Every sporting season is full of ups and downs. We’re all used to watching Warrington Wolves score tries and make us smile. We can also remember the times they’ve fallen from grace and brought tears to our eyes.
It’s the same in football. Warrington Town and Warrington Rylands might not ever make it to the Premier League, but their results still cause many many a football fan across the town to cheer, gasp and pull a hamstring jumping for joy. We can even broaden our search criteria and look at sports on a national level.
Global Interest, Regardless of the Result
The Premier League is watched by an estimated 4.7 billion across 212 territories. From England to Egypt, people are heavily invested in Premier League predictions, results, drama and the pure emotion of the league. In fact, our connection with football runs so deep that some people are willing to stake more than their reputation on it. Go to Paddy Power and you can find odds for almost anything you can think of. And, importantly, it’s not just the highs people are willing to bet on. You can find Premier League relegation odds, betting lines for players being sent off, and options for a lot more misery on the pitch.
Put simply, we love the ups and downs of sport. Yes, the thrill of victory is addictive but there’s something in the agony of defeat that strikes a chord. Indeed, that’s why we’re just as happy betting on a team losing as we are reading about recent winners. From every angle, we love sport. The question is, why? What makes sports so appealing? The simple answer is that there isn’t a simple answer. Everyone gravitates to sport for different reasons.
However, there isn’t a simple answer. Everyone gravitates to sport for different reasons. However, American psychology professor Daniel Wann has identified some common reasons:
• People get self-esteem benefits from sport.
• People bet money on the sport.
• People find it aesthetically pleasing.
• It’s a form of theatre, emotional expression and escapism.
Our Brings Are Wired for Sport
These connections to sport aren’t just observable on a behavioural level. Neurophysiologists at the University of Parma stumbled upon the thrill of vicarious experiences many years ago. The story, as told by sports journalist Le Anne Schreiber, is that tests on a monkey found that its premotor cortex fired when it was given a peanut. By accident, the researchers also discovered that the same neurons fired when the monkey saw someone else getting a nut. From this, a theory was born that certain neurons fire when we watch sport, just as they would if we were taking part in it.
A study carried out at The University of Rome tested this in relation to a basketball game. Participants displayed neurological patterns of increased interest and alertness when they were shown clips of a game. As it is with all studies of the brain and human behaviour, pinning down exact mechanisms is tricky. However, the consensus is that sport triggers parts of our brain linked to activity, focus and interest.
This, combined with social, emotional and behavioural ties, makes it highly engaging. It doesn’t matter if it’s rugby, football, hockey or hurling. There’s something in all of us that sits up and take notice when there’s sport on the TV, regardless of whether someone is winning or losing. That’s why we love it so much.
