This Is Your Brain on Sports: The Science of Underdogs, the Value of Rivalry, and What We Can Learn from the T-Shirt Cannon

by L. Jon Wertheim, Sam Sommers

This is Your Brain on Sports is the book for sports fans searching for a deeper understanding of the games they watch and the people who play them.  Sports Illustrated executive editor and bestselling author L. Jon Wertheim teams up with Tufts psychologist Sam Sommers to take readers on a wild ride into the inner world of sports.  Through the prism of behavioral economics, neuroscience, and psychology, they reveal the hidden influences and surprising cues that inspire and derail us—on the field and in the stands—and by extension, in corporate board rooms, office settings, and our daily lives. 

In this irresistible narrative romp, Wertheim and Sommers usher us from professional football to the NBA to Grand Slam tennis, from the psychology of athletes self-handicapping their performance in the boxing ring or the World Series, to an explanation of why even the glimpse of a finish line can lift us beyond ordinary physical limits.  They explore why Tom Brady and other starting NFL quarterbacks all seem to look like fashion models; why fans of teams like the Cubs, Mets, and any franchise from Cleveland love rooting for a loser; why the best players make the worst coaches; why hockey goons (and fans) would rather fight at home than on the road; and why the arena t-shirt cannon has something to teach us about human nature. 

In short, this book is an entertaining and thought-provoking journey into how psychology and behavioral science collide with the universe of wins-and-losses, coaching changes, underdogs, and rivalry games.

— Boston Globe, Best Books of 2016, Sports

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction, Psychology, Science, Book Club, Self Help, Audiobook

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 26, 2016

About the author

L. Jon Wertheim is the executive editor of Sports Illustrated. A sports journalist with a passion for psychology and economics, he is the author of such New York Times bestsellers as Scorecasting (written with Toby Moskowitz) and You Can’t Make This Up (written with Al Michaels).

Reviews

[Allen Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://www.themaineedge.com/sports/th...

We as a culture love sports and the men and women who play them. We are fascinated by the nature of competition; we make connections that become passionate lifelong commitments. We root for the home team and admire superstar performers.

But ... why?

That’s the question that “This is Your Brain on Sports: The Science of Underdogs, the Value of Rivalry, and What We Can Learn From the T-Shirt Cannon”, by L. Jon Wertheim and Sam Sommers, attempts to answer. The book delves into the psychology of sporting participation, whether as a player or a fan.

Did you ever wonder why NFL quarterbacks tend to be good-looking dudes? Or if they’re actually all that good-looking? Check out the opening chapter, titled “Why Tom Brady and All those Other Quarterbacks are so Damned Good-Looking (or are they?)” It turns out that there’s a lot more to it than chiseled jawlines and steely resolve; in fact, it might not have much to do with their appearances at all.

Ever think about why it is that, when rooting in a vacuum, we seem to be hardwired to pull for the underdog? Or why we’re compelled to fight tooth and nail for a free T-shirt fired out of a cannon - a T-shirt that we’d never actually consider buying? There are well-reasoned, well-researched explanations here - explanations that also happen to be clever and funny and narratively engaging.

From “Why Hockey Goons Would Rather Fight at Home” to “Why We Want Gronk at Our Backyard Barbecue - And Why He Wants to Be There,” from “Why Giving Every Little League Kid a Trophy is Such a Lousy Idea” to “Why the World Cup Doesn’t Lead to World Peace,” “This is Your Brain on Sports” breaks down the sociological and psychological implications of how we engage with sports on every level, from the youth level all the way up to the highest echelon of professional performance.

Sports fandom - and even sports participation to a lesser extent - can be an extremely illogical and irrational thing. Rooting for your team is in essence rooting for laundry, watching (admittedly impressive) athletes performing feats that, while incredible, are in many ways largely meaningless. What “This is Your Brain on Sports” does so beautifully is provide a context for that seeming illogic and irrationality.

Basically, if you’re a sports fan and someone in your life simply doesn’t get it, hand them this book. It probably won’t convert them, but it’s a stimulating and fun read that might at least help them to understand where you’re coming from. It’s a smart book that is unafraid to challenge the reader, yet still manages to address complex concepts in an easily relatable way.

