May 6, 2025 • 25 mins
In this episode of the Huddle Within podcast, we explore the various characters found in sports group chats, highlighting how these personalities contribute to the dynamics of sports fandom.
From the hot take merchant who stirs controversy to the calm analyst who provides tactical insights, each character plays a unique role in shaping discussions. The episode emphasises the importance of group chats in fostering community and connection among sports fans, showcasing the emotional highs and lows that come with being a supporter.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Welcome to the Huddle Within podcast, where we go beyond the
surface to uncover the real impact of sports on our lives.
Whether it's lessons of resilience, the passion that
fuels us, or the stories that connect us all, This is where
the game gets personal. I am Daniel, a regular sports
fan just like you, and together we'll explore what sports truly
means beyond the surface. So step right into the Huddle
and let's get into it. What is going on everybody?
(00:40):
And welcome to another episode of the Huddle within podcast.
We go beyond the deeper connections and meanings of
sports and how it impacts our lives.
And if it's your first time listening here, welcome to the
huddle. I really hope you enjoy this
episode. And if you do, please subscribe
wherever you get your podcasts and also leave a five star
review just to make that a little bit sweeter for us.
(01:00):
Today we're going to be talking about something that's a little
bit fun and different. It's going to be 8 different
traits or characters per SE in every single person's group
chat. And firstly, the reason why I
want to explain why we're doing this today is obviously sports
fandom comes from a variety of different ways.
But I think the main thing that kind of allow sport fandom to
(01:22):
kind of grow is our everyday group chats with our friends.
When we get the latest news, theresults, a goal, a certain
moment in a game. The 1st place of point where we
normally discuss these things are in a group chat.
Reason being is because a majority of the people that are
talking are in common with the same thing, and you're also able
to get in and grasp different opinions.
(01:43):
Whether it's an opponent, someone that's against your
team, someone that's also rooting for your team, you're
able to get in different connections and opinions.
So in saying that, I'm going to break down, I guess eight of the
different types of characters you get in each group chat.
You can't change my mind on thisone.
I think they're going to be veryaccurate.
Hopefully they relate to you andyou can break down who you think
(02:05):
is this certain character and also kind of get your own
opinion and guess. Think about who you potentially
are as well as a character in there.
I know that I guess it's very subjective.
One time you could be a certain character in one moment and in
another character in another moment.
But I guess without further ado,thought we'd get stuck in
straight away with the first one, that being the hot take
(02:26):
merchant. This person is the one that
always reacts emotionally and immediately, loves to make
outrageous claims and controversial comparisons,
doesn't really care about the content that's happening, is
simply there to just put out pure passion and chaos, and also
loves to be the first one to start arguments.
So some examples are the person that comes in a certain moment
(02:49):
in the game happens, a bad chance of a player or a bad
performance. The first thing they're going to
mention is just a take on that. So let's say Harlan doesn't
score a goal against a big team,they'll call him a tap in
merchant, for example. And that's been notably done on
a lot of my group chats as well.Obviously Harlan is a
unbelievable goal scorer, but there are times where he doesn't
(03:10):
score in the big games. And then the person will come in
and put in a hot take about thatsaying that he's a tap in
merchant. The same is you can see it a lot
in the Messi Ronaldo debate. When one player has a bad game
and the other has a good game, the other person will say that
this person clears a Messi clears in in one aspect or
Ronaldo clears when Messi goes disappearing.
(03:30):
They honestly don't really care about the opinion on self.
They just want to form a bit of an argument in the chat and stir
some people up there. So these are the the hot take
merchants. They're always coming up with
just most obscure opinions and everything just to just to get I
guess a reaction from the group chat.
And they are quite funny in the in the sense, especially when
(03:52):
you're not involved, but obviously they're there to just
annoy the shit out of you. So yeah, watch out for the hot
take merchant. If you are a hot take merchant
yourself, hopefully you embrace the role of being there and it
kind of relates to what you're saying.
But again, it would be great if you was also involved as a fan
as well, but doing a very good job in trolling, trolling your
(04:12):
former friends as well. So yeah, the first one being the
hot take merchant. The second one is the calm
analyst. So the person that always
watches the games is always intoit.
And while everyone is in the commotion of arguing about the
sport, they're sitting there coming in with these very lice,
(04:33):
quick, simple takes. But they're also after the game,
they're dropping long paragraphsand kind of voice notes on
breaking down everything tactically.
They're basically the tactical master class or wannabe manager
coach of of the group chat, thinking that they're smarter
than everyone else, putting out those those calm takes and
everything, also supporting their team, but not really
(04:53):
showing too much emotion. They use kind of stats content
and also looking at the bigger picture as a way to kind of
express themselves in the group chat.
So they're kind of seen as the know it alls.
They're the ones that are more calm and not as our everyday
conventional fans that pour out emotion, that put out the
obscure takes and everything. As mentioned as the hot take
(05:14):
merchant, they're normally the person that is relatively calm,
very analytical, looks into the game and all aspects.
Obviously, if they're supportingtheir team, they're very biassed
towards that as well, but they kind of also feel like they have
a justification as to why the team isn't performing the way it
is with their analytical presence and their pro esque in
(05:34):
that. So we've got the calm analysts
most of the time, and I do know a lot of people like this when,
especially when, when they're supporting the same team as I
am, they're the ones that are kind of calm as well.
When, when, when things are going really bad, they happen to
just be very relaxed and understanding of the situation.
And then when the team does loseand they're proven wrong, they
come back with a bit of an opinion as to why that's the
(05:56):
case, why it's frustrating. What's this, what's that?
And they're pretty reserved whenit comes to that as well.
