Hockey superfans showed higher brain activity while watching games. (Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock)
In a nutshell
- Passionate sports fans process games differently at a neurological level, showing more brain activity in regions tied to personal relevance and evaluative thinking, especially during subtle, strategic moments like offensive face-offs.
- Even when no goals are scored, superfans’ brains stay highly engaged, suggesting they interpret more meaning from gameplay events that casual viewers may overlook or find boring.
- The study used portable brain scanners (fNIRS) on 20 participants and found significant differences in prefrontal cortex activity, reinforcing the idea that emotional investment in sports changes how we experience and interpret live action.
WATERLOO, Canada — Passionate sports fans may neurologically react to games differently than the average viewer. New research from Canada using portable brain scanners reveals that die-hard hockey fans process games in ways that would be completely foreign to casual viewers, especially during moments most people would consider boring.
Scientists at the University of Waterloo have discovered that people who are deeply invested in a sport show dramatically different brain activity when watching games. Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) technology, researchers found that superfans literally process the action differently in their heads.
The study, published in Scientific Reports, shows that sports fans’ brains can actually show us why some people become lifelong devotees while others remain indifferent. People with high emotional investment in hockey demonstrate significantly more brain activation in areas responsible for personal evaluation and meaning-making. This pattern becomes especially pronounced during critical moments of gameplay.
Researchers started by surveying 343 university students to identify those with high versus low involvement in ice hockey. From this screening, they selected 20 people representing the extremes: 11 high-involvement fans and 9 low-involvement viewers, all between ages 18 and 40.
These volunteers watched carefully selected clips from a British ice hockey game while wearing a special headband equipped with fNIRS sensors. This technology detects changes in oxygenated blood flow to different brain regions, an indicator of neural activity.
The researchers chose a British league specifically because none of the participants would have prior knowledge of the teams or players, ensuring their reactions were based purely on the action unfolding on screen.
During the 25-minute viewing session, scientists tracked brain activity during scoring chances and offensive face-offs. They divided these moments into early, middle, and late game periods to see how engagement might change over time.
What’s Happening in Fan Brains?
Results showed differences between passionate and casual fans, particularly in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), a brain region involved in processing personally meaningful information and making evaluations about relevance to oneself.
High-involvement fans showed significantly more activity in their dmPFC throughout the game, but especially during offensive face-offs. These are strategic moments when teams gain possession in scoring position that hockey experts understand as potential turning points.
Both fan types responded similarly to obvious scoring chances, suggesting that even casual viewers can recognize clear goal-scoring opportunities. The real difference emerged during subtler strategic moments that require deeper hockey knowledge to appreciate their significance.
Brain activity patterns also varied by game timing. Passionate fans showed heightened responses during early game moments across all measured brain regions, possibly because they were more engaged in analyzing team strategies from the start.
Passionate fans’ brains automatically treat certain experiences as more personally relevant and meaningful. However, researchers acknowledge this is early-stage work that needs replication with larger, more diverse groups before drawing broader conclusions about fan psychology.
The sample size was small, just 20 people, and focused exclusively on young adults watching hockey. Whether these patterns hold true for other sports, age groups, or cultural contexts remains unknown.
The fNIRS technology could only measure activity in the prefrontal cortex. Other brain regions involved in attention and emotional processing might show different patterns, but the equipment wasn’t designed to capture those areas.
Die-hard sports fans experience games differently at a biological level. While we’ve long known that some people care more deeply about sports than others, seeing those differences in real-time brain activity explains fandom in a whole new way.
Paper Summary
Methodology
Researchers surveyed 343 university students to identify individuals with high versus low involvement in ice hockey, then selected 20 participants (11 high-involvement, 9 low-involvement) aged 18-40 for brain imaging. Participants watched video clips of key moments from a British ice hockey game while wearing fNIRS equipment that measured brain activity in the prefrontal cortex. Scientists analyzed 12 specific moments during gameplay, including scoring chances and offensive face-offs, divided into early, middle, and late game periods.
Results
High-involvement fans showed significantly greater brain activity in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex throughout the game, particularly during offensive face-off opportunities. Both groups responded similarly to obvious scoring chances, but passionate fans demonstrated enhanced neural processing during subtle strategic moments. High-involvement participants also showed greater engagement during early game moments across all measured brain regions.
Limitations
The study included only 20 participants, all young adults, watching only hockey gameplay. The fNIRS technology could only measure prefrontal cortex activity, potentially missing important responses in other brain regions. Researchers couldn’t control for all individual differences that might influence brain responses. Findings may not generalize to other sports, age groups, or cultural contexts.
Funding and Disclosures
The authors declared no competing interests. The study was approved by the University of Waterloo Human Research Ethics Board and conducted according to the Declaration of Helsinki. Participants received small gift card compensations.
Publication Information
The paper “Understanding the sport viewership experience using functional near-infrared spectroscopy” was published in Scientific Reports (volume 15, article number 13374) in 2025. Research was conducted by Luke R. Potwarka and colleagues from the University of Waterloo, Sheffield Hallam University, Brock University, and Shenzhen University.
