Living and Literally Dying With Your Favorite Team

A study led by Robert A. Kloner, MD, PhD in Los Angeles associated death with a home team’s Super Bowl loss. The study researched cardiac deaths in Los Angeles after the 1980 Los Angeles Rams Super Bowl loss. The study found there was an increase in cardiac deaths in the two weeks following the Rams' defeat as compared to other years when a Los Angeles team was not in the Super Bowl. The data speaks for itself, a 15% increase in circulatory deaths for men, and 27% increase in women. It is important to note that only the death certificate was referred to when conducting this study and it is unknown whether or not the individuals who died were Rams fans, or even watched the game.

The study also looked at the 1984 easy victory for LA Raiders over the Redskins. The number of deaths after that game actually went slightly down. Experts say win or lose, the emotional stress of an exciting game can be associated with death. Cardiologist Dr. Joon Lee was quoted by WCNC.com saying, "It's actually a phenomenon that's pretty well known among cardiologists that any type of stressful event can precipitate an increase in cardiovascular events." This is especially true in people who are already at high risk for a heart attack. While a similar study was done back in 2006 about soccer fans in Germany during the World Cup, the higher death rate results were mainly found in men. REF. wcnc.com, cnn.com, scienceblog.com