As mentioned, not not very emotional either.
But yeah, we have the calm analyst as the second character
and then moving on to the third character.
Personally, one of my favourite characters, not something that I
do. It's pretty bad art, but it's
(06:18):
actually the main king. So this person is probably not
the most, I guess, passionate oror knowledgeable sports fan in
an aspect. But what they do so well is they
manage to find the right gifts, memes in the right moment.
They're constantly searching X, they're constantly searching
Instagram, they're constantly searching Reddit for the perfect
(06:39):
picture or content to put into the group chat in that very
moment. They run on I guess different
goals, mistakes, wins and and even put stuff before the match
starts. And their job is to simply troll
us or other fans with the use ofmemes and photos.
And that's their only form of communication during the game.
(07:00):
They're most likely just going to be speaking in terms of memes
and they always crack up a good laugh for everyone.
But again, if you're on the receiving end of it, it's not
pleasant. They're also probably not most
likely watching the game, they're just focused on putting
out the content and also giving those vibes into the chat.
So there might be a massive argument happening within the
(07:22):
game where one team is versusinganother or something's happening
there and they just pull up a meme that kind of just makes
everyone laugh and everyone kindof deters to that instead of the
argument or debate that we're talking about there.
Got to fix this bloody camera. It always has this like focus
lens. Maybe because I'm moving too
much. But yeah, again, the meme king
is always the one that's there to pretty much troll and put out
(07:45):
memes and and just get out the content as soon as possible.
It happens. As mentioned before games, you
can also match an after game. So even at the aftermath of a
result, they're coming up with spectacular memes just to put
into the group chat to add salt to the wounds on on losing teams
or losing fans as well. So if you're a meme king, your
job is very valuable in a group chat, I have to say.
(08:06):
But again, it is, I guess very hard to to receive a meme on the
receiving end, but also funny atthe same time.
It really depends on how good ofa spirit you are and how I guess
important the game is as well. So we've got the main king as
the third character there. Moving on, we've got probably,
everyone's probably been this character at one stage, but
(08:27):
there are certain people or fansthat that take this to a whole
new level and that's the emotional wreck.
The emotional wreck is basicallythe person that literally is in
the stress head, the person thatevery time something happens,
they're on the case. If the person, if the team loses
the ball, if a player makes a mistake, if the referee makes a
bad decision, they're going to crash the fuck out every single
(08:48):
time, every single moment. Their first point of thought is
negative and they are basically raging.
They're saying obscure things, crazy things, and they probably
have the most passion because they have the strongest
emotional attachment to to the game.
It comes to a point even when they threaten to stop watching
(09:09):
the game or they just go on an emotional rant to say basically
that they're never going to watch.
This is bullshit, this is crap, The team's doing bad, but best
believe that when the team performs again, they're going to
be back there the next game and support and continue to have
that emotional tantrum as normal.
Despite whether the team's winning or losing.
They're always going to find a way to to be emotional,
(09:31):
especially when the team wins, they're the ones to go super
super crazy. Obviously being a negative most
of the game, they're able to change their opinion and just go
crazy loco. So if you're a footballer
footballing fan, you're copying scoring a 90th minute goal.
Best believe this person is going to go ape shit in the chat
is going to be showing full emotions with whether voice
(09:52):
recordings or massive screams ofcapital letters type text and
and going crazy as well. It is funny because these guys
when the team is doing bad, you want to see them crash out and
hear the content from them. So these people in the chat, as
much as their emotional wreck, they're the ones that bring
value to to sports fandom because they're often what we
(10:12):
want to see. We want to see the team lose so
we can get the the emotional wreck from this, this certain
fan or this character and and then that kind of gets us more
keen for a team to lose. Like you look at the best
example right now and the reasonwhy this person is getting the
most success. Dan Gorringe is simply the
epitome of a person that is emotionally crashing out when
(10:34):
when Carlton lose. And we relate to that because
every time now we want to watch Carlton play, we want them to
lose. So then we can react and see
what Dan Gorringe will do. And I think he's doing a
fantastic job in that. And I think that's where we see
people connected to fans like him because we kind of sort of
praying on the downfall as well.So the emotional wreck is a
perfect example of that. And someone that, yeah, really
(10:56):
contributes to, Yeah, sport fandom and community and talking
as well, and making the chat a lot entertaining.
And I've got to say, I'm probably one of the big cases of
emotional wreckage, especially going for Manchester United and
having cases where I've seen my team lose games where I felt
that they should have won. And two, when, yeah, I've been
(11:17):
merely disappointed. But they're always, yeah, as
mentioned, saying that they're done.
They just go on these major rants, which are hilarious, and
you're kind of just hoping that the team loses on a regular
basis as well. So yeah, we've got the emotional
wreck as the 4th character in everyone's group chat.
We're going on to now the fifth person on everyone's group chat,
(11:39):
and that is the silent lurker. So these people are basically
never showing up in the group chat, never talking, never
communicating during the match. But just as their team scores or
they start to win, that's when they get involved in the
conversation. They probably put A1 liner
saying go team or what a goal orunbelievable stuff.
(12:01):
But yeah, they're pretty much coming in with the one liners.
If it is in a case of I guess someone doing a mistake or a bad
penalty or controversial moment,they'll come in with A1 liner
saying that they knew that that was going to happen.
So they're the silent lurkers. They're the ones that don't
really want to get into the fandom.
They're probably just waiting for the conversation to pull out
and to put their two cents in toact like they're they've been
(12:24):
watching or being really involved.
They just like to come in like alittle bit later as well.
So normally when the dust settles in a conversation or in
a, in a sporting moment, they'rethey're the ones to come in and
put their kind of two cents in, which is most of the time
irrelevant and annoying. But at the same time, they want
to kind of just also be involvedas well.
