I have wondered since I read the book about a question Wolfe raises:
Why do alumni and fans of a given college care a great deal about whether they win or lose? The athletes are basically recruited mercenaries, not at the school for the same reason as the students (in most cases), not living among the students or living the same lives they are (in most cases), and who are assembled for the purpose of plaing sports.
I am a big supporter of my college football and basketball team, and I don't understand why I care.
I do. They are your champions, in the old sense that they represent and stand in for your group. Their victories symbolically reflect the superiority of your group, and even when they lose, they "fight the good fight", from your perspective. Philosophically, they are your surrogates of the good and the right, against the evil and the wrong. Your support is a form of hero worship.
Furthermore, sports seems to be the last facet of our society in which everyone agrees to honor achievement. We think fondly of Joe Dimaggio and Michael Jordan and Barry Sanders because of the things they were able to do on the field, not because they tried hard, or had the right skin color, or got lucky, or knew the right people. When teams win championships, it's because they're great at what they do.