Dan Gaters
09-11-2008, 10:18 AM
From the you can't make this up department:
The secret benefits of fandom
It's not just psychological: When your favorite team wins a game, you may
actually profit.
"But a few scholars have started to suggest that there may indeed be another
kind of benefit from big-time sports. There's a catch, though: the team has
to be good. In a forthcoming paper, economist Michael Davis and the
psychologist Christian End say that having a winning NFL football team
increases the incomes of the people who live and work in its hometown by as
much as $120 a year. And while the study doesn't identify exactly what
causes the boost, the authors point to psychological literature suggesting
that winning fans are at once harder workers and bigger spenders. In short,
buoyed by the team's success, we work longer hours, take bigger risks, and
shop more avidly, all of which helps the local economy."
<http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2008/09/07/the_secret_bene
fits_of_fandom/?page=1>
'Nuff said.
DG
The secret benefits of fandom
It's not just psychological: When your favorite team wins a game, you may
actually profit.
"But a few scholars have started to suggest that there may indeed be another
kind of benefit from big-time sports. There's a catch, though: the team has
to be good. In a forthcoming paper, economist Michael Davis and the
psychologist Christian End say that having a winning NFL football team
increases the incomes of the people who live and work in its hometown by as
much as $120 a year. And while the study doesn't identify exactly what
causes the boost, the authors point to psychological literature suggesting
that winning fans are at once harder workers and bigger spenders. In short,
buoyed by the team's success, we work longer hours, take bigger risks, and
shop more avidly, all of which helps the local economy."
<http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2008/09/07/the_secret_bene
fits_of_fandom/?page=1>
'Nuff said.
DG