The home field advantage is a big thing in sports, but why? Research studies show that home teams do, in fact, win more games, and the reasons for home field success seems to be for several inter-related reasons. Crowd influence, visiting team travel fatigue, field/court familiarity, referee bias, and other psychological variables all provide home teams an advantage, making it very worthwhile for teams to secure home field. It is fairly clear by the numbers that playing in familiar surroundings helps home teams prevail, and this advantage allows home teams to play with more comfort, confidence, and focus.
Why the home field advantage is a real thing
The biggest advantage of playing at home may not be the field itself—it may be the psychological comfort that comes with familiarity, routine, and support.
Whether it’s playing sports or giving a speech, having familiarity with your surroundings really does contribute to greater confidence, focus, and poise. While it is true that you still need to make plays in sports, and hit all your talking points in a speech, knowing your surroundings and feeling the support of others allows for better mind-body synchrony — and ultimately greater chances for success. Playing in front of the home crowd effects player energy, crowd momentum, and even influences officials with on-field penalties. For visiting teams, travel can be a disruption to normal diet, exercise, and rest schedules, resulting in a less prepared individual and/or team.
Interestingly, the previous home field advantage provided to home teams may actually be decreasing for a few important reasons. First, travel and lodging is much better than generations from the past, providing greater comfort to visiting teams. Second, sport venues are newer today, affording visiting teams better locker rooms, dugouts, etc. And finally, athletes (including younger athletes) are more accustomed to traveling, compared to years past where travel was more restricted (or not even a thing, as was the case with youth sports). All that said, the home field advantage is still an advantage today, even if it’s less than what it once was.
Playing at home won’t guarantee you a win, but it will assure you of a crowd behind you, familiarity with the field/court (including sight lines), and maybe even a biased official call. These factors can directly impact the results of a game, even though none of these things actually hit, tackle, or field! The psychology of feeling comfortable from playing in front of hometown fans can help with confidence, focus, motivation, and resiliency — all qualities that contribute to playing your best.
Final thoughts
The home field advantage in sports is something most people acknowledge, but few people can describe why it’s a thing. Digging deeper, and we learn that home teams enjoy support and comfort, while road teams experience disrupted schedules, less-than-desirable accommodations, occasional bad referee calls, and hostile fans. These factors can, and often do, play a role in athletic outcomes. No the home field advantage alone won’t win games for you, but securing the home field advantage sure doesn’t hurt, either!
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