Reds have a sporting advantage

[Hockley_Blues]

Quote[/b] ]Reds have a sporting advantage

Wearing red can give competitors in sporting contests the winning edge, British scientists have claimed.

A report in Nature by Durham University academics suggests donning red kit increases the probability of winning physical contests in a range of sports.

The researchers claim the effect could be down to a deep-seated evolutionary response that works subconsciously to put opponents on the back foot.

More thought may need to be given to the colour of sportswear, they say.

Previous research by different scientists showed levels of the male sex hormone testosterone are highest in footballers when they play a game at home.

Co-author Dr Robert Barton said such a response might be acting here.

"Whether red suppresses the testosterone of the opponent or boosts the testosterone of the individual wearing red, we don't know at the moment. We're going to look at that," Dr Barton told the BBC News website.

"My hunch is that there is a bit of both going on."

Tipping the balance

Barton and colleague Russell Hill studied four combat sports during the 2004 Athens Olympic Games: boxing, tae kwon do, Greco-Roman wrestling and freestyle wrestling, where contestants were randomly assigned either red or blue colours.

They found that, across the four disciplines, contestants wearing red won significantly more fights.

This does not discount the importance of factors such as skill and strength, stress the researchers.

A deeper analysis of the data showed the colour advantage tipped the balance only when competitors were relatively evenly matched.

The results held across a range of one-on-one sports
The influence of colour on such contests may have its roots in our evolutionary past. In the animal world, red is thought to be related to fitness, aggression and high levels of testosterone.

Male mandrills, for example, have red colouration on their faces, rumps and genitalia that they use to communicate their fighting ability to other males.

"In animal displays, I would say [red] is an honest signal of the condition or quality of the individual," said Dr Barton.

Dr John Lazarus, a biologist at the University of Newcastle, said he was intrigued by the finding but not convinced red held particular significance over other colours as a dominance signal.

"To take another monkey species, vervet monkeys have blue testicles and the ones with the bluer testicles are more dominant," Dr Lazarus told the BBC News website.

Come on you reds

The Durham researchers also carried out a preliminary analysis of results from the Euro 2004 soccer tournament showing that five squads had better results when playing in red.

The three teams that have dominated English football over the past 50 years - Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal - sport red liveries.

Other factors, such as money, clearly have a strong influence on a club's ability to take home trophies.

But, says Dr Barton, "as a Chelsea supporter, I would say that once you can control statistically for the unfair advantage of colour, we actually won the championship last year."

The Durham scientist suggested the findings could have implications for regulations on sportswear in competitions.

"We wouldn't go so far to suggest what they should do. But something that's possibly interesting is that in many British sports there used to be the regulation that competitors had to wear white," he said.

"I just wonder whether that was a subconscious awareness of the need to establish a level playing field."

From BBC News

Looks like we need to wear our third strip more often....

 

[Interpol Shrimper]

Or next season's away kit if the red option won the vote!!!

 

[BoyWonder2]

Thats bolloxs I'm afraid. Look at Nottingham Forest, they wear red and got relegated. Barnsley wear red and did nothing this season along with Orient.

Premier$hite winners - Chelsea who wear blue
Championship winners - Sunderland who wear red and white (So doesn't count, if it did the Southampton got relegated and they wear red and white)
League One winner - Luton who wear white
League Two winner - Yeovil who wear green and white
Conference winner - Barnet who wear orange.

There you go, its rubbish.

 

[A loyal supporter]

Quote[/b] (BoyWonder2 @ May 19 2005,16:07)]Thats bolloxs I'm afraid. Look at Nottingham Forest, they wear red and got relegated. Barnsley wear red and did nothing this season along with Orient.

Premier$hite winners - Chelsea who wear blue
Championship winners - Sunderland who wear red and white (So doesn't count, if it did the Southampton got relegated and they wear red and white)
League One winner - Luton who wear white
League Two winner - Yeovil who wear green and white
Conference winner - Barnet who wear orange.

There you go, its rubbish.

Absolutely conclusive, good use of selective data!

Maybe widening the data set to more than one year, more than one country and the exclusion of Abramovichs millions may be more representative.

 

 

[Hong Kong Blue]

Apparently the reason why Liverpool have reached the Champions League (the competition which isn't for champions and isn't a league) is because Jamie Carragher resembles a baboon's arse or something.

 

[shoebury_shrimper]

Teams that have dominated english football....

arsenal - red
man u - red
liverpool - red

 

[BoyWonder2]

Quote[/b] (A loyal supporter @ May 19 2005,16:33)]

Quote[/b] (BoyWonder2 @ May 19 2005,16:07)]Thats bolloxs I'm afraid. Look at Nottingham Forest, they wear red and got relegated. Barnsley wear red and did nothing this season along with Orient.