(12:45):
They do watch the games, They dowatch the games.
These guys are actually real fans.
They watch the games, but they don't want to inject in
conversation. It might be because they don't
want to jinx their team, or it might just be that they are real
focused or they want to wait forthe right moment.
But again, you've all have a silent lurker in your group
chat, the one that you always see that sees the message but
(13:07):
probably never says anything. And then when the right time is
there, they end up saying something as well.
The next character, this one is the bystander.
The bystander is probably the funniest character in the group
chat. It's the person that, quite
frankly, is always trying to getinto the conversations and by
doing that is trying to get intothe sport and watching the
(13:27):
sport. But they're probably not really
the biggest fan and they can't relate to the same level.
So they come up with some weird questions or some obscure
questions that you think, what are you really watching?
So they are probably watching the game, but they're always
either late to the to the to thetalks or they're coming up with
some random takes that are just unrelated to what everyone's
talking about. Now, when I say that a lot of
(13:49):
people obviously are disagreeingwith each other in the chat, but
they can't find a way to inject themselves in that conversation,
but they want to be involved at some way.
So then they try they try to do that with those things.
They also do ask some really stupid questions, I have to say,
because of the fact that they'reprobably not knowledgeable about
the sport as well and they're obviously not watching games on
(14:10):
a regular basis. They normally TuneIn for for the
big games or where the conversations start kicking on.
They might just turn on the gameand just see what all the the
hype and fuss is about in that moment.
They also do add a bit of humouras well because of the fact that
they're they're kind of dumb, like they're kind of ignorance
is is a bit funny and is a bit innocent as well.
(14:30):
So it's it's always good to havethose people in the group chat.
It kind of breaks up the tensionthat everyone has with each
other with someone that doesn't take it as serious but is trying
to get involved as well. Some questions could be like as
stupid as who's even playing, Was that like a penalty or
should that have been the penalty?
Or this certain player is doing well or bad, but they're
(14:51):
normally not good, but they're playing well.
At this point, they might just have some opinions that are not
really conventional or mainstream to what everyone else
is thinking at the same time. So those are basically, I call
them the bystanders. They're also fans that are
probably not even into the sporttoo.
The next one is the troll. So the troll is the person that
(15:11):
is probably a fan of a certain team, but for some reason they
take more passion and pride in watching other teams fail than
actually supporting their own team.
They do support another club as mentioned, but they exist purely
to just stir the pot in other chats.
So I've got a lot of people likethis as well.
Their teams are probably not as good, but they aren't following
(15:32):
them very strongly, So what theydo instead is prey on the
downfall of other teams. So basically the only time you
really hear from them is when your team loses to come in and
simply troll you. They're kind of similar to the
to the meme to the mean people, but the difference is is that
the meme artists are always in conversations and always putting
out memes whether their team is playing or not.
(15:53):
The troll is simply there just to be against you, not really
supporting their team. You barely hear them speak.
They don't say anything when their team is is playing because
they're more focused on on the downfall of the other teams.
So they also come in with a bit of memes here and there, but
they're very much there to kind of stir the pot and I guess rub
(16:14):
it in if your if your team is losing as well.
So be aware of of the trolls. They're pretty annoying, but
again, very valuable to to a group chat as well to get those
conversations flowing as well. And the last one, but certainly
not least, it's the the delusional supporter.
And say what you want about the delusional supporter, one thing
(16:34):
that I have to give credit to any delusional supporter is the
fact that they are blinded by loyalty.
And what I mean by blinded by loyalty is that no matter how
bad a turn player plays, how badthe team performs, they're
always going to stick up for their team no matter what.
It's always never the team's fault directly.
It always has to be something external, whether it's the
(16:56):
referees, whether it's the pitchconditions, whether it's
something that that they come upwith that is as to why their
team is losing is what makes them delusional but also makes
them extremely low at the same time.
These fans will never miss a game.
I'm talking even the ones in Premier League where the games
are at 3:00 AM here in Australia.
(17:16):
They will never miss the game. They will constantly be
supporting their team whether they're good or bad, and they'll
always have an opinion to say, avery drastic bias opinion for
that matter, but still an opinion nevertheless.
And it kind of infuriates opposing fans as well because
everyone sees into delusion except the person.
But you have to credit that person because they are being
(17:38):
loyal. They are always going to stick
up for their teammates as well. And when you see them win,
they're the ones to celebrate a lot as well and rub it into
opposing fans. There again, they're very loyal,
they always go to games, they'realways putting out their
opinions and they're also very, very, very passionate.
(17:58):
And it does kind of coincide with the emotional wreck as well
because again, they get very emotional when it comes to the
team performing good or bad as well.
But normally the difference thatkind of is between these fans
and the emotional ones is the emotional fans are very quick to
go against their team, whereas the delusional fans always are
positive and always are stickingby their teams.
(18:19):
And no matter what today's your,I guess, 8 characters that are
in every group chat. And I'd like to talk about kind
of the group chats in sports as well and the dynamics and why is
it so important as a fan. And the reason why I want to
talk about that is because obviously most sporting fans
need a place and a community to discuss their sports fandom,
(18:41):
whether they're actually involved or not.
There needs to be a place where we talk about these things.
So as mentioned at the start of the the podcast, when we see a
certain take or a news article or a result that happens in a
sporting group, the 1st place togo to is your group chat.
Because one, it's quickly to access your phone to write a
text message and get the conversations going.
(19:04):
Then I guess going on the phone or watching kind of videos, etc.
Those are things that probably happen after that.
