Every four years, billions of people around the world are ready to change their routines, stay up late, put work aside, and gather with friends just to watch a 90-minute match. This includes successful men known for their rational business sense, decisiveness at work, and emotional control in daily life.
Yet when a last-minute goal is scored or a historic moment unfolds, they might shout, jump out of their seats, and hug strangers nearby like young boys.
What creates this intense attraction?
A few years ago, Helen Keyes, a psychologist at Anglia Ruskin University in the UK, was squeezed in a crowd at a World Cup match with her football-loving brother and father. She recalled asking them, “What is it about this sport that you enjoy? Is it the sport itself? Or being around others? Or the feeling of connection?” They were puzzled and said they had never really thought about it. Keyes remembered, “I thought, I really want to dig deeper into this.”
Keyes is among many psychologists who see the World Cup, held every four years, as part of a journey to answer: What do people get from watching sports? And the next big question: Does being a sports fan actually benefit your health?
Research Shows Watching Sports Really Boosts Happiness
Studies by Keyes and others show that watching all kinds of sports, whether live or on screen, can positively impact health. Even when your team loses, which is bound to happen sometimes, fans still gain something from the social act of cheering on their team. Is going to a sports event good for you?
Using data from a survey of over 7,000 people in the UK, Keyes and her colleagues started in 2023 to see if attending a live sports event in the past year changed reported levels of anxiety, loneliness, and sense of life’s worth, along with other measures. They also looked at links between these factors and demographics like employment status, health, and gender. The matches didn’t have to be expensive pro games, local amateur matches counted too.
What they found was that attending a live event significantly improved several measures of happiness. Keyes said, “Going to a live sports event is linked to feeling that your life has more value.” Life satisfaction went up and loneliness went down. They found that attending a live event had an even bigger impact on people’s sense of life’s worth than whether they had a job.
A 2020 study by another group showed, “Watching sports on TV also positively affects life satisfaction and happiness, but it doesn’t reduce loneliness like being there in person,” Keyes explained.
This suggests, “Encouraging people to attend sports events could be a good way to improve mental health,” Keyes speculated. “We’re trying to find the best benefits we can to boost community health and happiness in ways people actually enjoy,” she said.
Does Being a Sports Fan Help Your Mental Health?
Anyone who’s felt the emotional rollercoaster of watching a game might wonder: Is this really a net positive? “They know there’s a 50% chance they’ll end up annoyed after watching,” said Daniel Wann, a social psychologist at Murray State University in Kentucky, USA, who has studied sports fandom for decades.
This question has inspired many psychology studies, including the concepts of CORFing and BIRGing: “cutting off reflected failure,” meaning distancing yourself when your team loses, and “basking in reflected glory” when they win.
Overall, being a sports fan seems good for mental health. People find ways to reframe and reshape how they understand a loss. “I don’t know how you can be a sports fan without resilience,” Wann said.
And generally, the psychological benefits of following a team are significant. “Individuals who are really engaged with a sports team have higher self-esteem, feel less lonely and isolated, and have a stronger sense of social connection,” he said.
“Fandom can help people meet basic psychological needs, like the need to belong.” At the same time, sports fandom lets people carve out a unique identity within a community. For example, you might be a fan of both football and archery, or follow a specific group of players. Personalizing your fandom is also a basic psychological need.
The regular cycles of sports also create structure in fans’ lives. Someone might remember where they were during the last World Cup or plan their Super Bowl party months in advance. These rituals bring comfort, Wann said, and give people something to look forward to.
When the World Cup kicks off, fans worldwide gather not just in stadiums but wherever they can cheer together. “I’m sure there are plenty of psychologists in those crowds, asking fans what makes sports special to them and helps them feel happier,” Keyes said.
(Source: Time)