The article intends to combine contemporary debates about nations and nationalism with a sociological perspective on collective emotions in its attempt to gain a better understanding of the process of constructing national identity. It will further present interdisciplinary evidence that collective emotions evoked in rituals instigate a number of group-related socio-cognitive processes that reinforce enduring feelings of belonging and an emotional priming of collective representations. I will suggest that states of collective effervescence do not only tie individuals to a community, but also provide a strong frame for the creation of symbols and the embodiment of shared meanings defining a community. The second part of the article analyses some examples taken from the football media coverage in order to provide a case study exemplifying the proposed theoretical approach.