I don't necessarily think the sports/single-game analogy is the best one to make in this case because in sports a single game is just that - a single game that will end. Fans are spectators and have no affect on the outcome. With the article/"Sanders Thing" you mention (although people are individuals and one can't assume anything about their individual motivations), those people know that they aren't just spectators and that for as long as they "exist" as group their non-spectator role serves one or a number of different purposes, including sending a message. From what I've heard, there many of those people who would either not-vote or else vote for Donald Trump (because they want some big shake-up to go on with the way things are/have been being done). An election isn't just entertainment for the them, or some game (the way it may be for some people who see it as "just entertainment" or as "just a game").
Although I certainly can't read minds about why some people would do that boycott, one guess is that they were offended by the use of the word, "delusion" in the title. Just because someone doesn't agree with someone else's reasons for doing something it doesn't mean those other people are delusional. There are other ways to raise points about this one individual's apparent strategy. There is also, however, recognizing that besides Sanders, himself; those supporters may well have their own plans/strategies (which may include, say, voting for the other party or not voting at all and/or which may include, say, not dumping someone who remains in the race).
Throwing around belittling names that suggest people don't know what they're doing and/or somehow out of touch with reality just because they won't buckle under to thinking that hasn't gotten anyone all that far says more about the mindset of anyone who would use belittling terms than it does anyone who sees some sense/strategy in their own choices.
Many people who haven't happened to do a lot of reading on subjects like psychology or social issues "just because they're writers and/or just because those are subjects that interest them" may not even be aware that someone uses what amounts to name-calling/labeling to define someone else, that's "mental/emotional" abuse. I'd guess there's a good chance that people who decided to boycott found it offensive that with the click of some keys someone chose to create a title/article that was demeaning to Sanders and/or his supporters. Then, too, there are plenty of people who have done all kinds of reading about social issues and who, because of that, know exactly and immediately the signs of someone who doesn't respect someone else.
Sometimes people don't always have a name for what comes across as demeaning/insulting, but most (regardless of what they've read or not read) know it when they see it and/or feel it. I don't happen to count myself among those Sanders supporters, but for anyone to suggest that they're deluded and/or in denial is just another example of how clueless people so often name-call when they don't/won't see someone who thinks/does differently from them (for their own reasons and with their perfectly fine reasoning ability) as capable, reasonable, individuals. I'd guess that a whole lot of Sanders supporters have already had enough of that belittling cr*p coming from all directions; so, if nothing else, they can boycott something that allows/engages in behavior that people who know/use words for a living should know/choose better than to engage in.
Maybe boycotting someone/something that a whole lot of people haven't even heard of seems like a little thing to some; but, no, I don't think it's a matter of "mass delusion" or "denial". More likely it's a matter of the very human, healthy and normal reaction of people who aren't big fans of insulting words that essentially amount of "mass insulting"..
(This post is so long it occurred to me to, maybe, turn it into a Hub; but I don't write about politics and can't be bothered looking up extra stuff/capsule material, references, etc. in order to make what is nothing more than my opinion into something more "legitimate" and informative.).
0
