I'm not a big sports fan. Neither is my Dad and I'm sure that's part of the reason why I never 'got' sports. For the longest time I wondered why so many apparen

I'm not a big sports fan. Neither is my Dad and I'm sure that's part of the reason why I never 'got' sports. For the longest time I wondered why so many apparently sane people were addicted to a specific sports team or would spend tons of money to own a jersey with their favorite player's number. Then I learned about mirror neurons. The human brain has been shown through functional MRI studies to 'mirror' emotions that are watched. Speculation suggests this evolved as a way for one person to empathize with another's situation. How does this relate to sports? It turns out that if you're watching someone hit a home run at the crucial moment in the game your brain gives you a little 'hit' of the same emotion that actual player is feeling. In other words, people who love watching sports have a physical reaction that makes them feel the highs and lows of the players. I no longer assume that people addicted to sports are just in it for the beer.