This Is Your Brain on Sports: The Science of Underdogs, the Value of Rivalry, and What We Can Learn from the T-Shirt Cannon

As sports lover with a psychology degree, I immediately grabbed this book when I saw its availability. I was ecstatic when I saw a professional psychologist and writer take sports and behavioral science to a level that I never seen others do before. The book was extremely well done, in terms of its research, writing style and information. The writers took familiar, popular psychology studies and mixed it with lesser-known research to weave a tale of various behavioral themes and theories that apply to sports. Not only were they able to do this successfully, but they did it in a way that was fun, humorous, and extraordinarily enlightening. This is a book that every sports fan should read -- and any psychology student would appreciate as well!

Cool premise, good contextual examples, but not a mind-blowing theme. I was hoping that the book would delve deeper into the science of the matter and less of the surface-level topics

This book reminded me of the same style as the book Freakonomics. Unusual connections with some working more than others but overall it was a book that makes you look at and perceive things about sports in a different way than before. The parts about home field/court advantage, why elite athletes raise their level against the best, lovable losing fans and the consequences of making decisions when your brain is "hot" are several examples that stand out among many other topics. A great read for anyone who is curious .....even if you're not a sports fan or that into science.

Read like a medical journal with allot of non sport stories. Very dull in many in the delivery of the stories.

Excellent and original. If you like psychology - even if you aren't a sports fan - this is creative quick, fun read.

Incredibly well written with witty humor and insightful knowledge about how psychology applies to the world of sports and beyond. I definitely recommend it!

Interesting stuff . . . written for the intelligent reader.

Saw this book and had to get it immediately. As a national champion athlete who uses sports themes to train business and leadership, the title grabbed me from the start. It's witty, informative, and entertaining. Very clever and insightful. I've recommended it to many colleagues and clients.