Why do football fans cheer on a particular team when a player might not stay in it for long due to transfers?

They cheer the team, first and foremost.
They cheer individual players when they make a good impression/action.
When players get sold, depending on how they were as a character, and on which their next team is going to be, they’ll either be cheered on again, or booed.

@rebbel: The question only changes slightly, because the fans should cheer on the team only if it has an identity. With the fact that teams change too (coaches, managers, etc.), I’m perplexed.

YOU are telling the fans how THEY should behave?

@stanleybmanly: I’m asking what made fans follow through their team’s EVERY change.

The fans are emotionally VESTED in their teams. It’s the equivalent of you and flying saucers or you and obscure legal exotica.

It’s very important to them.

Long standing loyalties. Not sure if you’re talking American Football or what we call soccer. But it is pretty much the same the world over. I have been a Dallas Cowboys fan since I used to watch them with my dad when I was a tyke. I support them no matter what. And the last few years they really suck ass. Some good athletes but a shit defensive line. As a rule.

Which is why I would never get a shirt or a jersey with an active player’s name on it.

It’s sorta like believing in God…
Some questions don’t have answers.

You support the team, not the players.

They identify with, and/or become attached to, the idea of the team, which as you point out, may not correspond well to reality or to logic. They feel like they are part of a community of fans, and invest emotional energy in it. They are invited to both by traditions of behavior, and by the language of sportscasters and other fans, and the language used by the team members, coaches, owners, etc. These people all agree to go along with this concept, even though it makes little sense. It does mirror human tribal behavior and other types of “us vs. them” behavior in many other ways.

It’s mostly not logical, but much of what humans do is more conditioned and inherited rather than logical. Most of what humans do is not because we think about everything and objectively conclude the behavior is logical.

@Lightlyseared That’s not entirely true. There are players in baseball I like no matter what team they are on.

Theres a continuity of team that supercedes the individuals that make up the team. A star who acheieves and moves on, still did good work for your team, and thats worth cheering for, isnt it?