According to experts, the Detroit Lions’ success this season is probably improving the fans’ mental health.
With the team playing in its first NFC championship game since the 1990s on Sunday, the fan base is witnessing a deeper postseason run than it has in decades.
According to clinical psychologist Mohsan Beg, Lions supporters would find the victory the more sweeter because of how long the wait was.
He remarked, “A lot of people have been waiting a lifetime.”
peaking during a touchdown. The rival team’s lowest point total.
Fans experience a wide range of emotions while watching a game.
The feelings of elation that are amplified when they are experienced infrequently, as is the case with Detroit supporters.
Beg stated, “This is pent-up emotion.” Thus, we know that a few things are going on in your brain. Dopamine is released in this way. People are experiencing happiness, pleasure, and euphoria, which is comparable to receiving a runner’s high, enjoying a wonderful meal, attending a performance, or listening to excellent music.
“And what else is going on,” he clarified. “When you jump, shout, yell, and have all that energy, sometimes you get this release of endorphins, which leads to a sense of excitement and then a reduction of stress.”
He stated, “So you have all of this in that environment and the history, and it can become overwhelming for some people.”
The game on Sunday night included fans hugging strangers, high-fiving one other, and even breaking down in tears after the victory.
Supporters such as Aaron Wikaryasz, who gained notoriety for sobbing following the game’s winning touchdown.
“It’s true that people say this guy is crying over a football game,” Wikaryasz said to WXYZ in Detroit.
When Wikaryasz’s father passed away in 2004, he was buried in a Lions shirt, proving how devoted he was to the team.
It was more than just a football game, he remarked, adding that it’s silly to cry over it.
Beg stated that the feelings of love and unity felt by fans at these times are good, particularly during the usually depressing winter days and in light of the widespread loneliness this side of the pandemic.
“This is something that’s really uniting the region and we know there’s a whole problem with isolation and feeling disconnected from people,” he said.
Beg stated there are advantages to joining the bandwagon even if you haven’t been a lifelong fan.
“It happens naturally; I don’t think people have a choice,” he stated.
