The psychology of 'favorites' and 'underdogs'

With the Olympics starting next month, there will be favorites expected to win gold, silver, and bronze medals.  In some sports, like men's basketball, the USA will be the prohibitive favorite to win gold, and anything less will be labeled a failure.

Yet, in every sport, there tend to be a number of upsets or comebacks.  The Cleveland Cavaliers made history this year by coming back from a 3-1 deficit to win the NBA Championship.  There also were a number of upsets in this year's Wimbledon.  At the collegiate level, Coastal Carolina recently won three games in a row when they were a heavy underdog in order to win the College World Series.

In my experience, there is a psychology for favorites and underdogs.  That is to say, there are certain mental skills that are necessary for someone to feel comfortable in the favorite's role, and to use that role in an advantageous way.  Also, there are mental skills that can help an underdog on any given day to beat a favorite.

I have asked hundreds of elite athletes at the college, Olympic, and professional levels, "Would you rather be the favorite or the underdog in a big game?"  Much to my surprise, at every level, even at the professional level, about 75 percent of athletes say they would prefer to be the underdog.  Why? Because "there is nothing to lose."  Another reason is that when the game is on the line, it's easier to stay aggressive because the pressure is all on the favorite.

For those who prefer to be the favorite, the reasons for this have to do with being able to project an air of confidence, as well as feeling as if they can impose their will upon their opponent.

In many championship games, from youth sports through the professional ranks, the outcome is often decided in the last five minutes of the game.  In key moments at the end, individual players or teams tend to think "we've got them where we want them" or "here we go again."  The anatomy of a sports upset is when the underdog stays close throughout a game, and at the end of the game is able to flip the pressure onto the favorite.  It's at this point that the underdog often is able to say, "we've got them where we want them."  The favorite is more likely to feel, "the script for this game isn't what it's supposed to be" and at this point start to experience the mental stress that comes along with "here we go again…"

Crowds seem to love an underdog. Even a home court advantage can start to work against a favorite, if the underdog is playing hard and keeping the game close.  The goal of an underdog is to quiet the home crowd, adding another level of competitive stress and pressure onto the favorite.

During the upcoming Olympics, it will be fun to watch how the favorites and underdogs respond in pressure situations.  As Yogi Berra once said, "90 percent of sports is 50 percent mental."   The Olympics will give us an opportunity to see if Yogi, in his own way, was correct in saying that sports performance is largely mental.

Dr. Joel Fish is a sport psychologist and director of The Center For Sport Psychology in Philadelphia.

Read more Sports Doc for Sports Medicine and Fitness.