More reasons not to wear black

[DG_ThenNowForever]

From the Washingtonian Magazine:

A 1988 study by Cornell social psychologists Mark G. Frank and Thomas Gilovich, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, found that professional football and hockey teams wearing black uniforms were at a significant disadvantage when it came to the referees. As the paper states, ?teams with black uniforms are overwhelmingly likely to rank near the top of their leagues in penalties.?

Frank and Gilovich explored a number of explanations. In one experiment, seasoned high school and college referees were shown videos of two versions of an identical play, previously staged: one in which the defense was dressed in black and one in which it was dressed in white. (A control group saw both plays with the color turned down.) The refs were then asked to judge whether the defense had committed a penalty in a borderline situation. The experiment found that ?the referees were more inclined to penalize the defensive team if they saw the black versions of the two plays.?

But another study, published last May in Nature, has interesting news for the Redskins. In an analysis of contests in which teams were randomly assigned blue or red jerseys, the study concluded that ?wearing red is consistently associated with a higher probability of winning.?

That might be bad news for the Redskins: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers probably will suit up in red jerseys Saturday when Washington travels to Florida for the first round of the playoffs. The Redskins lost to Tampa in the regular season by a single point on a disputed game-ending conversion, giving the Buccaneers a better season record and home-field advantage in the playoffs, meaning they get their choice of uniform color.

Interesting, to say the least. Red as a color of winning? Much more so in the NCAA than the NFL -- USC, OSU, OU, and FSU were all BCS champions and all feature red as major color. In the NFL, I can think of only the 2003 Buccaneers. And interestingly, the Pats were only successful after switching FROM red.

Weird.

[zer0dotcom]

Red + winning eh? Maybe that why the Canadiens have won so many Stanley Cups.

Kidding aside, I'm rather surprised by this study. Before anyone posts, I suggest clicking hte link and reading the entire article, where it talks about uniform colour influencing behaviour. I wonder if a study like this will be used in the future (or has been used already) to design a uniform geared towards influencing the aggression level or focus of the player wearing it, or to skew the view of an official.

(If in fact this study has merit)

[Puck]

Red + winning eh? Maybe that why the Canadiens have won so many Stanley Cups.

Kidding aside, I'm rather surprised by this study. Before anyone posts, I suggest clicking hte link and reading the entire article, where it talks about uniform colour influencing behaviour. I wonder if a study like this will be used in the future (or has been used already) to design a uniform geared towards influencing the aggression level or focus of the player wearing it, or to skew the view of an official.

(If in fact this study has merit)

Clearly left out of the study...

The Arizona Cardinals.

Would have KILLED the idea of red + championships...or even winning for that matter.

[lost_limey]

Of course, if they were talking FAPL, red is winning:

Arsenal

Manchester United

Liverpool

[leopard88]

Of course, if they were talking FAPL, red is winning:

Arsenal

Manchester United

Liverpool

Chelsea?? Not a fan, just couldn't resist.

[OnWis97]

I read once that black uniforms lead to aggressiveness. That may be what is behind the additional penalties.

[lost_limey]

Of course, if they were talking FAPL, red is winning:

Arsenal

Manchester United

Liverpool

Chelsea?? Not a fan, just couldn't resist.

Let's run some math on English fotball titles here shall we:

Manchester United: 15

Arsenal: 13

Liverpool: 18

Chelsea: 2 (soon to be 3, I guess)

That's pretty convincing for read.

Of course, as my team Plays in yellow, and is in the lowest full-time pro division, I shouldn't complain too loudly.

[leopard88]

Let's run some math on English fotball titles here shall we:

Manchester United: 15

Arsenal: 13

Liverpool: 18

Chelsea: 2 (soon to be 3, I guess)

That's pretty convincing for read.

As a Man Utd. fan (I am not just a front runner. I attended a Bobby Charlton soccer camp in my teens that included a trip to Old Trafford in the package (friendly vs. Fluminense), so I am forever indebted.), I agree. I was just having a little fun.

[CC97]

Well this explains the Yankees dominance over the past 85 years.

[epper]

Also explains why the Raiders always lead the league in penalties.

[aykay]

Well this explains the Yankees dominance over the past 85 years.

no it doesn't . . . the Yankees DON'T wear black.

[Michigan Dave]

If Vince Young says wear black, wear black!

[CC97]

Well this explains the Yankees dominance over the past 85 years.

no it doesn't . . . the Yankees DON'T wear black.

You don't say?

They said red was the best colour to use, I was referring to the fact that the Yankees use absolutely no red and a colour very similar to black.

You win.

[tater]

From the Washingtonian Magazine:

A 1988 study by Cornell social psychologists Mark G. Frank and Thomas Gilovich, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, found that professional football and hockey teams wearing black uniforms were at a significant disadvantage when it came to the referees. As the paper states, ?teams with black uniforms are overwhelmingly likely to rank near the top of their leagues in penalties.?

Frank and Gilovich explored a number of explanations. In one experiment, seasoned high school and college referees were shown videos of two versions of an identical play, previously staged: one in which the defense was dressed in black and one in which it was dressed in white. (A control group saw both plays with the color turned down.) The refs were then asked to judge whether the defense had committed a penalty in a borderline situation. The experiment found that ?the referees were more inclined to penalize the defensive team if they saw the black versions of the two plays.?

What's amazing is Frank and Gilovich found an organization dumb enough to fund this study in the first place.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

From the Washingtonian Magazine:

A 1988 study by Cornell social psychologists Mark G. Frank and Thomas Gilovich, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, found that professional football and hockey teams wearing black uniforms were at a significant disadvantage when it came to the referees. As the paper states, ?teams with black uniforms are overwhelmingly likely to rank near the top of their leagues in penalties.?

Frank and Gilovich explored a number of explanations. In one experiment, seasoned high school and college referees were shown videos of two versions of an identical play, previously staged: one in which the defense was dressed in black and one in which it was dressed in white. (A control group saw both plays with the color turned down.) The refs were then asked to judge whether the defense had committed a penalty in a borderline situation. The experiment found that ?the referees were more inclined to penalize the defensive team if they saw the black versions of the two plays.?

What's amazing is Frank and Gilovich found an organization dumb enough to fund this study in the first place.

Ha ha. As an Ithaca College grad, I can happily point at Cornell and laugh. Good one.

[MisterE]

Is that the same guy who said the Canucks should wear jerseys with a big V on them, because it stood for victory and would make the players work harder? Load of s--t to me.

[number55]

An Investigation of Colour in Sport:

http://www.ausport.gov.au/fulltext/1999/cj...2/allegos32.htm

[BlueSky]

And here I thought it was just because the Saints were bad.

[pooter]

Red + winning eh? Maybe that why the Canadiens have won so many Stanley Cups.

...and the Blackhawks have not.

...but on the other hand, the Red Wings won some too.

[VitaminD]

Also explains why the Raiders always lead the league in penalties.

Couldn't it just be that the penalties are due to the fact that the Raiders enjoy overspending on maverick players who are generally undisciplined, and the coaches roll their eyes and look the other way, to keep up the "Raider Mystique"? Fat lot of good it's doing 'em, but still...