Football: It evokes more passionate response than an election, more loyalty than a marriage.

It?s one of the few times people can scream support for their country or region at the top of their lungs and not be considered narrow-minded, offensive, bigoted, or racist.

It provides the rare opportunity in an otherwise overly sanitised, urbanised existence to don the warpaint, chant the songs that everyone knows, and beat the drums to warn of an impending massacre.

It?s one of the few public circumstances in which society allows ? and even expects ? grown men to cry.

For young boys in the slums of underdeveloped countries, footballers are heroes to be revered, and represent a way of escaping the squalor of their lives.

Football is not only the world?s most popular sport: for some people, football is akin to a religion.

However, such fervour is not without its dangers. According to a recent report by the BBC, the Vietnam News Agency has warned fans that watching excessive amounts of football is bad for their health, and could lead to ?psychological and digestive disorders?.

The agency issued the warning regarding Euro 2004, since many employers in the country have complained that efficiency rates among workers have dropped since so many people are losing sleep over their favourite sport.

The VNA warned: ?Staying up overnight and working the next day could exhaust watchers, making them lose their appetites. Shouting, screaming, and yelling will hurt their throat, leading even to bronchitis.?

The VNA has perhaps cited the dangers of a potentially pandemic condition, since many fans in Bermuda have experienced similar symptoms.

Even for those who are not regular watchers, the exciting atmosphere surrounding the major football tournaments like World Cup and the Euro is absolutely infectious.

Point in case: you would never find me at a pub drinking beer and watching a match on the average Sunday afternoon, but for weeks during World Cup 2002, I woke at 3 a.m. as if with fever.

Every few days, I congregated with a group of equally sleep-deprived, groggy friends at some ungodly hour of the morning just for the chance of seeing one of German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn?s infamous saves or Brazilian striker Ronaldo?s fleet-footed goals.

In fact, we were lucky enough to see both during the Germany-Brazil final ? a match we topped off at 6 a.m. by downing a round of caipirinhas, the national drink of the Brazilian victors, before running out the house draped in Brazilian flags and jumping into the ocean for a celebratory swim.

Needless to say, that same group of friends is already planning a trip to Germany for World Cup 2006.

More recently, Bermuda residents have been swept up in the fervour of Portugal?s success in Euro 2004.

After their win against Holland in the semis last Wednesday, Hamilton erupted in a joyous celebration quite pleasantly uncharacteristic of our Island?s usual conservative disposition.

The atmosphere was perhaps quite a bit tenser during an earlier match between Portugal and England. Nationalism and tempers ran high, and there was even an unconfirmed rumour that a man was dangled by his ankles at a local eatery in a football-related skirmish.

So how to explain the passion, the fervour, the agitation, the fever-pitch excitement invoked by this marvellous game of games?

Local psychologist Guy Fowle explained that some of the zeal surrounding football is a common way for adults to enjoy the experience of group camaraderie.

?For adults, sport in a way is play ? albeit in an institutionalised form. It?s a way of identifying with a group outside the normal realm of work,? said Dr. Fowle.

?Psychologically, sport creates a group you can identify with ? whether you win or lose.?

Dr. Fowle noted that this feeling of identification is independent of nationalism, and also explains why people are able to support a team which frequently loses or lets them down.

?It?s like when someone has a good relationship with their parents. Even if the parent does something to make them angry, it doesn?t preclude them from being loyal,? he added.

This might help explain the depth of feeling that some football fanatics feel for their team. Matt, a member of a local football club, said he?s supported his team Millwall, from southeast London, since he was seven years old.

?Unfortunately, Millwall has quite a bunch of horrible supporters ? some real hooligans. In fact, they?ve got the worst reputation in England,? he noted.

When asked why he supported such a team, Matt explained that his father was a supporter and bought season tickets for them when he was a child. In the twenty years since then, he says he?s missed very few home games.

Matt noted that the enthusiasm of other spectator sports seems to pale in comparison to the passion felt by a true football fan.

?I went to a baseball game in the States, and people were more interested in eating as many hot dogs as possible rather than watching the game,? he said.

?When I go to a pub here, there?s a complete contrast between the way people watch football and the way people watch ice hockey, for example.

?Ice hockey seems more like entertainment ? people are making sure they have enough food and chicken wings. If hockey goes into overtime, people might go home because it?s getting late ? and with football, that would be unheard of.

?Other than singing offensive songs about the opposition, at a football match blokes might not speak at all. Football is far more intense. Sometimes the game itself can be boring, but the atmosphere of a football match is second to none.?

Matt thinks football gives people the opportunity to represent their country or the part of the country where they?re from. But he noted that for some people, football is one of the few pleasures in an otherwise humdrum existence.

?There are some people who have very limited lives in working-class parts of England,? he said. ?Their lives are grim, and the only thing they look forward to is football.?

?Monday to Friday is an absolute grind, and the only thing that keeps them going is the thought of supporting their team on Saturday afternoon. They become completely attached to the successes and failures of that club.?

Matt mentioned a friend of his in England whose daughter began dating a man who wasn?t interested in football. ?She was genuinely worried about what kind of man he was,? he chuckled. sports reporter Sam Stevens agreed that football helps create a feeling of identification and belonging. ?It?s a kind of ritual and tradition for many people? it?s almost like a way of going to war in an acceptable manner.

?For the average salt-of-the-earth man in England, it provides something to identify with,? said Mr. Stevens.

?I think it?s also a way of releasing frustrations that have built up in other parts of their lives,? he added. ?There?s an outpouring of emotion, and you can shout abuse at officials.

?In fact, I think it?s a national hobby in most countries to abuse referees and linesmen, whether they?re right or wrong.?

Professional footballer David Bascome said his love for the sport as a player has not dimmed even remotely.

?As a player, it?s really something watching a game and preparing for a game,? he said. ?Something comes over you ? enthusiasm, drive ? and every time it?s like the first time playing, it?s like the first time watching.?

Mr. Bascome explained that since he?s usually the one playing, he only recently had the opportunity of experiencing the game from a spectator?s standpoint.

?It?s great to see people expressing themselves, painting their faces and chanting. It brings people together, and gives them the opportunity to show their culture and passion for the place where they?re from.

?As a player, I love it. It keeps us going; it?s like the twelfth player. Here in Bermuda, (the fervour) is hidden, it just needs to come out, and a prime example was at Nationals,? he said.

?It was a great feeling to see the game against El Salvador. As a fan, you just want the game to go on forever.?

Portugal?s loss during Sunday?s final of Euro 2004 was certainly proof of that. Despite a fantastic effort, the Portuguese team was beaten by underdogs Greece by a single goal in the second half.

Nevertheless, despite the driving rain and the fall of their heroes, some of the true fans of the sport could be seen on Sunday night along Front Street: draped in flags, singing the national anthem, giving optimistic smiles which belied the defeat.

After all, World Cup is only two more years away.