Wertheim and Sommers are a perfect pairing for such a book. On the one hand, you have Wertheim, a long-time sportswriter who is considered to be one of the best in the business and has long shown interest in the psychological side of sport. On the other, there’s Sommers, a Tufts University teacher and researcher in the field of social psychology who happens to be a diehard sports fan. Their respective strengths are magnified by one another, resulting in (apologies in advance for the cliche) an absolute home run.

“This is Your Brain on Sports” is a smart, thoughtful look at the “why” of sports, combining concise explanations and engaging anecdotes into a perfect storm of informative entertainment. Whether you love sports or like sports - or couldn’t care less - there’s something worthwhile to be found here.

[Laura Skladzinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book! It's basically Freakonomics/Predictably Irrational/Thinking Fast and Slow combined with David Epstein's The Sports Gene.

Full review here: http://www.50by25.com/2016/01/book-re...

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

* Based on a reading of ARC

This is a fun read broken down into 20 chapters dealing with various familiar sport topics from "Why quarterbacks are good-looking?", "Why we love underdogs?" to "Why the best players make the worst coaches" and so on.

What this book is not is a book you will devour in one sitting, rather it's ideal for someone with a limited time looking for an entertaining read. This book felt like a mini version of Malcom Gladwell's titles, but dealing with sports, its myths, its beliefs that are backed up with research and studies. The authors were trying to prove that sports are insight into humanity by providing examples outside of sports, in politics, business, and our daily lives.

I would recommend this book to sports fans who are looking for something different than the usual sport theme titles, as well as looking for conversational topics over drinks or meals with friend and family. For non sports fan I would also recommend this book if they are looking for easy, breezy read that will tickle their brain.

[Natalie Resendes · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Sports Industry Revealed and It is far from Disappointing
This Is Your Brain on Sports is a book written for the purpose of informing people who love anything and everything about sports and are willing to read example after example of the industry. This book is far from a bore and it is hard to put down once you get into the swing of it. However, the piece is aimed at a specific audience which is compiled of die-hard sports fans, analytic sports enthusiasts, or someone who enjoys a fun read with sports in mind.
L. Jon Wertheim and Sam Sommers have quite different backgrounds but have proven to collaborate well in this book. L. Jon Wertheim is an author and sports journalist. He has been working full-time at Sports Illustrated since 1996 and is currently the executive editor, a senior writer, a television commentator for various networks and shows. One of his eight books, Scorcasting, is a New York Times bestseller. Sam Sommers, PH.D., works at Tufts University as a social psychologist and garnered the title of Professor of the Year in 2009. His first book was titled Situations Matter: Understanding How Context Transforms Your World. The group he works with researches group diversity, interracial interaction, and the combination of psychology and law.
This is Your Brain on Sports explains theories, myths, numerous psychology studies to help in the understanding of the sports industry. It includes 20 chapters, each explaining a different myth, misconception, or theory. Included in the introduction chapter is, “All that crazy we associate with sports? We’re going to explain why it’s not so crazy after all. And then we’ll explore what lessons and principles sports offer for better navigating our daily lives as managers, business owners, consumers, parents, and more. As Errol Morris said, sports touches on everything” (3). The chapter titled, “Why Tom Brady and All Those Other Quarterbacks Are So Damned Good-Looking (or Are They?)”, goes in depth on the stated concept. It explains an experiment that analyzed the data from an attraction study that used randomly selected participants to rate various NFL players without knowing their positions. This is further related to screen time and attraction based on the media and their appearance. After that, “Why Giving Every Little League Kid a Trophy Is Such a Lousy Idea”, introduces the world of kids and sports. It proposes that they need to deserve the trophy and should only have one if they excel in a certain area. The book is humorous and factual with a dash of scientific. It is not meant to do much more than display facts and inform the readers of the world of sports, however the do relate any concept to an understandable example for the reader to ensure they enjoy and possibly relate. In other words, they make sure that strong variability is present in the compilation of each new section, so there is a chapter for everyone.
Wertheim and Sommers aim to make the book an easy to read analysis on sports and their impact on the modern world. They use different athletes and teams to personify their examples such as Mayweather and his fights, “Veins bulged in his neck, as if attempting a jailbreak from his skin, and small reservoirs of spittle formed in the corners of his mouth” (31), to later explain why we crave disrespect. They use unexpected analogies and metaphors for examples that you may never know you wanted. Another example is Little Leaguers associated with hard work, “Everyone who’s spent time in the youth sports ecosystem knows that trophies are ubiquitous. Everyone gets one— regardless of effort or outcome” (137). Aside from using different athletes, they use examples of every sport they can mention and pull topic-specific studies or stories of people involved in the sports industry and why the reader should care. By continuously making jokes about the matters at hand, it is more engaging to read and finish reading without hesitation.
This book stays accurate enough while including analogies and metaphors to get their points across. By the end of reading this, you will understand every concept being thrown (like a baseball, maybe football) at you. Wertheim and Sommers put their entirety into this book and it does more than show, it shares. Once this book is over you will want a sequel, but in all honesty, they have covered so much in such an efficient way it is hard to think of how they could do it all again. In other words, they covered many topics, but made it one fine, fun-to-read, sports enthusiast piece.