The group chat gets everyone's opinion in real time, real life
reactions. And this is where all the
characters come into play to, toprocess their opinions and kind
of give their their thoughts. And without a group chat, it's
not it's pretty unconventional to be a fan because there's no
(19:26):
way you can kind of exert your energy and give kind of your
opinion as well. So I think that's what makes the
group chats very powerful when it comes to sport.
And for a lot of men's, a lot ofpeople use sport to kind of
bring everyone together as well.So I guess it's really hard to
to talk about signing in a sportand not have a platform to to
(19:46):
express your feelings and emotions, whether you are
emotional, whether you are delusional.
This is a space, space to reallytalk about that.
And it really isn't over until the conversations in the group
chats are finished where there is an argument or a topic or
debate because again, that's where you're kind of able to
express your thoughts and someone that's has been.
With a lot of friends made through sports, I find group
(20:09):
chats the easiest way to kind ofconnect with my friends and kind
of talk about these things as well.
It can go on for hours and hours, but again, it it, it
causes good entertainment and and great things that happen
occurs through through the groupchats.
I think this is where we feel kind of the most joy,
heartbreak, and this is where weget the most banter as well.
I think most of the time when we're watching our teams perform
(20:32):
or we're seeing the results, thefirst thing we're going to think
about is what's happening or what are they saying about me in
the group chat on my team. And that's where you have to go
in and kind of defend yourself and give you kind of opinions
and takes too. So it's really awesome that
we're ever in this world where we have social media.
And despite all the negativity that comes with social media,
there are positives in being able to have a group of friends
(20:55):
you're able to communicate with instantly and you don't actually
need to be physically with them as well.
I think it's also great for using Premier League as an
example because here the games are at 34 AM and I know I'm a
bit older now so it's really hard to to catch the games at
3:00 AM. But I can definitely relate to a
previous experience when I was auni student at 18 and didn't
(21:16):
have any value of sleep whatsoever.
We would be up at 3:00 AM watching the Premier League and
everyone would be up online justtalking about it.
And it kind of was a way to to keep us engaged in the football
and also keep us awake as it wasvery late in the hours,
obviously. So that again, kind of just grew
out our friendship as well. And, and the truth is, yes, with
(21:36):
sport, it just grew our friendship.
It developed our friendship. It made it stronger as well
because we were able to talk about sport and kind of discuss
things that then eventually led to stuff that was, was deeper as
well. But again, that's why I think
the group chats are very valuable and it's just cool to
just see the different types of characters that are in there,
and it's funny to kind of just embrace those characters when
(21:57):
you're also in a group chat as well.
So I guess, yeah, the dynamics of a group chat is extremely
important as well when it comes to talking about sports too,
because obviously you do want a group of people that kind of
relate to you as well in that aspect.
And that kind of what makes the sport fandom deeper.
It's so much different to when you're watching Monday Night
Football, for example, or pundits online.
(22:19):
Yes, they're the experts. Yes, you want to hear their
opinions. But the raw emotion that comes
with being a sports fan can't come from listening to an expert
that just talks surface level without the group chats, without
the communication with your close friends and close peers,
you won't have that kind of feeling of being a fan.
So I think it's very valuable for those that don't have
(22:40):
communities where they can chat to people do reach out and find
people in small communities thathave group chats allows you to
kind of just speak your mind andand then relate to everyday
people and talk about. I guess sport because it is such
a powerful tool of, of life and,and A and a thing where it
brings a lot of people together as well.
(23:00):
Personally, looking at all the characters that I mentioned
above, I would like to think that I am probably the emotional
wreck, especially when the team is doing bad.
I get really crippling anxiety when my team is not performing
because I obviously want them todo well.
And to be honest, occasionally Icould be the hot take merchant
as well, especially when A-Team is doing bad.
(23:21):
I like to just put out my just crazy opinions to to spark some
controversy in the chat as well.But again, that's been the 8
characters there. So just to summarise them, we
have the hot take merchant who'sthe person that obviously puts
out all the controversial topicsand just comes in with hate to
(23:41):
cause an argument and debate. You've got the calm analyst, the
person that doesn't really talk much in terms of getting into
the arguments, very emotionless,but comes up with paragraphs of
tactical breakdowns of every game and acts like they are the
expert. You've got the meme king that's
simply just talks in memes. They don't have any text or
social involvement, they just Simply put out gifts or memes
(24:05):
when something certain happens in a sporting game, you've got
the emotional wreck. The person that basically just
crashes out in every moment saysthey're going to stop watching,
but best believe they're always going to be at the next game
watching and throwing out their emotions.
You've got the silent lurker whoonly comes in when it's
convenient or when the heat kindof dies down after a debate or a
conversation. You've also got your bystander.
(24:28):
The bystander is someone that tries to be involved and tries
to get involved in the conversation, but is the one
that usually just asks the stupid questions and doesn't
really get involved in the sport.
You've got also the troll. The troll is the person that's
simply there to stir the opponents and don't really care
about their own teams as long asthey piss off someone else
(24:49):
that's in another team where they're suffering.
And the last but certainly not least is the delusional
supporter. This person's the most loyal and
no matter how bad the team goes,they're always going to be the
one to blindly support them to the end.
So there you have it. Those are my 8 characters in
sports in a group chat. I hope you guys enjoyed this
(25:09):
episode and I will catch you guys next week.
Cheers. So that's a wrap for this week's
episode of the Huddle Within podcast.
I appreciate you for tuning in and being part of this community
where we go beyond on the game and into what really matters.
If this episode resonated with you, make sure to subscribe,
leave a review, and share it with someone who sees sports
just the way that we do. And hey, I'd love to hear from
(25:31):
you. Connect with me on my social
medias, which will be linked below, send in your thoughts and
even be part of a future episode.
