Whatever the outcome of tonight’s Euro 2016 final, it’s the football fans – the well-behaved ones, at least – who really stole the show. From the Wales supporters’ wild euphoria to the Iceland fans’ coordinated clapping, celebrations in the stands were matched in pubs and living rooms around the world.
Because of the way the brain works, shouting and whooping when your team scores actually increases your enjoyment of the game. When you display how happy you are by jumping up and down and cheering, your body movements loop back to the emotion centres in the brain. This enhances these feelings of excitement, possibly making you jump around even more. While the origins of this feedback loop are probably social, to help us mirror and bond with those around us, it has evolved to be so powerful that it even works when you’re on your own. Just ask all the people startling their neighbours and knocking things over by accident when watching the match alone at home.
You can control this reaction, of course – for example, if you are watching the match secretly at work or in a library. But you will enjoy it less, however spectacular the goals are.
Dr Daniel Glaser is director of Science Gallery at King’s College London