This Is Your Brain on Sports : The Science of Underdogs, the Value of Rivalry, and What We Can Learn From the T-Shirt Cannon

__This is Your Brain on Sports__ is __the__ book for sports fans searching for a deeper understanding of the games they watch and the people who play them. __Sports Illustrated__ executive editor and bestselling author L. Jon Wertheim teams up with Tufts psychologist Sam Sommers to take readers on a wild ride into the inner world of sports. Through the prism of behavioral economics, neuroscience, and psychology, they reveal the hidden influences and surprising cues that inspire and derail us--on the field and in the stands--and by extension, in corporate board rooms, office settings, and our daily lives. In this irresistible narrative romp, Wertheim and Sommers usher us from professional football to the NBA to Grand Slam tennis, from the psychology of athletes self-handicapping their performance in the boxing ring or the World Series, to an explanation of why even the glimpse of a finish line can lift us beyond ordinary physical limits. They explore why Tom... The Book For Sports Fans Searching For A Deeper Understanding Of The Games They Watch And The People Who Play Them. Bestselling Author L. Jon Wertheim Teams Up With Tufts Psychologist Sam Sommers To Take Readers On A Wild Ride Into The Inner World Of Sports. Through The Prism Of Behavioral Economics, Neuroscience, And Psychology, They Reveal The Hidden Influences And Surprising Cues That Inspire And Derail Us--on The Field And In The Stands--and By Extension, In Corporate Board Rooms, Office Settings, And Our Daily Lives.--adapted From Book Jacket. Your Brain On Sports -- Why The T-shirt Cannon Has Something To Teach Us About Human Nature -- Why Tom Brady And All Those Other Quarterbacks Are So Damned Good-looking (or Are They?) -- Why We Channel Our Inner Mayweather And Secretly Crave Disrespect -- Why We Are All Dog Lovers At Heart (but Not Deep In Our Hearts) -- Why Hockey Goons Would Rather Fight At Home -- The Curse Of The Expert: Why The Best Players Make The Worst Coaches -- Acting On Impulse : Why We Aren't So Different From The Sports Hothead (l-o-b, Crabtree!) -- Why Athletes Don't Need An Empty Bed Before Competition -- Why The Coach's Seat Is Always Hot -- Why So Many Successful Ultra-endurance Athletes Area Also Successful Recovering Addicts -- Why Giving Every Little League Kid A Trophy Is Such A Lousy Idea -- Why Rooting For The Mets Is Like Building That Ikea Desk -- Why We Need Rivals -- Why We Want Gronk At Our Backyard Barbecue-- And Why He Wants To Be There -- Tribal Warfare : Why The Agony Of The Other Team's Defeat Feels Just As Good As The Thrill Of Our Team's Victory -- Why We Are All Comeback Kids -- Why Running On A Treadmill Is Like Running A Business -- Why The World Cup Doesn't Lead To World Peace (even If J. Lo And Pitbull Claim Otherwise) -- Why Our Moral Compass Is More Flexible Than An Olympic Gymnast -- Why Unlocking The Mystery Of Human Consciousness Is-- Like So Much Else In Life-- All About Sports. L. Jon Wertheim And Sam Sommers. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 253-270) And Index. This is Your Brain on Sports is the book for sports fans searching for a deeper understanding of the games they watch and the people who play them. Sports Illustrated executive editor and bestselling author L. Jon Wertheim teams up with Tufts psychologist Sam Sommers to take readers on a wild ride into the inner world of sports. Through the prism of behavioral economics, neuroscience, and psychology, they reveal the hidden influences and surprising cues that inspire and derail us—on the field and in the stands—and by extension, in corporate board rooms, office settings, and our daily lives. In this irresistible narrative romp, Wertheim and Sommers usher us from professional football to the NBA to Grand Slam tennis, from the psychology of athletes self-handicapping their performance in the boxing ring or the World Series, to an explanation of why even the glimpse of a finish line can lift us beyond ordinary physical limits. They explore why Tom Brady and other starting NFL quarterbacks all seem to look like fashion models; why fans of teams like the Cubs, Mets, and any franchise from Cleveland love rooting for a loser; why the best players make the worst coaches; why hockey goons (and fans) would rather fight at home than on the road; and why the arena t-shirt cannon has something to teach us about human nature. In short, this book is an entertaining and thought-provoking journey into how psychology and behavioral science collide with the universe of wins-and-losses, coaching changes, underdogs, and rivalry games. — Boston Globe, Best Books of 2016, Sports This is Your Brain on Sports is the book for sports fans searching for a deeper understanding of the games they watch and the people who play them. Sports Illustrated executive editor and bestselling author L. Jon Wertheim teams up with Tufts psychologist Sam Sommers to take readers on a wild ride into the inner world of sports. Through the prism of behavioral economics, neuroscience, and psychology, they