The Psychology of the Superbowl: The Pros and Cons of Underdog Mentality

We all love the underdog.

Almost everyone, except maybe the opponents, love to root for the underdog.

We all know what happened last Monday, and the Philadelphia Eagles won the Superbowl for the first time in its franchise history. The Eagles marched the streets of Philadelphia as hundreds of people cheered the team on to celebrate what many thought would be next to impossible.

Admit it, there are a lot of people, even perhaps some of the Eagles’ fans, thought they never get to see a ticker-tape parade. But, the impossible happened, as fans clad in their green jerseys, lined up in certain spots to see the champs parade. Despite the freezing winter wins, fans lined up along the five-mile long parade route as the Eagles were perched on top of open-air double-decker buses. Just like how the “Rocky” soundtrack played in the minds of the people, the Eagles too will climb the “Rocky” steps towards the art museum.

The story of a scrappy lad overcoming huge adversities goes as far as antiquities or even the Bible. Remember how a puny David able to kill a goliath named Goliath. We all know how Rocky overcame his opponents, and well, almost everyone that really struggled past life and able to succeed.

The Philadelphia Eagles played the underdog role to the hilt. Much to the delight of the fans, the team fully embraced the fact they were the underdog versus the New England Patriots. Fans embraced it, as the players embodied the underdog tag with dog masks as the team appeared before the Superbowl started last Sunday. From the stands of the recent playoff games they used a hashtag #underdog, which the team promoted extensively in social media and even on billboards. It was a tag the Eagles wanted to embody and proud of.

The underdog mentality proved to be prophetic as it has brought the Eagles to the pinnacle of American football. Local psychologists think the underdog tag might have provided enough spunk for the Eagles to overcome the odds and win over a highly favored opponent. Such attitude, the psychologists say might be used as a powerful means of motivating or it can go against the team as an emotional distraction. Either way, it can prove to be a positive way to use stress and anxiety of being against a highly favored opponent.

And the tales, such as this one, only prove there is a story behind any sporting success. And these stories can either add to the excitement or frustration of every athlete and every fan. Well, maybe it all boils down to how one perceives each game..and what kind of mentality an individual has. Underdog mentality, anyone?