Fan Support and Player Performance - chicken or egg?

by StereoPete on Jun 24, 2010 7:54 AM PDT

I just saw another FanPost asking which niners jersey someone should buy. In that post they explain some of the obvious choices "Patrick Willis is the obvious choice, but he's not my favorite player" and laments that a couple of others are coming up on wanting/needing new contracts and "they might not be there next year."

I posted a (IMHO) witty reply that he should go for the Joe Nedney jersey because they'll be propping that guy up with a walker and he'll still be hitting 50-yarders.

But that got me thinking. We've all been tough on/ skeptical of Alex Smith at one point in time or another. Many have recently posted something to the effect of "No more excuses, this is his year to shine or show he's a true bust of the highest order." I won't go back over all the things I think happened that inhibited Alex's success (most of which were situational or external factors IMHO) because we all know them.

Imagine this - It's opening day in Candlestick Park. Our 49ers are facing the reigning Super Bowl Champions - the New Orleans Saints - and their superstar QB Drew Brees. Alex Smith and the team run out onto the field to thousands of cheering fans.....

And they are all wearing #11 jerseys.

Other than the obvious ("that would never happen - you're an idiot Pete") - what effect do you think that would have on Alex? On his performance that game?

Ultimately, the question I wish to pose is: Does a "he could be great but hasn't shown it much yet" player get fan support because he performs? Or do we, as fans, choose to support him and, therefore, he performs?

Heck, make that number 85. Or 15. Or 52. Or 21. Or Joe Nedney's #6. :) Or whoever.... the player doesn't matter (well...maybe I made myself a target for proposing that 60k+ SF fans would a) BUY an Alex Smith jersey at all let alone b) all wear them to 1 particular home game...) But I hope everyone sees my point and the questions I'm throwing out there...

I don't have a solid opinion one way or the other - I was just pondering and wanted to see what you guys thought.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors.

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Regardless of how he performs

…Smith is a pretty common name to wear on a jersey.

No offense to all you Smiths and Jones out there but…Yawn?

Are we THERE yet?

by riderless on Jun 24, 2010 2:09 PM PDT reply actions

You need Justin Smith to wake you up?

What we've got here is a failure to communicate.

"I'm just like you, but 10 times better"

by SportsChicken on Jun 26, 2010 7:37 PM PDT up reply actions

It would definitely boost a player's morale

to see more of their jersey’s in the stands.

Alaska is a state, dammit! Can I get a Niner game on TV up here?

by kinglouie33 on Jun 24, 2010 7:38 PM PDT reply actions

I don't think it makes a difference

when you’re on the field it’s going to be very hard to see what fans in the stadium are wearing, other than the team colors.

Logic merely enables one to be wrong with authority

by smileyman on Jun 24, 2010 11:26 PM PDT reply actions

Even if they are all wearing your number?

Again, a totally impossible (potentially irrational) scenario, but you don’t think a player would notice?

by StereoPete on Jun 25, 2010 7:08 AM PDT up reply actions

In that case yeah

just because it’s so abnormal

Logic merely enables one to be wrong with authority

by smileyman on Jun 25, 2010 12:51 PM PDT up reply actions

We should do it for P-52

What we've got here is a failure to communicate.

"I'm just like you, but 10 times better"

by SportsChicken on Jun 26, 2010 7:37 PM PDT up reply actions

Ok...so to drag it back to the beginning...

How much of player performance is driven by fan support and vice versa? If you feel it varies, what are the factors?

by StereoPete on Jun 25, 2010 12:56 PM PDT reply actions

Almost none of a player's performance is "fan support driven"

It’s money-driven… that’s why so many players have “career years” during the last year of their contract…

After all was said and done, a lot more got said than done.

by OldJock on Jun 26, 2010 1:43 PM PDT reply actions

I agree

It’s not like the NBA where certain players “feed off” the fan’s energy.

What we've got here is a failure to communicate.

"I'm just like you, but 10 times better"

by SportsChicken on Jun 26, 2010 7:38 PM PDT up reply actions

I do believe that a team can feed off the energy of the fans present at the game

I’ve played in front of 10,000, if that constitutes a crowd (it was a sold out “stadium”). You can’t hear anything specific, but you can hear and actually feel the noise, and it helps get the ol’ adrenaline flowing, which will help performance (but, as stated earlier, fans wearing a jersey or such has no effect on performance).

After all was said and done, a lot more got said than done.

by OldJock on Jun 27, 2010 2:10 PM PDT up reply actions

Well probably but maybe some guys on the team won't feel the same as others

I feel that in basketball, a player can just take over when he’s at home and fuel himself on the fan’s cheers.

Example: Channing Frye was doing terrible in the Suns/Lakers series and when he made his first 3 pointer at home the entire arena basically erupted, he went on to score several more 3 pt FGs.

What we've got here is a failure to communicate.

"I'm just like you, but 10 times better"

by SportsChicken on Jun 27, 2010 5:53 PM PDT up reply actions

I don't follow basketball at all, and have no idea who Channing Frye is...

but this fits right in to my adrenaline scenario.

As for “some guys on the team won’t feel the same as others”, of course not. No two people are the same, so they won’t feel it the same, but they WILL feel it. When the game’s on the line and the crowd’s in a frenzy, anybody who doesn’t feel it didn’t make the final cut or, if they did, they’re collecting pine splinters in their @$$…

But the initial question posed in this thread was whether or not fan support in the form of having a player’s jersey worn contributes to the player’s performance, and the answer to that is still “no”…

After all was said and done, a lot more got said than done.

by OldJock on Jun 27, 2010 7:54 PM PDT up reply actions

Anyone wish to break away from my specific example of jerseys?

The jersey thing was just one example. Having never been an athlete, I don’t know what other things might affect a player…. perhaps tons of crappy comments about him on his team’s fan page? Hate mail? Fan mail? Awesome e-mails?

I’m kindof grasping at straws here, but thought maybe we could dislodge from the specific example of jerseys…since it was just one scenario that served to ask the overall question.

by StereoPete on Jun 28, 2010 7:08 AM PDT reply actions

Fan support

I think a players skill, pre-game practice, and concentration during the game will reflect the players performance that day.

However, I think a single event in a game like hearing a specific cheer, or noticing fans with your jerzy, or just seeing fans from your team looking at you in support and anxiousness of what will happen are events that could definitely affect a players short-term performance. Maybe for one play or a few minutes.

During any game a player has to concentrate and execute everything he has learned. If concentration goes down at any moment then they could miss a play or mess something up or not do it as best as possible. Being reminded by the fans will get the player to concentrate on the moment (and maybe get a boost of adrenaline) and perform better right then.

Or this moment could alter the players thinking or become aware of something they were doing wrong and adjust for the remainder of the game, thus affecting their performance.

I think immediate fan support definitely makes a difference, but maybe not easily at the level of completely making them a superstar for the entire day, just a lot better for a moment or slightly better than they usually are up to their potential…

by fortyniners on Jun 29, 2010 3:37 AM PDT up reply actions