Taking A Deep Dive Into the Stats… Is The Six Nations Boring ? Lets Find Out ?
10 years ago the viewership at rugby games was lower. The spectators went to the games mostly because their immediate circle had always done that… in fact it could be argued there was something of a disconnect in that the fans did not actually understand the game!
Please note we are talking about the majority here… of course plenty of people did understand the game but today the numbers who really watch the games and understand what is happening has grown massively!
Grannies are commentating on the game and sitting watching the games with the entire family and are actively connected to what is happening and sharing their thoughts on social media!
But is the game exciting!
Well… that is actually on one level simply a subjective question! Which leads to “why do I watch the games at all!” Is it as simple as saying “if the game is more exciting then the fans will be happy and more people will watch and there will be more sponsors and people playing… and so on…”
Perhaps the question is really one of… that people have discovered community, togetherness and the entry point to key principles that satisfy our biological needs as mammals and also our desires to be part of sucessful teams!
Winning… is tapping into a key psychological and in fact biological need of mammals and the animal and plant kingdon in general. What we mean is… if we engage in a task then there at some point and certainly with atleast some of our tasks there has to be gain at the end of the tasks!
So for example if I work then I get paid or am given physical resources that I can barter with. Or if i plant a garden or keep animals I get the benefits of that. Putting the work in and becoming more skilled and raising plants, or playing the stock exchange or playing rugby has a gain!
So is it exciting! Winning is exciting because it taps into the motivational aspect of our consciousness and we see the “gain” . Just like bringing up plants or animals or palying the stock exchange if we “Win” or “make the gains” then we actually contribute to our own survival and security!
If we win we will not be relegated to a lower position!
Its interesting food for thought to understand what is happening and in that context to then ask “is the Six Nations more exciting than before?” or has it become “unwatchable, and boring”. We begin to realise that the answers can be psycho-social.. and driven by peer pressure to conform… or individual desire to be successful or both. It can be driven by politics and what is happening in the wider economy… the escapism of entering the stadium to watch the game and to effectively switch off from day to day life and enjoy this pass-time!
One thing is for certain as you can see from the infographics which we obtained from our source Betway Insider . The key indicators of the game such a scores, passes, kicks at goal have just been going up and up and trending up! Thats success right!? We may not be able to answer the quastions of psychology and biology fully with statistics but we can totally point to the fact that during the course of the game more scores are taking place and more passes. So the ball must be in active play more… and scores represent a completion of a task… the completion of a move up the pitch that ends with acheivement of the goal which is to score. If that in conclusion is not more exciting than not scoring… then what is??
Fantastic food for thought and we look forward to continuing this conversation moving foward!
Best wishes!
Have a lovely day and we hope you love the games in the Six Nations.
InTouch Rugby Social Psychology Editor.
