I can admire someone that is really at the top of their craft in just about any field. It is something to watch and be inspired and amazed by.
I never understand the concept of cheering for a team that sucks because of some loyalty. Loyalty to what exactly? The players come and go over the years, perhaps it's a loyalty to the owners? or as Seinfeld used to call it, "cheering for laundry".
In truth if you've ever had a friend who changed clubs after the age of 10 they've been ridiculed for decades since.
I watch plenty of games by other clubs, I just don't care in the same way. Ronaldo or Messi would never play for my team, but I appreciate them in a sort of intellectual, emotionally distant way. Like how I watch NFL games, it's an interesting sport with strategically appealing elements. Do I really care whether Mahomes or Brady takes it? Nah.
Personnel is transient. That's why it makes sense to have loyalty to the identity of a team. That also elevates it from shilling a corporate entity to a lifestyle. Clubs often have relations and connections to their fanclubs, because they know they have a huge stake in the team and do hold some power. Also its more fun to watch sports if you have some skin in the game, instead of just observing 'neutrally', besides the social aspect. It's a kind of adhoc storytelling.
If you are referring to betting on sports as "skin in the game" when making it more interesting just is an excuse for your need to bet on something. I never bet on sports of any type, and enjoy it just fine. If you feel that sports on only interesting if you have money on the line, then maybe it is time to seek help.
The big difference is that members of the Olympic team are citizens of the country, so the connection to you is clear (one of your "own" is doing well), while that's not the case for local teams. Often, they're not even from the same country (ex. lot of players for Canadian NHL teams are from the US, and vice versa).
So the only local part is the shell itself. Sounds vaguely related to "Ship of Theseus" I suppose.
So cheering for a team that hasn't won big in a long time doesn't necessarily mean watching bad play. They might just perpetually be short that one player or coach. And, as someone whose team is usually bad, when they do win it's so sweet.
Sure, it's cool to watch the championships, but that's being a fan of the sport, not the team.
I've enjoyed watching OKC, the Lakers, Raptors, and the Bucks during that time. I chock it up to him enjoying the sport a lot more than I do. I don't want to watch a team lose.
As the article explains, to your fellow fans.