From puck drop to brain pop

What’s happening inside the brain of a passionate hockey fan during a big game? A new study from the University of Waterloo gives us a closer look at how the brain functions when watching sports, with data showing how different a die-hard fan’s experience is from that of a casual viewer.

The researchers found that during offensive faceoff opportunities, fans deeply invested in hockey showed more activity in a part of the brain called the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex. This area is connected to emotional involvement and evaluative thinking — the mental processing we use to judge and interpret what’s happening around us.

“We found that for fans who really love the sport, these faceoffs were moments of intense mental engagement,” said co-author of the study, Dr. Luke Potwarka, a lead researcher in Waterloo’s department of Recreation and Leisure Studies. 

“It seems these plays signalled that something important was about to happen, something casual viewers may not notice in the same way.”

Using a non-invasive brain imaging method called Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS), researchers tracked brain activity in 20 participants as they watched a professional European ice hockey game. Their goal was to understand how fan engagement shows up in the brain and whether intense fans respond differently during key game moments.

Surprisingly, the researchers noticed that no brain difference was seen during more obvious events like scoring chances, likely because even casual fans recognize when a goal is significant. However, faceoffs, which require more knowledge of the game’s strategy, seemed to trigger deeper cognitive engagement in passionate fans.

This research is important because it moves beyond traditional methods, like surveys and self-reports, which can miss real-time and subconscious reactions. 

“Thoughts and feelings often happen below the surface,” said Potwarka, director of Waterloo’s Spectator Experience and Technology Laboratory. “Brain imaging gives us a more accurate look at how fans are actually experiencing the game as it unfolds.”

The findings could help broadcasters, sports marketers and content creators better understand what keeps fans engaged and improve how live sports are presented.

“This is just the beginning,” said Adrian Safati, a PhD candidate in Waterloo’s Department of Psychology who contributed to the study. “Future studies could use this approach across different sports to learn more about what keeps fans truly hooked.”

The study, Understanding the sport viewership experience using functional near-infrared spectroscopy, was recently published in Scientific Reports. 

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