
Football: Charlton Athletic - The 120
Charlton Athletic paid tribute to 120 of their fans who passed away in 2007, with a minutes applause, before their home game against Blackpool. Then the Addicks went on to deliver, what manager Alan Pardew described, as the best home performance of the season. Blackpool were put to the sword by four goals to one. Can the one minute tribute have played any part, in the Addicks display of finesse?
We cannot know for sure. But what if the minutes tribute served to engender a powerful sense of mutualty between players and fans? That the 120, represented much more than the 120. They represented their Charlton Athletic friends and family. Past and present. A sentimented network.
It's a tribute that can only serve to create a potent emotional bond between players and fans. A bond that gives a powerful sense of meaning to the teams next 90 minutes. Emotional energy. A reason to play out of your skin. To give more. Not just playing for you. But for those who devoted their lives to the football club. 120 of them. Plus the rest.
Charlton's 4-1 win, perhaps, was the product of having a deeper well of emotional energy than their opponents. A power that Alan Pardew would do well to bottle.
Note - Emotional energy is the resource that managers seek to build in their motivational speeches or team-building sessions. It's the holy-grail of peak performance. It's the uplift that compels players to run until they drop; chase lost causes; work harder; put everything into a tackle; support a team-mate. It's the glue that binds a team.
