HORMONES
AND SPORTS

Topics: Ambition; Anger; Competition; Ego; Gender Differences; Winning and Losing

References: Romans 8:37; 2 Corinthians 2:14

Consider these stats on what happens to a man’s hormones when his team plays:

     •     average percentage points by which a male sports fan’s testosterone level rises when his team wins: 20

     •     average points by which the level falls when his team loses: 20

—Paul Bernhardt and others, “Testosterone Changes during Vicarious Experiences of Winning and Losing among Fans at Sporting Events, Physiology and Behavior, vol. 65, no. 1 (August 1998)