[Halle Wassink · Rating 4 out of 5]

“so often the appearance of lunacy in sports isn’t lunacy at all. As outlandish as sports conduct might seem, it is rooted in basic human psychology, neuroscience, and cognitive tendency.”

Listening to this was like taking a class that has talks about practical, real life stuff and you start seeing things you learn pop up in real life. A curriculum need for people working in sports and business in general. I found myself frequently citing this book multiple times a game day lol. Really enjoyed the content and examples provided.

[Cole Maylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is very statistical and gets deep inside your brain. It asks some odd yet very interesting questions. and analyzes everything from what makes someone attractive to batting percentage. With all this questions it is one of the most insightful books I have ever read and gave me much food for my thought.

[Matt Zar-Lieberman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Certain athletic events defy scientific explanation: Gus Ferotte's neck-spraining celebratory cement wall headbutt and Bobby Bonilla's Mets contract immediately spring to mind. But as Sports Illustrated's L Jon Wertheim and Tufts psychology professor Sam Sommers deftly illustrate in their new book This is Your Brain on Sports, the social sciences can actually help us understand a variety of perplexing athletic topics of the non-Ferotte/Bonilla variety.

Wertheim is no stranger to breezy social science/sports crossovers, having co-authored Scorecasting, which challenged conventional sports wisdom with some number-crunching, with University of Chicago economist Tobias Moskowitz in 2011. While some its conclusions may not have passed muster with peer review panels, it was a fun and occasionally enlightening read. This is Your Brain on Sports is not really a sequel to Scorecasting as the focus has shifted from analytics to psychology, but it follows a similar template and is just as entertaining.

This is Your Brain on Sports focuses mainly on individual and group behavior: why do many athletes make morally-questionable decisions (and then rationalize them in an almost-humorously inept fashion), why do so many nonpartisans pull for the underdog, why are coaches seemingly always on the hot seat? The authors use these discussions as a springboard to share some revealing psychological studies that both help explain the phenomenon and improve our general understanding of human psychology. In most of these cases, the conclusion is that while we may not compare physically with these non-Bartolo Colon professional athletes, these quirks illustrate some broader conclusions of human nature that certainly extend to those outside of top echelons of athletics.

Wertheim and Sommers explore over twenty topics in all. Each chapter sets the stage by briefly explaining the seemingly bizarre element of sports and then proceeds to share the conclusions of several relevant studies. Sometimes they can leverage actual studies on sports, such as a statistical analysis of NFL coaching longevity and some original research about the attractiveness of NFL quarterbacks, and other times they cite other psychological studies and hope that the external validity at least extends to sports (and in most cases it probably does). These studies don't always have the soundest methodologies (and to their credit the authors often point that out) and this was never intended for publication in any academic journal. This is merely attempting to amuse the reader with some interesting takeaways and thought food and understanding of things like the halo effect rather than completely upend their notions of human behavior with a new foundation for how to look at psychology, which is why the book has a light tone throughout and covers some inane (yet often fascinating) topics like the aforementioned look at quarterback attractiveness.

