History proves that as a collective, our species hasn't yet outgrown its tribal past, and that instincts play a bigger role than our self-image allows for.
We like to consider ourselves exalted creatures, enlightened by Reason or created in the image of GOD.
But when push comes to shove, we act just like other primates. In fact, our closest "relatives" among the great apes (the chimpanzees) go to "war" with each other, even grievously punishing fraternising with the enemy when a group has split apart.
For me, the aim could never be to deny our (supposedly) "lesser" nature, but to acknowledge the presence of these unconscious urges within us, and then to steer them into less problematic channels.
Team sports are definitely a sublimation of our aggressive impulses, and activities such as collecting items (stamps, coins, beer cans, whatever) satisfy our urge to hunt - even in those who've never dreamed of tracking animals.
The denial and demonization of the unconscious (just like the demonization of "carnal" Man by Christianity) has resulted in unspeakable horrors, as the suppressed urges festered and grew in the dark beyond people's conscious awareness, and returned with a vengeance.