Until next time, keep that passion alive, stay in the
huddle, and remember it's alwaysdeeper than the game.
Cheers.
Welcome to the Huddle Within podcast, where we go beyond the
surface to uncover the real impact of sports on our lives.
Whether it's lessons of resilience, the passion that
fuels us, or the stories that connect us all, This is where
the game gets personal. I am Daniel, a regular sports
fan just like you, and together we'll explore what sports truly
means beyond the surface. So step right into the Huddle
and let's get into it. What is going on everybody?
(00:40):
And welcome to another episode of the Huddle within podcast.
We go beyond the deeper connections and meanings of
sports and how it impacts our lives.
And if it's your first time listening here, welcome to the
huddle. I really hope you enjoy this
episode. And if you do, please subscribe
wherever you get your podcasts and also leave a five star
review just to make that a little bit sweeter for us.
(01:00):
Today we're going to be talking about something that's a little
bit fun and different. It's going to be 8 different
traits or characters per SE in every single person's group
chat. And firstly, the reason why I
want to explain why we're doing this today is obviously sports
fandom comes from a variety of different ways.
But I think the main thing that kind of allow sport fandom to
(01:22):
kind of grow is our everyday group chats with our friends.
When we get the latest news, theresults, a goal, a certain
moment in a game. The 1st place of point where we
normally discuss these things are in a group chat.
Reason being is because a majority of the people that are
talking are in common with the same thing, and you're also able
to get in and grasp different opinions.
(01:43):
Whether it's an opponent, someone that's against your
team, someone that's also rooting for your team, you're
able to get in different connections and opinions.
So in saying that, I'm going to break down, I guess eight of the
different types of characters you get in each group chat.
You can't change my mind on thisone.
I think they're going to be veryaccurate.
Hopefully they relate to you andyou can break down who you think
(02:05):
is this certain character and also kind of get your own
opinion and guess. Think about who you potentially
are as well as a character in there.
I know that I guess it's very subjective.
One time you could be a certain character in one moment and in
another character in another moment.
But I guess without further ado,thought we'd get stuck in
straight away with the first one, that being the hot take
(02:26):
merchant. This person is the one that
always reacts emotionally and immediately, loves to make
outrageous claims and controversial comparisons,
doesn't really care about the content that's happening, is
simply there to just put out pure passion and chaos, and also
loves to be the first one to start arguments.
So some examples are the person that comes in a certain moment
(02:49):
in the game happens, a bad chance of a player or a bad
performance. The first thing they're going to
mention is just a take on that. So let's say Harlan doesn't
score a goal against a big team,they'll call him a tap in
merchant, for example. And that's been notably done on
a lot of my group chats as well.Obviously Harlan is a
unbelievable goal scorer, but there are times where he doesn't
(03:10):
score in the big games. And then the person will come in
and put in a hot take about thatsaying that he's a tap in
merchant. The same is you can see it a lot
in the Messi Ronaldo debate. When one player has a bad game
and the other has a good game, the other person will say that
this person clears a Messi clears in in one aspect or
Ronaldo clears when Messi goes disappearing.
(03:30):
They honestly don't really care about the opinion on self.
They just want to form a bit of an argument in the chat and stir
some people up there. So these are the the hot take
merchants. They're always coming up with
just most obscure opinions and everything just to just to get I
guess a reaction from the group chat.
And they are quite funny in the in the sense, especially when
(03:52):
you're not involved, but obviously they're there to just
annoy the shit out of you. So yeah, watch out for the hot
take merchant. If you are a hot take merchant
yourself, hopefully you embrace the role of being there and it
kind of relates to what you're saying.
But again, it would be great if you was also involved as a fan
as well, but doing a very good job in trolling, trolling your
(04:12):
former friends as well. So yeah, the first one being the
hot take merchant. The second one is the calm
analyst. So the person that always
watches the games is always intoit.
And while everyone is in the commotion of arguing about the
sport, they're sitting there coming in with these very lice,
(04:33):
quick, simple takes. But they're also after the game,
they're dropping long paragraphsand kind of voice notes on
breaking down everything tactically.
They're basically the tactical master class or wannabe manager
coach of of the group chat, thinking that they're smarter
than everyone else, putting out those those calm takes and
everything, also supporting their team, but not really
(04:53):
showing too much emotion. They use kind of stats content
and also looking at the bigger picture as a way to kind of
express themselves in the group chat.
So they're kind of seen as the know it alls.
They're the ones that are more calm and not as our everyday
conventional fans that pour out emotion, that put out the
obscure takes and everything. As mentioned as the hot take
(05:14):
merchant, they're normally the person that is relatively calm,
very analytical, looks into the game and all aspects.
Obviously, if they're supportingtheir team, they're very biassed
towards that as well, but they kind of also feel like they have
a justification as to why the team isn't performing the way it
is with their analytical presence and their pro esque in
(05:34):
that. So we've got the calm analysts
most of the time, and I do know a lot of people like this when,
especially when, when they're supporting the same team as I
am, they're the ones that are kind of calm as well.
When, when, when things are going really bad, they happen to
just be very relaxed and understanding of the situation.
And then when the team does loseand they're proven wrong, they
come back with a bit of an opinion as to why that's the
(05:56):
case, why it's frustrating. What's this, what's that?
And they're pretty reserved whenit comes to that as well.
As mentioned, not not very emotional either.
But yeah, we have the calm analyst as the second character
and then moving on to the third character.
