Whenever you go to check the sport fixtures and upcoming matches for your team, what do you look for?
Most people would check the opposition, what time the game is on, and maybe the betting odds for both teams.
You will also most likely check whether or not your team is playing at home as subconsciously you believe that playing at home will affect your team’s performance for the better.
However, when your team plays a home game it may not really be an advantage at all. Many times it could also be a disadvantage.
The common arguments for a ‘home advantage’ are:
1. You have the crowd and fans on your side
2. You are familiar with the surroundings and playing field
3. There is not the added burden of travel time.
To what extent does having the crowd on your side affect a player or team’s performance? Are athletes too much ‘in the zone’ of the game to notice the fans roaring or booing?
The home crowd advantage will largely depend on the type of sport being played and the fan-base with that particular team.
However, as is very prominent in the NRL and AFL, many teams have the same home ground, or their grounds are in the same city and very close to each other. Does this essentially take out the factor of home crowd support for many teams?
Everyone who competes in sport loves being able to compete at his or her home ground. They know the dressing rooms inside out and recognise the familiar geographical conditions that come with it.
However, when you support a team that competes in a national comp, the playing surface is essentially the same for each ground, and a good sportsman or team should be able to adapt to each ground they play at.
The travel time for teams to play against opposition is said to also have an impact on your team. Though could playing and travelling away for a game actually be an advantage?
The time spent travelling could be used to read over and memorise your team’s gameplays or it could give you time to get into the right mindset for the game. There is also the incentive in a player’s mindset to not go back with a loss considering they have travelled this far.
Four games into this year’s English Premier League, 13 teams have yet to win a game at home whereas only two teams have won both of their two home games.
Whereas in the AFL and NRL ladders this year, there is very small difference in the home-and-away results between the best teams. Some of the best teams have won more games away from home.
So in conclusion, playing at home may not really be an advantage like you think. Overall it mainly comes down to the quality of the teams playing and their desire to win, regardless of the surroundings.
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