Premier$hite winners - Chelsea who wear blue
Championship winners - Sunderland who wear red and white (So doesn't count, if it did the Southampton got relegated and they wear red and white)
League One winner - Luton who wear white
League Two winner - Yeovil who wear green and white
Conference winner - Barnet who wear orange.

There you go, its rubbish.

Absolutely conclusive, good use of selective data!

Maybe widening the data set to more than one year, more than one country and the exclusion of Abramovichs millions may be more representative.

 

But surely, if this is correct the rule should apply all the time?!

Its a load of nonsense really. Blackburn won the Premier$hite during the so called dominance of English football by Man Utd wearing blue and white. The best football team that I've witnessed, all be it on video, is Brazil from the 70s who wore yellow.

Greece won Euro 2004 wearing blue. Porto won the Champions League wearing blue.

Also the other promoted teams this season are:

Championship - Sunderland (Red & White), Wigan (Blue) and one of West Ham (Claret & Blue), Preston (White) or Derby (White).

League One - Luton (White), Hull (Orange) and one of Sheffield Wednesday (Blue & White) or Hartlepool (Blue & White).

League Two - Yeovil (Green & White), Scunthorpe (Claret & Blue), Swansea (White) and one of Southend United (Blue), Lincoln (Red & White), Northampton (Claret) or Macclesfield (Blue).

Conference - Barent (Orange) and Carlise (Blue).

 

[RobM.]

Not much red there, then.

 

[RobM.]

Maybe we should play in yellow with green stripes, blue sleeves, claret cuffs and one of those spotty jockey's hats. There!

 

[Hockley_Blues]

Quote[/b] (BoyWonder2 @ May 19 2005,18:30)]But surely, if this is correct the rule should apply all the time?!

The report says wearing red "increases the probability of winning physical contests". It doesn't say you're guaranteed to win every season.

Considering the three largest English teams (Arsenal, Manyoo and Liverpool) all wear red, and have generally dominated the top flight for decades, it suggests the report is correct.

 

[BoyWonder2]

Quote[/b] (Hockley_Blues @ May 19 2005,19:53)]

Quote[/b] (BoyWonder2 @ May 19 2005,18:30)]But surely, if this is correct the rule should apply all the time?!

The report says wearing red "increases the probability of winning physical contests". It doesn't say you're guaranteed to win every season.

Considering the three largest English teams (Arsenal, Manyoo and Liverpool) all wear red, and have generally dominated the top flight for decades, it suggests the report is correct.

I'm not having that.

If the rule was correct then surely there would have been a League winner wearing a fully red strip. As I have stated none of the league winners or teams that could go up wear a red strip (Yes Lincoln and Sunderland wear red & white but not a fully red shirt).

Is that to say someone like Barnsley (wearing red) would beat someone like Chelsea (Blue) or Brazil (Yellow)?

 

[A loyal supporter]

Not very good at statistics, probabilities and likelihoods are we boywonder2.

 

[Hockley_Blues]

Of course if Barnsley were to face Chelsea, they'd probably lose - the report covers this:

Quote[/b] ]A deeper analysis of the data showed the colour advantage tipped the balance only when competitors were relatively evenly matched.

I refer back to my previous post. The report simply states wearing red increases your chances of winning - it doesn't guarantee a win. Also note that the report also states that this theory doesn't just apply to football - they studied a number of sports (boxing, tae kwon do, greco roman wrestling & freestyle wrestling), and discovered "across the four disciplines, contestants wearing red won significantly more fights".

I rest my case

 

[BoyWonder2]

Quote[/b] (A loyal supporter @ May 19 2005,20:15)]Not very good at statistics, probabilities and likelihoods are we boywonder2.

No but you'd imagine, if wearing red is meant to give you a slight edge then at least one side wearing a red strip should win promotion, after all there is 72 Football League Clubs and 10 of them will win promotion..


Hockley_blues,

I'm not even going to bother arguing with you because I will win

Seriously, we are going to have to agree to disagree on this case. I think its bolloxs and you don't, which is fair enough.

 

[Hockley_Blues]

Let's agree to disagree then







































...although I know i'm right

 

[Bob Cratchitt]

Shankly decided that an All Red kit would have more of psychological advantage. Sure enough after he changed to all Red they dominated the English Football scene. It was only when the decided to play around with the kit by adding white and green, did their dominance falter.