Personally, one of my favourite characters, not something that I
do. It's pretty bad art, but it's
(06:18):
actually the main king. So this person is probably not
the most, I guess, passionate oror knowledgeable sports fan in
an aspect. But what they do so well is they
manage to find the right gifts, memes in the right moment.
They're constantly searching X, they're constantly searching
Instagram, they're constantly searching Reddit for the perfect
(06:39):
picture or content to put into the group chat in that very
moment. They run on I guess different
goals, mistakes, wins and and even put stuff before the match
starts. And their job is to simply troll
us or other fans with the use ofmemes and photos.
And that's their only form of communication during the game.
(07:00):
They're most likely just going to be speaking in terms of memes
and they always crack up a good laugh for everyone.
But again, if you're on the receiving end of it, it's not
pleasant. They're also probably not most
likely watching the game, they're just focused on putting
out the content and also giving those vibes into the chat.
So there might be a massive argument happening within the
(07:22):
game where one team is versusinganother or something's happening
there and they just pull up a meme that kind of just makes
everyone laugh and everyone kindof deters to that instead of the
argument or debate that we're talking about there.
Got to fix this bloody camera. It always has this like focus
lens. Maybe because I'm moving too
much. But yeah, again, the meme king
is always the one that's there to pretty much troll and put out
(07:45):
memes and and just get out the content as soon as possible.
It happens. As mentioned before games, you
can also match an after game. So even at the aftermath of a
result, they're coming up with spectacular memes just to put
into the group chat to add salt to the wounds on on losing teams
or losing fans as well. So if you're a meme king, your
job is very valuable in a group chat, I have to say.
(08:06):
But again, it is, I guess very hard to to receive a meme on the
receiving end, but also funny atthe same time.
It really depends on how good ofa spirit you are and how I guess
important the game is as well. So we've got the main king as
the third character there. Moving on, we've got probably,
everyone's probably been this character at one stage, but
(08:27):
there are certain people or fansthat that take this to a whole
new level and that's the emotional wreck.
The emotional wreck is basicallythe person that literally is in
the stress head, the person thatevery time something happens,
they're on the case. If the person, if the team loses
the ball, if a player makes a mistake, if the referee makes a
bad decision, they're going to crash the fuck out every single
(08:48):
time, every single moment. Their first point of thought is
negative and they are basically raging.
They're saying obscure things, crazy things, and they probably
have the most passion because they have the strongest
emotional attachment to to the game.
It comes to a point even when they threaten to stop watching
(09:09):
the game or they just go on an emotional rant to say basically
that they're never going to watch.
This is bullshit, this is crap, The team's doing bad, but best
believe that when the team performs again, they're going to
be back there the next game and support and continue to have
that emotional tantrum as normal.
Despite whether the team's winning or losing.
They're always going to find a way to to be emotional,
(09:31):
especially when the team wins, they're the ones to go super
super crazy. Obviously being a negative most
of the game, they're able to change their opinion and just go
crazy loco. So if you're a footballer
footballing fan, you're copying scoring a 90th minute goal.
Best believe this person is going to go ape shit in the chat
is going to be showing full emotions with whether voice
(09:52):
recordings or massive screams ofcapital letters type text and
and going crazy as well. It is funny because these guys
when the team is doing bad, you want to see them crash out and
hear the content from them. So these people in the chat, as
much as their emotional wreck, they're the ones that bring
value to to sports fandom because they're often what we
(10:12):
want to see. We want to see the team lose so
we can get the the emotional wreck from this, this certain
fan or this character and and then that kind of gets us more
keen for a team to lose. Like you look at the best
example right now and the reasonwhy this person is getting the
most success. Dan Gorringe is simply the
epitome of a person that is emotionally crashing out when
(10:34):
when Carlton lose. And we relate to that because
every time now we want to watch Carlton play, we want them to
lose. So then we can react and see
what Dan Gorringe will do. And I think he's doing a
fantastic job in that. And I think that's where we see
people connected to fans like him because we kind of sort of
praying on the downfall as well.So the emotional wreck is a
perfect example of that. And someone that, yeah, really
(10:56):
contributes to, Yeah, sport fandom and community and talking
as well, and making the chat a lot entertaining.
And I've got to say, I'm probably one of the big cases of
emotional wreckage, especially going for Manchester United and
having cases where I've seen my team lose games where I felt
that they should have won. And two, when, yeah, I've been
(11:17):
merely disappointed. But they're always, yeah, as
mentioned, saying that they're done.
They just go on these major rants, which are hilarious, and
you're kind of just hoping that the team loses on a regular
basis as well. So yeah, we've got the emotional
wreck as the 4th character in everyone's group chat.
We're going on to now the fifth person on everyone's group chat,
(11:39):
and that is the silent lurker. So these people are basically
never showing up in the group chat, never talking, never
communicating during the match. But just as their team scores or
they start to win, that's when they get involved in the
conversation. They probably put A1 liner
saying go team or what a goal orunbelievable stuff.
(12:01):
But yeah, they're pretty much coming in with the one liners.
If it is in a case of I guess someone doing a mistake or a bad
penalty or controversial moment,they'll come in with A1 liner
saying that they knew that that was going to happen.
So they're the silent lurkers. They're the ones that don't
really want to get into the fandom.
They're probably just waiting for the conversation to pull out
and to put their two cents in toact like they're they've been
(12:24):
watching or being really involved.
They just like to come in like alittle bit later as well.
So normally when the dust settles in a conversation or in
a, in a sporting moment, they'rethey're the ones to come in and
put their kind of two cents in, which is most of the time
irrelevant and annoying. But at the same time, they want
to kind of just also be involvedas well.
(12:45):
They do watch the games, They dowatch the games.
These guys are actually real fans.
