Most dreams in which you are playing a team game reflect how well you feel you are performing within a group situation in waking life, whether it is among your family and friends, or—more typically—in relation to colleagues at work. So if you dreamed of playing football, basketball, hockey, netball, rugby or volleyball, pay attention to how you are reacting or playing in the team. Are you the weak link? Are you lazy? Are you the one who pulls the team together? Are you a good sport? Do you play fairly, or do you cheat and break the rules? Do you respect authority and the decision of the referee or judges? Are you a team player or only concerned about your own performance? The answer to questions such as these will prove helpful if they are considered in the context of your participation in group dynamics in waking life.
Dreams that feature baseball can be littered with sexual symbols such as the bat, the ball and the gloves. According to Freudians, such dreams—and this would be true of all games containing umpires or referees—might be an oblique reference to a challenge you have made to a father figure, as represented by the umpire. The white outfits worn in the game of cricket may suggest a yearning for childhood innocence; the friendly, relaxed and languid nature of the game might reveal a longing to withdraw from a fiercely competitive environment, whether at home or at work. The intense passions of football, whether in the form of rugby, soccer or gridiron, may symbolize sexual excitement; scoring a goal or a try, for example, might symbolize orgasm. Jungians, however, would see dream football as a mirror of the dreamer’s spiritual aspirations. Some team sports seem unlikely topics for a dream but your dreaming mind may select them specifically for their symbolism. To dream that you are part of a rowing team, for example, stresses the importance of collective effort and pulling together as a team.
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