What's your point here?
> Think about it: rituals before, during, and after the game; group singing; deep emotional involvement; the use of symbols to show that you are part of a certain group. These are all religious aspects. Every club has legendary players; heroic figures, shaped by immortal memories, admired by everyone at the club. Sorry, Niklas. I've been to Wrigley Field when the Cubs win and everyone sings "Go, Cubs, Go." It's different in America, and by the way, you're welcome to wear the visiting team's baseball cap to a game, too. We know it's just a game.
I see your point. I think you have to take into account what football means for people and that is very different in Europe compared to America. In America, I would argue, it's much more about entertainment. The development in Europe is similar but it didn't use to be that way. Back in the days, these were local clubs, founded by local people who only lived for these clubs. Wright Thompson's piece explains that much better than I could: https://www.espn.com/espn/insider/insider/story/_/id/3221804...
> Sorry, this is barely even a half-truth. Middle schoolers are walking down the street not looking where they're going because they're staring at their smartphones, and that's where they get desire. If they grow up, they learn to think for themselves.
That's very true. They stare at their smartphones, see other people and get their desires. It might be true that their beliefs system changes when they grow up and that they think for themselves more often. The tendency to desire what other people want, however, doesn't necessarily change. The desires might differ, maybe also the extent, but I don't believe that the mechanism itself evaporates.