  It has been argued against Tännsjö’s account that it is descriptive rather than normative. At best, Tännsjö describes how spectators do behave, not how they should behave. Moreover, admiration for the winner does not necessarily imply contempt for the loser, and by extension, for the weak. Contra Tännsjö, there is no necessary link between these two attitudes. Our admiration of elite athletes need not rest on an appreciation of their excellence understood solely in terms of strength (Tamburrini, 2000, ch. 5), as admiration for sports stars, properly understood, is only to a limited extent admiration of them because of their physical strength (Persson, 2005).