They watch the games, but they don't want to inject in
conversation. It might be because they don't
want to jinx their team, or it might just be that they are real
focused or they want to wait forthe right moment.
But again, you've all have a silent lurker in your group
chat, the one that you always see that sees the message but
(13:07):
probably never says anything. And then when the right time is
there, they end up saying something as well.
The next character, this one is the bystander.
The bystander is probably the funniest character in the group
chat. It's the person that, quite
frankly, is always trying to getinto the conversations and by
doing that is trying to get intothe sport and watching the
(13:27):
sport. But they're probably not really
the biggest fan and they can't relate to the same level.
So they come up with some weird questions or some obscure
questions that you think, what are you really watching?
So they are probably watching the game, but they're always
either late to the to the to thetalks or they're coming up with
some random takes that are just unrelated to what everyone's
talking about. Now, when I say that a lot of
(13:49):
people obviously are disagreeingwith each other in the chat, but
they can't find a way to inject themselves in that conversation,
but they want to be involved at some way.
So then they try they try to do that with those things.
They also do ask some really stupid questions, I have to say,
because of the fact that they'reprobably not knowledgeable about
the sport as well and they're obviously not watching games on
(14:10):
a regular basis. They normally TuneIn for for the
big games or where the conversations start kicking on.
They might just turn on the gameand just see what all the the
hype and fuss is about in that moment.
They also do add a bit of humouras well because of the fact that
they're they're kind of dumb, like they're kind of ignorance
is is a bit funny and is a bit innocent as well.
(14:30):
So it's it's always good to havethose people in the group chat.
It kind of breaks up the tensionthat everyone has with each
other with someone that doesn't take it as serious but is trying
to get involved as well. Some questions could be like as
stupid as who's even playing, Was that like a penalty or
should that have been the penalty?
Or this certain player is doing well or bad, but they're
(14:51):
normally not good, but they're playing well.
At this point, they might just have some opinions that are not
really conventional or mainstream to what everyone else
is thinking at the same time. So those are basically, I call
them the bystanders. They're also fans that are
probably not even into the sporttoo.
The next one is the troll. So the troll is the person that
(15:11):
is probably a fan of a certain team, but for some reason they
take more passion and pride in watching other teams fail than
actually supporting their own team.
They do support another club as mentioned, but they exist purely
to just stir the pot in other chats.
So I've got a lot of people likethis as well.
Their teams are probably not as good, but they aren't following
(15:32):
them very strongly, So what theydo instead is prey on the
downfall of other teams. So basically the only time you
really hear from them is when your team loses to come in and
simply troll you. They're kind of similar to the
to the meme to the mean people, but the difference is is that
the meme artists are always in conversations and always putting
out memes whether their team is playing or not.
(15:53):
The troll is simply there just to be against you, not really
supporting their team. You barely hear them speak.
They don't say anything when their team is is playing because
they're more focused on on the downfall of the other teams.
So they also come in with a bit of memes here and there, but
they're very much there to kind of stir the pot and I guess rub
(16:14):
it in if your if your team is losing as well.
So be aware of of the trolls. They're pretty annoying, but
again, very valuable to to a group chat as well to get those
conversations flowing as well. And the last one, but certainly
not least, it's the the delusional supporter.
And say what you want about the delusional supporter, one thing
(16:34):
that I have to give credit to any delusional supporter is the
fact that they are blinded by loyalty.
And what I mean by blinded by loyalty is that no matter how
bad a turn player plays, how badthe team performs, they're
always going to stick up for their team no matter what.
It's always never the team's fault directly.
It always has to be something external, whether it's the
(16:56):
referees, whether it's the pitchconditions, whether it's
something that that they come upwith that is as to why their
team is losing is what makes them delusional but also makes
them extremely low at the same time.
These fans will never miss a game.
I'm talking even the ones in Premier League where the games
are at 3:00 AM here in Australia.
(17:16):
They will never miss the game. They will constantly be
supporting their team whether they're good or bad, and they'll
always have an opinion to say, avery drastic bias opinion for
that matter, but still an opinion nevertheless.
And it kind of infuriates opposing fans as well because
everyone sees into delusion except the person.
But you have to credit that person because they are being
(17:38):
loyal. They are always going to stick
up for their teammates as well. And when you see them win,
they're the ones to celebrate a lot as well and rub it into
opposing fans. There again, they're very loyal,
they always go to games, they'realways putting out their
opinions and they're also very, very, very passionate.
(17:58):
And it does kind of coincide with the emotional wreck as well
because again, they get very emotional when it comes to the
team performing good or bad as well.
But normally the difference thatkind of is between these fans
and the emotional ones is the emotional fans are very quick to
go against their team, whereas the delusional fans always are
positive and always are stickingby their teams.
(18:19):
And no matter what today's your,I guess, 8 characters that are
in every group chat. And I'd like to talk about kind
of the group chats in sports as well and the dynamics and why is
it so important as a fan. And the reason why I want to
talk about that is because obviously most sporting fans
need a place and a community to discuss their sports fandom,
(18:41):
whether they're actually involved or not.
There needs to be a place where we talk about these things.
So as mentioned at the start of the the podcast, when we see a
certain take or a news article or a result that happens in a
sporting group, the 1st place togo to is your group chat.
Because one, it's quickly to access your phone to write a
text message and get the conversations going.
(19:04):
Then I guess going on the phone or watching kind of videos, etc.
Those are things that probably happen after that.
The group chat gets everyone's opinion in real time, real life
reactions. And this is where all the
characters come into play to, toprocess their opinions and kind
of give their their thoughts. And without a group chat, it's
not it's pretty unconventional to be a fan because there's no
(19:26):
way you can kind of exert your energy and give kind of your
opinion as well. So I think that's what makes the
group chats very powerful when it comes to sport.
