NFL
By: Jeffrey Newholm
I think I speak for just about all sports fans when I say that there are some games I really, really want my teams to win. Surely you can come up with your own examples. The Super Bowl. World Series game seven. NCAA Final Four games. And for some fans, that desire becomes a consuming hunger. Some fans have been waiting for decades for their team to win a big game, and they assume they will be overjoyed if it ever does happen. Cubs fans are anxiously awaiting that World Series win, because surely a raucous celebration would follow that would change the complexion of their lives forever. But one of life’s cruelest truths is that big events in our lives, with very few exceptions, really aren’t so big after all. And sports fans seem to fall for this Impact Bias every time-I know I certainly do. Those long-suffering Cubs fans should probably examine a similar case study in Red Sox fans. The Red Sox infamously went on an 86 year title drought, and many fans said if the team could just win one, they would be forever satisfied. Well in 2004 the Sox finally did win a title. Bill Simmons famously wrote a book titled “Now I Can Die In Peace”. In fact the Sox have generously won two more titles since then. So those fans must be on cloud nine now. They probably don’t even know what to do with themselves now, they’re so besides themselves in happiness, right? Well I checked out the team’s Facebook page to see just how happy these fans are. Here are some sample comments after a recent loss:
“Isn’t burning all that trash bad for the ozone layer? Oh that’s not a dumpster fire, that’s the Red Sox starting rotation” (124 likes)
“Ortiz hit home run number 506. That’s the important thing. Never mind all the atrocious contracts and the fact that we are quickly becoming the joke of the league.” (39 likes)
“Why is the management so dense…why does it take forever to have a pitching change when you’re getting the snot knocked out of you….” (26 likes)
“Does the management of this club not see the problem? IT’S THE PITCHING or lack thereof. The same problem that’s been staring them in the face for the past 3 seasons. ENOUGH ALREADY.” (12 likes)
Well these fans don’t seem very happy to me! I think Red Sox fans (and Cubs fans should their team ever win) way, way overestimate the hedonic (happiness) impact of a sporting event. It’s true of every event in life, but I think us sports fans are the worst offenders. Psychologist Dan Gilbert even finds that one year later, lottery winners and paraplegics are equally happy. And those are huge events that personally effect us. A team we don’t work for winning or losing? Neither here nor there. Our happiness will quickly return to baseline no matter how “big” a game may seem at the time.
Now you may say to yourself, “well what’s the big deal. Sports fans should be excused their flakiness, we all know they’re kinda nuts”. And I agree-to a certain extent. But some fans thirst for that win so badly that they make very poor decisions because of it. Recently a Giants fan was very badly beaten outside of Dodger Stadium, leaving the beaten fan scarred for life and the perpetrators facing lengthy jail time. All over a game that everybody would have gotten over in days at the most. At the other end of the spectrum, some fans go hog wild after celebrating a win, to the point of making life-altering choices. The NFL recently ran a cute ad about “Super Bowl Babies”-babies born nine months after a home team’s Super Bowl win. What the ad neglected to tell us is how many of those couples regretted the choice to have unprotected sex just because their team won a game. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates it costs about $250,000 to raise a child-it’s definitely not a decision to be made lightly. The ad also didn’t tell us how many of these couples were still together or how many of these kids now live in single-parent households. Not to mention the riots that break out in major cities after big games, win or lose. The Impact Bias can sometimes have serious-or even deadly-consequences for foolish fans.
So what’s the big take away from this research? No one’s asking you to give up rooting for you favorite team or become completely indifferent to who wins. Sports is a fun and fulfilling diversion at its best. But we need to realize that it’s just a game-it’s not worth it to blow huge sums of money to see a certain game if you can’t afford it, and it makes no sense to attack others because of a game’s outcome (social media trolls, I’m looking at you). So sure, watch the next “must win” game-but try to realize in your heart of hearts that no game is really must-win.
You can follow me on Twitter @JeffreyNewholm and our blog @NutsAndBoltsSP.
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