The Psychological Reason Penguins Fans Should Be Rooting for Ovechkin
How a Cup for Ovi this year could mean one for Sid and the gang in 2019.
It might sound like a Phil Kessel-sized pill to swallow, but if Penguins fans want to see Lord Stanley’s Mug back in the Steel City next year, they better borrow some #8 gear and hope that Ovi and the Caps can somehow go the distance.
While a dejected, broken, impotent Ovi might be every Pens fans’ wet dream, it isn’t the best case scenario for the Penguins on the ice. According to a study published in the Journal of Psychological Science, a team’s success one year can considerably boost their fiercest rival’s performance the next. Witnessing a rival succeed provides a sizeable, long-lasting psychological boost, a motivational tool that goes beyond just their head-to-head match-ups. So if Sidney and co. want a Cup in 2019, they’d be better off witnessing the Capitals win one this year.
The idea of being motivated by a rival isn’t anything new. Anyone on Twitter knows that a person’s at their best when trading barbs with their most hated of enemies. However, most research assumed that a so-called ‘rivalry boost’ would only happens when rivals were facing-off with one another. Apparently, that’s not the case.
The study — which looked at several decades of playoff results in the NHL, NBA, NFL, MLB , and March Madness — found that seeing a rival perform well provides a significant boost to the team at a future time, even when those rivals find themselves in non-rivalry situations.
The study also found the opposite to be true. While success can boost a rival, a team’s struggles can demotivate them. The study concluded that rivals tend to rise and fall together, their fortunes closely intertwined (which explains the last two decades of the Battle of Alberta.)
Of course, a rival’s success is only one factor. Yet to be considered are Rutherford’s plan for off-season changes, Kessel’s recovery, and Crosby’s looming addiction to Not Fornite (Also, does it surprise anyone that Crosby would be the only athlete playing PUBG?). But as far as motivators go, a successful Caps playoff run is definitely one of them.
So as sweet as it might feel for Pens fans to see Ovi’s heart break into a million little pieces in slow-motion, selfishly, Pens fans should be holding out hope that he finally ends one of the most painful blue-ball streaks in NHL history.
Dan Szczepanek is the editor-in-chief of Grandstand Central. You can connect with/shout at him here.