The book strikes an optimal balance when it comes to scientific explanations. The intended audience is clearly sports fans with some interest in the social sciences (the inverse will still likely get something out of the book, though it will tread some familiar territory), so there is mercifully little arcane, inside baseball, academic talk about inhibited neurotransmitters and the underlying mechanics of the occipital lobe. There were a few sections that were unsurprising or rehashed material I had already read in other books or studied in college, but no chapters overstayed their welcome and I knew there would likely be a more interesting chapter coming soon (and there most always was). You might not learn as much about psychology as you would in a textbook (well actually you definitely wouldn't that's a remarkably unfair comparison), but This is Your Brain on Sports does offer a solid introduction to these topics that can spur further exploration in the sea of pop psychology books that followed in Freakonomics' wake.

Overall, This is Your Brain on Sports is a very enjoyable read and would go down as one of my favorite books in 2015 if it wasn't being released in February 2016. If you want to learn more about what psychology can tell us about the often wacky world of athletes (and also some trivial tidbits like the story of how journeyman quarterback Elvis Grbac (for all you youngins all you need to know is he's not exactly Casanova) was once named to People Magazine's Sexiest Men list) and enjoy pop psychology books and have at least a passing interest in sports, there is a lot to get out of This is Your Brain on Sports.

8.5 / 10

Note: I received a promotional electronic version of this book for an honest review.

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun little read mixing sports and psychology. Would recommend!

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is much more of a cognitive biases and neuroscience book than a sports book. But it's really easy to read and understand, and legitimately funny.

And I learned a lot and took away a lot of good tidbits. Best one was the term "finish line effect." Our brains naturally try to conserve energy when we know the finish line, whether that's running a race or saving a baby. That's why we often collapse when the task is done. But if we could see the finish line further, we'd find the energy to continue to go on. (Interesting treadmill tests to play with this.)

Others:

Despite the urban legends, QBs are NOT more attractive than other players.

"A false narrative told well is an invaluable tool for motivation and ego protection" (re: Nobody believed in us!)

"Ballgames are like Rorschach tests."

"Highly competent but charmingly flawed is a tough combination to beat." (This would make a great online bio)

Over 20 years, home underdogs in the NFL have covered the point spread 54% of the time. But only get 40% of the money. (Which seems to mean that if you just bet home underdogs, you'd come out ahead.)

"Human nature is surprisingly state-dependent" (Every person reacts different when they're calm than when they're excited/angry/amped up. And one doesn't really predict the other.)

Goals are important: But they have to be clear, short term and consistent (no moving the goal posts).

If you get someone to do a favor for you (rather than you for them), they're more likely to see you positively, and to do other things. In part, it's a self justification: I did something for him, and I'm not an idiot, therefore it must be smart to do things for him.

The IKEA effect: People value things more highly if they had a role in creating them.

People are highly resilient, especially when dealing with grief, especially in the early stages. There are MANY stories of athletes performing well after a family member dies.

[Jeremy]

The premise of the book instantly got to me. I love reading about sports, and a book on the brain was appealing to me.

The book was an enjoyable read, though like others it was not quick. Instead, these books are made to be devoured one chapter at a time. Each chapter is like it's own article, and therefore the book can be read one section at a time, with the order not being very important. I thought some of the chapters were interesting, though I will say that they skew towards American topics such as American football and the like. Personally, I'm a fan of more foreign sports like badminton, squash, athletics, and the like. But since these aren't prime sports in America (except for maybe athletics), they weren't as featured in the book. This is just a small personal complaint.

I did enjoy the various chapters in the book. The science seemed good, and it made for some interesting observations. I'd recommend the book for sports fan who love the big sports like football and basketball.

Note: I received an advance copy from NetGalley, so make what you will of that.

