March Madness 2022: Sports psychologist reveals why fans stand behind the underdog

every year NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship It features an underdog who upsets a strong school and garners national attention.

Loyola Chicago It was one of those underdog schools in recent years. College basketball fans have stood behind the Ramblers and Sister Jean during their rounds of the tournament. The Ramblers reached the fourth final in 2018 as the 11th seed and in the regional semifinals last season as the 8th seed.

College basketball fans tend to fall behind on bottom seeds like these.

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Dr. Chelsea’s DayA licensed sports psychologist at Ohio State University explained to Fox News Digital why college basketball fans cheer the underdog.

“There are two things. The underdogs feel like they could be us. I think there’s a certain way we approach people who have made it happen but maybe we don’t come as much… Glory and recognition from the year,” Day said.

“And I think it deeply shows that sometimes even the youngest can win,” the psychiatrist said. “Sometimes those No. 13 seed are still strong schools with a long history of success in basketball. But it’s about being in that position. We’ll see them rise to the challenge and do things that no one else expects them to do, which is kind of It’s what we all want in life. We want to appear, and even when the odds are against us, we want to be able to do that and surprise people. I think there’s some connection around that side of things.

“I also think it allows us to have hope that when you work hard, it pays off. And everyone works really hard, right? But you feel like if you’re underpowered, you have to work harder. It feels like you have to work even harder to achieve That win. And so it’s like, “Oh, their hard work pays off.”

“We also like to make those risky decisions in parentheses like, ‘Well, everybody thinks this is going to happen. I’ll pick that one up, “and then you get so good when it actually happens that you didn’t do go through what the seeding was.”

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Sister Jane Dolores Schmidt celebrates her 100th birthday on August 21, 2019. Sister Jane is surprised after taking the fourth NCAA ring before the Loyola Ramblers play with the Nevada Wolf Pack in 2018 at the Gentile Arena in Chicago, Illinois.
(Armando El Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/News Tribune Service via Getty Images)

When it comes to teams like dukeAnd the KentuckyAnd the North Carolina And other “blue bloods”, fans love to watch them lose.

Day said it’s part of fans’ desire to see “Little Guy” win every now and then.

“You have these strong schools that are always successful or often successful, and you don’t want to see them go down as much as you want to see young adults succeed,” Day told Fox News Digital. “You have a David against Goliath situation where that’s the clear winner. That way the chips are stacked, that team has to win. So, how cool is it when that smaller team, perhaps with fewer resources, less recruiting power, shows up and takes down a giant?” Elsewhere, I think it’s a lot of fun to see the little guy win.

“Even on a societal level, right? We think about it when the small local business is doing its best ever and outselling the local giant. I think that includes the community that we really want to fit into those who aren’t expected to win because they don’t have the same resources. And I won’t. You never hear the end of it because it’s not supposed to happen. It’s designed not to happen. So, when it does, it’s also surprising, and you have to thrive with this energy “Nobody can stop us.” We are capable no matter what.”

It looks like the Leaky Black of the North Carolina Tar Heels will pass at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 5, 2022, in Durham, North Carolina
(Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

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The first four start March 16-17 and the full first round of the tournament will start March 18-19.