No actually it's not even close to the same. Maybe the similarity would be going to your local market instead of Safeway a few miles out of town. Pay a little extra and have less of a selection, but support the town that's important to you.
It's extremely arguable that rooting for a local team "supports" the town. It's different from movies only in that people feel a sense of tribalism about local teams, which is obviously within their rights. But I don't see any point or merit to negatively branding people who enjoy the sport but don't feel that same sense of tribalism.
I think it's more just local pride in a community asset than it is tribalism. Tribalism infers that those that you are rooting for are a part of your "tribe". Most primitive tribes left today don't accept outsiders as a part of their tribe, and it's rare than an NBA team is fully comprised of members of the tribe that the fanbase associates with in terms of identity.
Tribalism isn't so specific to the concept of a "primitive jungle tribe." It simply refers to identifying groups that your belonging to makes up part of your identity. Tribalism can refer to religious affiliation, patriotism, sports fandom, political party, etc. Exclusivity can be part of it, and you often see it in on these boards and other places...I seem to recall one notable poster taking another notable poster to task for being a Seattle-based fan. I don't think tribalism is always bad, but I don't think it's a bad thing if someone isn't sucked into it, either.
