The Psychological Effects of Playing Behind-Closed-Doors

While many have been pushing for sporting leagues to be held behind-closed-doors during the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic, not everybody understands both the direct and indirect of playing in an empty stadium for players not just emotionally but psychologically. For some, the psychological side of things might be small but the truth is, it's actually bigger than what people think. 

For starters, sports being held behind-closed-doors may become a part of what we refer to as the "new normal" as governments around the world want sports to resume to lessen the financial blow that the industry is already feeling. And while not having to play the sports the way they've grown accustomed to has an effect on the mental health of the athletes, playing games behind-closed-doors is a different story.

The first psychological effect of playing behind-closed-doors on players is not having the distraction that the home crowd brings into the game. Not the usual distraction that involves fans booing the home team's opponents but the distraction in terms of knowing that the home crowd is behind you lessens the fatigue factor. A study states that performing in front of your home crowd can be used as a distraction not just to fatigue but to pain as well. Hearing the crowd cheer for you is proven to be effective especially when players are tired and feeling that they are about to hit the wall. But more than being a distraction to fatigue, the encouragement that the home crowd brings is something that will be missed during behind-closed-doors games.

In a study in football games, experts saw that home teams who play in front of their home crowd have scored more goals compared to their opponents and the reason for this 37% increase in the scoring difference is that the home crowd is expecting their team to attack and score and most of the time, it happens. Having the home crowd brings a certain encouragement to the home team as well as it also motivation to the team to put in more effort especially when things aren't going their way. 

But perhaps, the biggest difference of playing behind-closed-doors and with the home crowd behind you is that when you have a visually impressive home crowd that gives out a visual representation of encouragement, it changes the entire atmosphere of the game and it can boost the athletes both physically and psychologically. A study even found that having the crowd roaring behind the athletes can help boost the physical strength of the players up to eight percent.  Without the presence and the encouragement of the fans, players in behind-closed-doors games will feel more pressure in the game and that will make them more anxious, and eventually, that will have an impact on their physical performance. 

If there's one important psychological effect of having home crowd cheering has on players, that it has been found that people, in general, perform better in front of an audience.

At the end of the day, the safety of the general public is the main priority of the sporting leagues around the world and while the list of psychological effects of playing behind-closed-doors on players can go on, it's just a matter of adjusting to this "new normal". 

Photo is from KAMR