[Ron Starr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and funny

Very interesting, funny and well-written. Really enjoyed it. A touch repetitive in some places, but overall a good read. Would recommend to a friend.

[Taro Yamashita · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy books on sports psychology, and this one is rather entertaining. It addresses a wide range of interesting phenomena in sports, such as rivalry, the effect of "participation trophies," and why people root for underdogs. Some of the questions it addresses are interesting, but not all. Some of them seem to be included for titillation (studies pertaining to whether sexual activity prior to athletic contests has any effect on performance -- it does not), and some are not as well-researched as I wanted them to be (because the scope of the interesting question is too darned large, like why international sports competitions do not actually foster international political peace). Some of the chapters are reasonably well done, though, and those were really engaging.

You know how an excellently written book takes you on a journey, and you become completely immersed in it? This book did that sporadically. There were times when I was utterly engrossed, but then there were times when I suddenly thought, "This part feels like it was written by a journalist writing about something he doesn't understand well, on deadline, and doesn't care very much about." There were a couple other times when the professionalism of the authors' tones of voice gave way to their storytelling about their own lives. It's OK that they chose topics that interested them, personally, but I didn't need to feel like I was shooting the breeze with them in their basement bar... I would have enjoyed it if the rigor was uniform with the other topics they tackled.

That said, it was worth reading, and I will likely want to read this again, and maybe purchase it (I read a library copy), though I'll seek it used.

[Andy Huette · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy the sports/psychology/sociology/humor genre and this book fits the bill. It's full of interesting historical sports trivia and the aim of the book is to explain how much of what we see in sports is confirmed by psychological and sociological research. Some great truths about the halo effect (why we think we're more moral than we are), the value of a finish line (how the brain regulates exertion when a known finish exists), mob mentality, invisible audience, etc.

I don't know how interesting it would be to read, but it made for a fitting audiobook that could be listened to in 100 different small snippets. One critique I had is that in order for the book to be interesting, as it was, it couldn't be too technical, but the problem with it not being technical is that some of the "research findings" seemed like just-so stories. For instance, they argued that athletes perform best after tragedies or suffering (i.e. Brett Farve's game after his dad died). But I'd guess that there are just as many athletes who have had terrible games after a tragedy, yet such games where unmentioned.

[Stella · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Is Your Brain on Sports: The Science of Underdogs, the Value of Rivalry, and What We Can Learn from the T-Shirt Cannon by L. Jon Wertheim and Sam Sommers is an interesting look at the psychology of sports. Well, maybe not ‘SPORTS’ but more about the how and why we like the teams we like. How and why the quarterback always seems to be the ‘hot’ guy. The how and why we scream for free t-shirt.

Jon and Sam did their homework. With numerous references and several studies, this book is for everyone, not just sports fan. Many of the same principles can apply to fans of other things. Quarterback can translate to lead actors or lead singers. The underdog theory applies to ‘indie’ actors and bass players. ;)

Thanks to Blogging for Books and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for this review.

[Sakib Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

When we see a brilliant soccer player score a seemingly impossible goal from midfield, or angry supporters fighting in the streets after a game, it’s hard to believe that both professional athletes and riotous fans have brains similar to the rest of us.

Whether it’s the World Cup final or a neighborhood showdown at the local park, there’s just something about sports that brings out the best – and the worst – in us. By looking at the world of sports, there’s a lot we can learn about human behavior in general.

The world of sports can serve as a window into many aspects of the human psyche. From our love of underdogs to the importance of picking yourself up and dusting yourself off after a defeat, the behavior of both professional athletes and raving fans give us important insights into our day-to-day lives.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I may have been trying to learn something about myself here. With thought-provoking research, Jon and Sam explain ‘why we are the way we are’, when watching sports, including:

- Why we love underdogs, but it never lasts;
- Why we stick with our teams, our in-groups and value ‘group struggle’; and
- How heated rivalries can be strangely good for us —enemies with benefits.

Along the way, every bias, blind spot, in-group, egotism, reflected glory, irrational belief and ‘the team as an expression of a fan's sense of self’ is laid bare. Still, as long as you don’t take this all too seriously, being a sports fan can be a very psychologically healthy activity and offer lessons for navigating our daily lives as Managers, Business Owners, Parents and more.

