Sports are interwoven into society not just in the United States, but all over the world.
People attach themselves to sports teams for a variety of reasons, not just financially by buying merchandise or paying to go to games, but also emotionally.
When we root for a sports team, we’re emotionally attaching ourselves to their success. When our teams win, we typically feel a sense of pride and accomplishment, despite just being an observer.
When our teams lose, it can ruin our day, or even worse, our health.
Having an unhealthy obsession with anything increases health risks, whether it be food, alcohol, sports, etc. That much is obvious. But can a team’s futility in a given sport harm fans?
In an article by Everyday Health, Ryan Arledge, a die-hard Cleveland Browns fan, feels physical pain when his favorite football team plays poorly.
“The worst feeling in the world is when [the Browns] play really bad.” According to Arledge, he feels his head pounding after listening to the post-game analysis.
A CNN article tells the story of Steven Clary, an Atlanta Falcons fan who tuned in to watch Super Bowl LI. Clary felt good while his team was up 28-3 on the New England Patriots. However, when the Patriots completed a comeback and won in overtime, Clary’s found himself in the hospital with chest pains after a spike in blood pressure. The nurse practitioner on duty told Clary’s wife that it wasn’t uncommon for the ER to fill up with people after big sporting events.
Ken Yeager, clinical director of the Stress, Trauma and Resilience Program (STAR) at Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center, points to the fight-or-flight survival mechanism within people. People become too emotionally invested in the game to the point where it is no longer pleasurable. Yeager lists some ideas about how to avoid health issues when watching sports such as avoiding drinking too much, working out and lowering stress before the game, watching with “good” fans, and turning down the volume on the TV if the game is going badly.
The thrill of the game is the best part of being a sport’s fan. Sports are a good way for people of all different backgrounds to unite and cheer for a common purpose.
I love sports, so I can speak from experience. After all, the Predators and Seahawks have given me both good and bad memories, but health is something that shouldn’t be ignored, even during the course of watching a game.
At the end of the day, it’s important to understand that sports are really trivial in the grand scheme of things, aside from sports franchises bringing in countless amounts of money. Surround yourself with good people, don’t binge drink or eat prior to the game and don’t take it too seriously. Just have a good time.
