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Men prefer their wives to football
De onderzoekers van de universiteit van Bristol lieten supporters foto’s van hun vrouw en plaatjes van spelers van The Magpies zien. De foto’s werden daarna verscheurd. Het verscheuren van de foto van de partner leverde de supporters meer stress op dan het kapotmaken van de foto van hun favoriete voetballers.
Vooraf hadden de deelnemers aan het onderzoek aangegeven net zoveel van hun club als van hun vrouw te houden, meldt Daily Telegraph. Er werd voor Newcastle gekozen, omdat fans van die club bekendstaan als hondstrouwe supporters
Men prefer their wives to football
Supporters of Newcastle United were more stressed when images of their partners were torn up than those of star players, scientists found, laying to rest claims that devoted fans are more loyal to their team than to their wives.
University of Bristol research has found that men actually prefer their partners almost five times as much as their teams. Newcastle United fans had their stress levels measured when cutting up pictures of their team and their partners.
Despite the fans telling scientists that they had as much affection for their team as their wives, results showed that they were far more stressed when destroying a picture of their partner. They also had to choose between sticking needles into voodoo dolls of their favourite player and injuring him for the next game or their partner and making them ill for a week. Some fans had no problem laying their wife up in bed for a week if it meant their team’s star player would miss a crunch game.
Marcus Munafò, professor of Biological Psychology at Bristol University said: "The data that we collected seemed to quite strongly support the idea that actually when it comes down to it they feel more strongly about their partners than their football tam.
"Men in the UK and around the world are undoubtedly passionate about the beautiful game. What we set out to do was measure it in a scientific way and particularly focus on using techniques which allowed us to find out what they, the fans, were secretly thinking even when their actions may have been telling a different story."
Roger Harrison, from Puma, who commissioned the research said: "As football fans we often hear about fans who suggest their team is more important than their girlfriend or spouse, so we decided to have some fun and put it to the test.
"Amongst the Newcastle United participants, who are known for being some of the most loyal and passionate fans in the world, it was clear to see supporters chose their wives over the team. In a game of two halves it seems it’s the other half that wins."
