If you're a sports enthusiast, you know the weight that home field advantage has on the performance of a team. What gives any team an upper hand when they're playing at a home venue?
Crowd Effect
Crowd effect is one of the main causes behind home field advantage in sports. Imagine that you're walking into a stadium surrounded by people cheering for you. Now, imagine that you are a member of the opposition. You have no support from the crowd and are basically on your own. One might argue that professional athletes are expert at staying focused and not letting such things affect them, but that isn't really the case.
Judge Bias
All the cheering of the fans can pressure the referee into being more tolerant towards the home team. Meanwhile, the number of attacks on referees by angry fans cannot be overlooked. In an attempt to avoid making the crowd angry, referees tend to have a small bias in favor of the home team, leading them to call fewer fouls on them, give them more free kicks, etc.
Travel Effect and Familiarity
Traveling long distances puts athletes under physical and psychological stress. This is especially true in the case of inter-continental matches, during which athletes must travel into different time zones, leaving them defenseless against jet-lag. On the other hand, the home team stays in its comfort zone, without having to undergo any disruption in their regular schedules.
Is There a Home Disadvantage?
The massive crowd support that the home team enjoys does come with a side effect — performance pressure. The crowd greatly motivate athletes to perform better and achieve greater success.The athletes' focus may get shifted from success to a fear of failure, thereby making them overcautious.
A. The cheering will greatly boost their confidence.
B. They applaud and celebrate every shot you take.
C. However, it may sometimes have the opposite effect.
D. Home field advantage is caused by many factors affecting athletes.
E. Therefore, the home team gets an upper hand over the visiting team.
F. It has been consistently found that players win more often when playing at home.
G. The massive crowd support that a home team gets often puts the judges in a tough spot.
