The Power of Winning and the Appeal of Underdogs
The Power of Winning and the Appeal of Underdogs
Issue 124: Why winning increases identity and why underdogs have a unique appeal
Tonight is Game 7 of the NHL FINALS between the Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers. Will the Panthers win their first cup or will the Oilers complete the greatest comeback in the history of the sport? Either way, the winning team has a chance to completely rewire the brains of an entire generation.
I am a lifelong Oiler fan and I’ll be anxious watching every play. Growing up in the chilly confines of Fox Creek in Northern Alberta there was little to do in the heart of winter. So we watched hockey.
One of my earliest memories as a kid is my grandfather shooing me and my brother out of the living room so my grandmother could “Watch her Boys”. Her boys were the 1980’s Edmonton Oilers—the most exciting team in the history of hockey.
Before long, I was curled up with my grandma on the couch watching Wayne Gretzky, Paul Coffee, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, and Grant Fuhr light up some overmatched opponent. That team won 5 Stanley Cups in 7 years, but it also fundamentally changed how I think about myself—winning has a unique power to spark a deeper sense of shared identity.
As we wrote in a previous column, playing on the same sports team can bind people together in powerful ways. For instance, one study in a war torn region of Northern Iraq found that Christian players on mixed-religion soccer teams were more willing to train with Muslims in the future, vote for a Muslim to win a sportsmanship prize, and sign up for a mixed-religion team the next season. By sharing a group identity and working together, they were able to bridge what had seemed like an impossible divide.
An often overlooked finding in this research is that winning made everything better:
Team success amplified these effects. Successful teams forged an especially strong sense of shared identity, and connections between teammates reducing patterns of discrimination for many months. It provided the first steps toward rebuilding a sense of community.
But the impact of tonight’s game will extend far beyond the area. Fans from around the world will be watching. The last time there was a game 7 in the NHL finals, nearly 9 million people watched. And with a Canadian team on the cusp of winning their fist cup in over three decades, an entire nation will be tuned in.
This will have an impact on the sense of self for countless people. But It might have the biggest impact on kids. Maybe they will be watching the game with their grandma, like I did. If so, it will likely make an imprint on their soul that will last a lifetime.
An analysis by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz traced the fan identities of New Yorkers. Then he connected it to the success of the Yankees and Mets to see if their success fostered news fans. As you can see if the figure, men were more influenced by the local teams success during their childhood—women’s allegiances were more stable.
When the Mets won, the ratio of local Mets fans spiked. But this was especially true among young boys. They were like young goslings or ducklings, who imprint on the first parental figure they see. This creates a psychological bond that is nearly impossible to break. The difference is that humans appear to do it for successful teams!
Overall, boys who were 8-12 years old when the local team won became fans for decades. During these years, their were 6-8% greater they would develop a sense of fandom with the local championship team—and stick with it for decades. This suggests there may be a "sensitive period" where you form certain identities that can stick with you for the rest of your life.
This is why grown adults, like myself, feel a deep sense of connection to teams long after their winning ways are behind them. In my case, the Oilers dominated the 1980’s—when I was in those sensitive years. Then they went into a depressing period of stagnation. To be exact, the Oilers haven’t won a championship since 1990—a total of 33 excruciating years for many fans. Coincidentally, it was also the year I turned 12.
But the long, painful wait might finally pay off.
If the Oilers win, it will also be one of the biggest underdog victories in history. The Oilers struggled at that start of the season and found themselves 10 points out of a playoff place. There is only one team in history who has overcome such a deficit to win the Stanley Cup. Likewise, the Oilers were behind 3 games to 0 in the finals. Again, only one team in history has come from that far from behind to win (and that was in 1942).
To provide a broader context, no team in NBA history has won a series after falling behind 3-0 in the playoffs, and only one team in Major League Baseball has ever done (the Boston Red Sox). To call it a historic comeback would be an understatement.
I was in Edmonton last week to give a talk at the University of Alberta (my alma mater) and saw the city explode in joy after wins in Game 4 and 5. To call it a party would be an understatement. If the Oilers win tonight, it would certain be bedlam in the city and likely erupt in celebrations across Canada. Coming from behind is extra sweet, psychologically speaking.
Nothing beats a great underdog story!
Dominic and I learned this many years ago. We wanted to understand why teams want to claim underdog status and how it might impact social identification. In a collaboration with Toronto Business School professor, Geoff Leonardelli, we conducted a pair of studies on underdogs. We found that people were more likely to identify with an underdog sports team but only when they are high in the need for distinctiveness.
Underdogs seem to scratch a special kind of itch—called optimal distinctiveness. They provide both a sense of belonging and distinctiveness. This makes them uniquely appealing.
We also found that support for an underdog is amplified at moments when they are doing well—and building momentum—against an opponent. This might be why the fans in Edmonton have been going particularly crazy as the team has mounted a comeback against Florida. My favorite video thus far was of some fans driving a Zamboni through downtown traffic.
I could go on forever, but the game starts in two hours. Hope you tune in and cheer along. If not, these playoffs offer some useful lessons about the power of winning and the psychology of underdogs.
News and Updates
I gave a talk last week on THE POWER OF US at the University of Alberta Department of Psychology. This is where I fell in love with social psychology and got my start in research: I worked with Kim Noels, Jeff Schimel, and David Pierce as an undergraduate research assistant. It was incredible to go back on campus and share my research. I graduated in 2002, but it felt like I had never left.
If you want to invite either of us to speak at your event, podcast, or other venue please complete this form.
Catch up on the last one…
Last week, we shared a free syllabus and teaching materials on group psychology.
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