Quick summary: The increasing public appetite for schadenfreude within football culture indicates that supporters derive significant emotional payoffs from the perceived failure of rivals to restore a sense of social balance and group identity. Psychologists suggest that this collective derision of teams accused of bottling success triggers neural reward pathways similar to personal triumph, reflecting a fundamental human instinct for tribal belonging and status affirmation. Understanding these psychological drivers is essential for public policy and sports management to address the impact of modern fan engagement on community well being and the potential for heightened hostility during high stakes competition.
The defining narrative of the 2025/2026 Premier League season has shifted beyond the action on the pitch, with supporters increasingly finding as much joy in the downfall of rival teams as they do in their own club’s success.
One team has become the primary target of collective derision. Outside the Etihad Stadium ahead of Manchester City’s clash with Arsenal last weekend, City supporters were seen selling Arsenal-themed bottled water to passersby and jokingly claiming to drink “Arsenal’s tears” during their subsequent victory. Combined with City’s win over Burnley, Arsenal have slipped to second place in the Premier League table, trailing the reigning champions on goal difference.
The obsession with Arsenal’s perceived “bottling” of the title race extends well beyond Manchester. A video on the Fans Reactions YouTube channel highlighting “Arsenal Tears” recorded 46,000 views in just two days, compared to only 6,600 views over three days for a video capturing Everton fans reacting to a dramatic last-minute Merseyside derby victory. The disparity points to a growing public appetite for failure over triumph.
Arsenal have now finished second in the Premier League for three consecutive seasons and have not secured a major trophy since their FA Cup win in 2020. With only five games remaining, the “bottlers” label has been widely adopted by fans eager to see the title slip away from the Emirates Stadium once again.
To understand why fans revel in a rival’s misfortune, LiveFootballTickets recruited psychologist Dennis Relojo Howell, managing director of Psychreg, who argues the reaction is rooted in deep-seated human instincts rather than a character flaw.
The phenomenon at play is schadenfreude, the satisfaction derived from the misfortune of others. In a sporting context, Relojo Howell frames it as a social response: “Fan identity is tribal by nature. Supporting a club is tied to a sense of belonging, and when a rival fails, it affirms the in-group’s status by contrast. The suffering of the out-group becomes a kind of social victory, even when your own team has done nothing to earn it.”
He also identifies the release of emotional tension as a key driver. Fans invest immense psychological energy in their clubs, which intensifies rivalries over time.
“When a rival is relegated, knocked out of a cup, or publicly humiliated, there is a release of accumulated tension. Psychologically, this mirrors the satisfaction people feel when balance appears to be restored, a sense that the perceived arrogance or dominance of a rival has finally been corrected.”
Ultimately, the trend reflects something fundamental about human nature. A competitor’s downfall signals a shift in social hierarchy, triggering the same reward pathways in the brain as personal success. Even fans who played no part in causing a rival’s misfortune still experience a genuine emotional payoff, one that only grows more potent as the season reaches its dramatic conclusion.