In the world of sports, there are many aspects outside of just the skill of the game that can influence a team’s success, for instance, weather. However, the most important influence comes from having home home-field advantage.
Physiologically athletes feed off the energy and emotions that come from the fans and supporting sections at big games. From this comes increased adrenaline that improves team performance. Whether it’s a soccer stadium with their chants or a college football arena filled with fifty thousand fans, the support of a home fan section builds motivation for the home team and pressures the away team. Every stadium and team has their unique set of fans that create a unique environment only found at that specific stadium. The motivation and support from the fans can increase the beneficial stress levels and focus of players and can often be a key factor in the outcome of a big game.
Two sports, in particular, have outstanding house stadium effects, Soccer and football. In European soccer, stadiums sell out for games, and specific sections are created to facilitate the needs of extreme fans. For example Westfalenstadion in Borussia Dortmund Germany.
This stadium is famous in the world of soccer for having one of the loudest and most impressive home atmospheres of any soccer team in the world. As seen in the image the fans pack into the supporting section bringing flags, flares, and all wearing their teams’ merch to create what is referenced as the “yellow wall”. Former Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp once stated, “You come out and the stadium explodes: out of the darkness and into the light. You look to your left and it looks like one hundred and fifty thousand people are standing there going crazy”. Dortmund is also famous for its massive tifos, where all the fans get together and create an image that they display over the entire supporting section. Shown Below is an in-person tour of the stadium by YouTube channel Ry’s Football Paradise
The tifos always have meaning behind them often referencing a past game between the two teams playing or even a trophy that they have recently won. These aspects combine to create an environment where rival teams dread playing and where the home team thrives.
College football is the second sport where the environment is considered a massive factor. College kids go to every game that their college plays, putting all of their emotion and school pride into the support of their college football team, which is why oftentimes there are filled-out stadiums with loud chants. One college in particular that has a significant home-field advantage is Penn State. They have a tradition called a “white out” where every fan at the stadium wears white to create this intimidating wall of fans and gives off the impression that there are many more people in the stadium than there are.
To this day Home-field advantage is one of the most important yet elusive aspects of sports. While it’s difficult to objectify, the psychological support and familiarity with conditions continue to provide teams with an edge. As teams strategize for success, gaining home-field advantage in playoffs and critical matches is often seen as a major goal and one that could be the difference between winning and losing.