And for a lot of men's, a lot ofpeople use sport to kind of
bring everyone together as well.So I guess it's really hard to
to talk about signing in a sportand not have a platform to to
(19:46):
express your feelings and emotions, whether you are
emotional, whether you are delusional.
This is a space, space to reallytalk about that.
And it really isn't over until the conversations in the group
chats are finished where there is an argument or a topic or
debate because again, that's where you're kind of able to
express your thoughts and someone that's has been.
With a lot of friends made through sports, I find group
(20:09):
chats the easiest way to kind ofconnect with my friends and kind
of talk about these things as well.
It can go on for hours and hours, but again, it it, it
causes good entertainment and and great things that happen
occurs through through the groupchats.
I think this is where we feel kind of the most joy,
heartbreak, and this is where weget the most banter as well.
I think most of the time when we're watching our teams perform
(20:32):
or we're seeing the results, thefirst thing we're going to think
about is what's happening or what are they saying about me in
the group chat on my team. And that's where you have to go
in and kind of defend yourself and give you kind of opinions
and takes too. So it's really awesome that
we're ever in this world where we have social media.
And despite all the negativity that comes with social media,
there are positives in being able to have a group of friends
(20:55):
you're able to communicate with instantly and you don't actually
need to be physically with them as well.
I think it's also great for using Premier League as an
example because here the games are at 34 AM and I know I'm a
bit older now so it's really hard to to catch the games at
3:00 AM. But I can definitely relate to a
previous experience when I was auni student at 18 and didn't
(21:16):
have any value of sleep whatsoever.
We would be up at 3:00 AM watching the Premier League and
everyone would be up online justtalking about it.
And it kind of was a way to to keep us engaged in the football
and also keep us awake as it wasvery late in the hours,
obviously. So that again, kind of just grew
out our friendship as well. And, and the truth is, yes, with
(21:36):
sport, it just grew our friendship.
It developed our friendship. It made it stronger as well
because we were able to talk about sport and kind of discuss
things that then eventually led to stuff that was, was deeper as
well. But again, that's why I think
the group chats are very valuable and it's just cool to
just see the different types of characters that are in there,
and it's funny to kind of just embrace those characters when
(21:57):
you're also in a group chat as well.
So I guess, yeah, the dynamics of a group chat is extremely
important as well when it comes to talking about sports too,
because obviously you do want a group of people that kind of
relate to you as well in that aspect.
And that kind of what makes the sport fandom deeper.
It's so much different to when you're watching Monday Night
Football, for example, or pundits online.
(22:19):
Yes, they're the experts. Yes, you want to hear their
opinions. But the raw emotion that comes
with being a sports fan can't come from listening to an expert
that just talks surface level without the group chats, without
the communication with your close friends and close peers,
you won't have that kind of feeling of being a fan.
So I think it's very valuable for those that don't have
(22:40):
communities where they can chat to people do reach out and find
people in small communities thathave group chats allows you to
kind of just speak your mind andand then relate to everyday
people and talk about. I guess sport because it is such
a powerful tool of, of life and,and A and a thing where it
brings a lot of people together as well.
(23:00):
Personally, looking at all the characters that I mentioned
above, I would like to think that I am probably the emotional
wreck, especially when the team is doing bad.
I get really crippling anxiety when my team is not performing
because I obviously want them todo well.
And to be honest, occasionally Icould be the hot take merchant
as well, especially when A-Team is doing bad.
(23:21):
I like to just put out my just crazy opinions to to spark some
controversy in the chat as well.But again, that's been the 8
characters there. So just to summarise them, we
have the hot take merchant who'sthe person that obviously puts
out all the controversial topicsand just comes in with hate to
(23:41):
cause an argument and debate. You've got the calm analyst, the
person that doesn't really talk much in terms of getting into
the arguments, very emotionless,but comes up with paragraphs of
tactical breakdowns of every game and acts like they are the
expert. You've got the meme king that's
simply just talks in memes. They don't have any text or
social involvement, they just Simply put out gifts or memes
(24:05):
when something certain happens in a sporting game, you've got
the emotional wreck. The person that basically just
crashes out in every moment saysthey're going to stop watching,
but best believe they're always going to be at the next game
watching and throwing out their emotions.
You've got the silent lurker whoonly comes in when it's
convenient or when the heat kindof dies down after a debate or a
conversation. You've also got your bystander.
(24:28):
The bystander is someone that tries to be involved and tries
to get involved in the conversation, but is the one
that usually just asks the stupid questions and doesn't
really get involved in the sport.
You've got also the troll. The troll is the person that's
simply there to stir the opponents and don't really care
about their own teams as long asthey piss off someone else
(24:49):
that's in another team where they're suffering.
And the last but certainly not least is the delusional
supporter. This person's the most loyal and
no matter how bad the team goes,they're always going to be the
one to blindly support them to the end.
So there you have it. Those are my 8 characters in
sports in a group chat. I hope you guys enjoyed this
(25:09):
episode and I will catch you guys next week.
Cheers. So that's a wrap for this week's
episode of the Huddle Within podcast.
I appreciate you for tuning in and being part of this community
where we go beyond on the game and into what really matters.
If this episode resonated with you, make sure to subscribe,
leave a review, and share it with someone who sees sports
just the way that we do. And hey, I'd love to hear from
(25:31):
you. Connect with me on my social
medias, which will be linked below, send in your thoughts and
even be part of a future episode.
Until next time, keep that passion alive, stay in the
huddle, and remember it's alwaysdeeper than the game.
Cheers.
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