As Errol Morris said, Sports touch on everything — and they are better with nachos.

[Roger Smitter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This very accessible book links traditional ways of crunching data with insights into sports. The book takes a broad stroke about sports: team sports, individual sports, college, pro, and amateur. It also takes on all kinds of quantative research. Early in the book, the focus focuses on pro sports, with some very engaging data. This includes a very good analysis of winning streaks. The second half shifts gears to individual performance.

Sports fans who want to understand more than scores will like this book.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books where events that were current around its publication date are very outdated less than a decade later. For example, a list of NFL quarterbacks in 2014 would include several who had yet to reach their peak, while now those same quarterbacks are seasoned veterans or even retired. A LOT has changed in the sports landscape since this book was published. Still, some of the scientific studies are still relevant and interesting.

I found it amusing that when quoting PK Subban, the audiobook narrator inexplicably gave him a French accent.

[Sophie L · Rating 3 out of 5]

Approximately two chapters were helpful...unfortunately I'm interested in the using sports psychology for sports, not how to adapt my obsession with losing teams into the real world. If you're looking for something that will translate sports to the real world in a way that has going "oh, that explains it" then this is the book for you. It's mostly engaging and you can easily read a chapter, come back two weeks later and not be worse for wear (as I did a million times.) IDLK, helpful, not life changing.

[Chloe Schneeberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book for me was more interesting than entertaining. I started it a couple years ago and never finished it because I got a bit bored. But now that I’m entering the field of sports psych I thought I’d give it another shot and got a lot out of it. I particularly enjoyed the chapter about endurance running and the insight into how underdog mindset can foster motivation. Lots of cool connections between the psychology behind sports and other areas of life. SPORTS ARE LIFE ⚽️👟🤩🕺

[Vanessa Princessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book through Blinkist.

The key message in this book:

The world of sports can serve as a window into many aspects of the human psyche. From our love of underdogs to the importance of picking yourself up and dusting yourself off after a defeat, the behavior of both professional athletes and raving fans give us important insights into our day-to-day lives.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this as a Goodreads giveaway.

This book was a lot of fun to read. The authors managed to straddle a science/entertainment line very well. Lots of good and interesting information in an easily digestible format. It was clear the authors had fun writing and researching it (and it was researched quite well).

[Isabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

My worlds of science nerdiness and sports enthusiasm collide when reading this book. It considers some of the most fundamental aspects of our beloved games - underdogs, rivalries, fights, etc. - and examines them from a scientific standpoint, backed by professionals from all fields. Such a unique read.

[Blaine Welgraven · Rating 5 out of 5]

"As outlandish as sports conduct might seem, it is rooted in basic human psychology, neuroscience, and cognitive tendency. All that crazy we associate with sports? We're going to explain why it's not crazy at all" -- This is Your Brain On Sports, L. Jon Wertheim

A worthwhile, engaging, and relevant read - particularly if you manage at any level whatsoever.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing! As a sport management student with an interest in neuroscience this book is a perfect combination of the two, showing that sport really reflects every aspect of human nature. Also, any book that has a section dedicated to t-shirt cannons is bound to be top notch.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Interesting studies, findings, and stories. These authors are also pretty witty. The obvious thing missing in this book is that a lot of the studies sited were only done on men. Typical. The authors did call that out.

[John Ferreira · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been on my "one day read" list. I was not disappointed. Although I didn't know most of the teams and athletes referenced, I did enjoy the book. The things that are brought up, and the studies quoted, will benefit even someone who is not a sports enthusiast.

[Ljg · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is sloppily written and organised. Anything you know about the brain from an intro psych class, we’ll, that’s basically what comes out of this mess of words. Few moments of intrigue and learning, many of what-the-heck-is -happening.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A look at how sports mindsets (and cliches) figure into motivation and psychology. Not necessarily a lot of profound insight (especially having been published 8 years ago) but a fun and informative read.

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book--loads of interesting tidbits!