Why Being An Eagles Fan Is Good For Your Health

If being a sports fan is good for your emotional well-being, then for us Eagles fans, we must be pretty darn healthy right now. There is very real evidence that shows the mental health benefits to claiming a sports team as our own.

Yes, there are studies that show blood pressure rises during games or testosterone plummets after a loss. But being a fan is actually linked to higher levels of well-being and general happiness, especially when our team is winning!

Being a die-hard fan gives us a sense of belonging, and shared experiences, according to sports psychology professor Daniel Wann of Murray State University. Sticking with a team through ups and downs is considered a badge of honor. It is a way to identify with others who have the same passion. Plus, being a sports fan provides the chance to feeling victorious, even if vicariously.  

I don’t have a scientific study, but I can tell you that when my son and husband were at the Eagles game they were high-fiving and celebrating with people they never met and will never see again. Sports psychologists also point  to how we talk about our team - we say we are going to the Superbowl, not they, as if we are putting on a uniform and an lining up on the field,  instead of sitting on the couch and eating chips...but we are going.

We won the NFC Conference Championship, and that was certainly an emotional boost.  Just imagine how great we will feel if we win the Super Bowl!