reveal the hidden influences and surprising cues that inspire and derail us?on the field and in the stands?and by extension, in corporate board rooms, office settings, and our daily lives. In this irresistible narrative romp, Wertheim and Sommers usher us from professional football to the NBA to Grand Slam tennis, from the psychology of athletes self-handicapping their performance in the boxing ring or the World Series, to an explanation of why even the glimpse of a finish line can lift us beyond ordinary physical limits. They explore why Tom Brady and other starting NFL quarterbacks all seem to look like fashion models; why fans of teams like the Cubs, Mets, and any franchise from Cleveland love rooting for a loser; why the best players make the worst coaches; why hockey goons (and fans) would rather fight at home than on the road; and why the arena t-shirt cannon has something to teach us about human nature. In short, this book is an entertaining and thought-provoking journey into how psychology and behavioral science collide with the universe of wins-and-losses, coaching changes, underdogs, and rivalry games. From the Hardcover edition This is Your Brain on Sports is the book for sports fans searching for a deeper understanding of the games they watch and the people who play them. Sports Illustrated executive editor and bestselling author L. Jon Wertheim teams up with Tufts psychologist Sam Sommers to take readers on a wild ride into the inner world of sports. Through the prism of behavioral economics, neuroscience, and psychology, they reveal the hidden influences and surprising cues that inspire and derail us--on the field and in the stands--and by extension, in corporate board rooms, office settings, and our daily lives. In this irresistible narrative romp, Wertheim and Sommers usher us from professional football to the NBA to Grand Slam tennis, from the psychology of athletes self-handicapping their performance in the boxing ring or the World Series, to an explanation of why even the glimpse of a finish line can lift us beyond ordinary physical limits. They explore why Tom Brady and other starting NFL quarterbacks all seem to look like fashion models; why fans of teams like the Cubs, Mets, and any franchise from Cleveland love rooting for a loser; why the best players make the worst coaches; why hockey goons (and fans) would rather fight at home than on the road; and why the arena t-shirt cannon has something to teach us about human nature. This is Your Brain on Sports is an entertaining and thought-provoking journey into how psychology and behavioral science collide with the universe of wins-and-losses, coaching changes, underdogs, and rivalry games Introduction: your brain on sports Why the t-shirt cannon has something to teach us about human nature Why Tom Brady and all those other quarterbacks are so damned good-looking (or are they?) Why we channel our inner Mayweather and secretly crave disrespect Why we are all dog lovers at heart (but not deep in our hearts) Why hockey goons would rather fight at home The curse of the expert: why the best players make the worst coaches Acting on impluse: why we aren't so different from the sports hothead (L-O-B, Crabtree!) Why athletes don't need an empty bed before competition Why the coach's seat is always hot Why so many successful ultra-endurance athletes area also successful recovering addicts Why giving every little league kid a trophy is such a lousy idea Why rooting for the Mets is like building that IKEA desk Why we need rivals Why we want Gronk at our backyard barbecue, and why he wants to be there Tribal warfare: why the agony of the other team's defeat feels just as good as the thrill of our team's victory Why we are all comeback kids Why running on a treadmill is like running a business Why the World Cup doesn't lead to world peace (even if J. Lo and Pitbull claim otherwise) Why our moral compass is more flexible than an Olympic gymnast Why unlocking the mystery of human consciousness is, like so much else in life, all about sports. 'This is Your Brain on Sports' is the book for sports fans searching for a deeper understanding of the games they watch and the people who play them. 'Sports Illustrated' executive editor and bestselling author L. Jon Wertheim teams up with Tufts psychologist Sam Sommers to take readers on a wild ride into the inner world of sports. Through the prism of behavioural economics, neuroscience, and psychology, they reveal the hidden influences and surprising cues that inspire and derail us - on the field and in the stands - and by extension, in corporate board rooms, office settings, and our daily lives. In this irresistible narrative romp, Wertheim and Sommers usher us from professional football to the NBA to Grand Slam tennis, from the psychology of athletes self-handicapping their performance in the boxing ring or the World Series The executive editor of "Sports Illustrated" and a psychologist join forces to examine the behavior of those involved in professional sports, explaining how athletes can successfully put aside personal trauma on game day and why people love to root for aloser