Whether it’s a World Cup final or a thrilling basketball match, you don’t always realize when the tears start to flow. But why this?
Football is magical. It is the same for other sporting disciplines which unleash passions and emotions. If the wonderful nature of these sports seems false to you, just look at how a victory unleashes passion among the spectators, to the point that some even cry with joy. While some might attribute these tears to overenthusiasm or irrational behavior, scientific research has shed light on the neurological and psychological mechanisms behind this particular emotional response.
Intense fanaticism
Being a supporter of a team, of football, or any other discipline, is more than just a pleasure. Indeed, some supporters hold a team in their hearts simply because the best athlete in their opinion in the discipline plays there. For others, supporting a team goes further. It is therefore a process of identification with the values of the team supported to the point of becoming confused with their history, their track record, or their career path. A study demonstrated this by highlighting the strong relationship between the process of identification with a favorite team and the way invested supporters experience the adventure.
Crying for a team thus happens quickly and can also reflect a feeling of joy or sadness depending on the outcome of the meeting. Science therefore supports that intense fanaticism can give rise to tears when the supported team wins a match.
The contagion effect of felt emotions
You can experience a sporting event alone from your position. That said, this same experience will be significantly stronger in emotions felt when you are in a group. In reality, it is proven that the more of you follow a sporting event, the more intense and easily shared the related emotions are.
The exchanges, comments, and other criticisms during this group experience make it very easy to self-identify strongly and quickly with one of the teams in confrontation. Upon arrival, shedding tears becomes logical both to express overflowing joy in the event of victory and deep sadness in the event of defeat. The contagion or ripple effect of the emotions felt is effective and greater when you allow yourself to experience the highlights of a sporting event in a group.
The importance of the stakes of each match
The stakes linked to a sporting event represent a valid reason to lose tears when your favorite team wins the game. In football for example, and more precisely during the Champions League, knockout matches are very decisive. Teams that fail to win in the first leg face a lot of pressure in the second leg. They are required to win to make their way to the next stage of the competition. The stakes are therefore high and the supporters also get involved with their share of emotions.
In the process, it becomes completely justified to cry profusely at the end of the meeting, either to rejoice at the end of a long period of stress or to drown one’s sorrows. Sport is a vast field punctuated by several strong moments that must be explored with the heart.
