Exciting Home Party Ideas for Sports Fans and Their Friends
Sharing your love of sports with fellow enthusiasts is undoubtedly one of the best parts of fandom. Getting the chance to attend important face offs together or simply chit chat about how a certain season is getting on can add an extra layer of fun to an already beloved hobby.
As summer kicks off and people think about event hosting at home with nice weather, we thought it only fitting to provide some party ideas for those who are looking to hang out with other supporters who adore sports culture as much as them. There are many options when it comes to tailgating at home with friends.
Invite Friends to Play in a Betting Pool
Some professional sporting leagues, like the MLB, NBA, and NHL, are already in full swing, where others, such as the NFL, are set to begin later in the year. For those leagues already holding games, one way to hype up the live action gameplay is by hosting a betting pool party right in your living room.
Inviting friends to participate in a betting pool can be done in several different ways, depending on how competitive you want to make it. You can either have guests write down their picks on a piece of paper and set wagers between each other vocally, or utilize an online sportsbook to help facilitate the process. Now that the U.S. has legalized a wealth of different online sportsbooks in states like New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, the activity is convenient and accessible for many residents across the country.
For example, Pennsylvania sports betting online connects interested fans with the biggest providers and the offers which are currently live in the Keystone State. Depending on where you reside, building a betting pool with the help of expert odds and statistics from a digital sports betting platform is a great option. Once you have gathered your participants and they have made their stakes, invite them over to your home in order to watch the game that you have all placed bets on together.
Have a Themed Tailgate Gathering
Speaking of watch parties, why not add an extra layer to your live sports extravaganza by throwing a themed tailgate party? If you grew up in a household where there were football enthusiasts around, you undoubtedly already know how big of a role tailgating plays in the day of kickoff. However, even if you aren’t a football fan, tailgates can still be a special way of bringing people together before the big game.
Tailgates can also be dressed up or dressed down depending on the sport. For example, a horse racing tailgate may see that all guests come dressed in smart attire, whereas a football tailgate is often more casual in terms of dress code. Design your theme with these factors in mind, remembering that appetizers and small plates play a big role in either. Finger foods like wings and fruit/vegetable trays are ideal.
When it comes to tailgating outside, remember to provide sunscreen and water refills for your guests to fight off that summer heat. If you are hosting a tailgate at home, chances are you will invite friends to your backyard for the fun. If so, you’ll want to check out these ideas for building a great backyard deck in 2021.
Face off in a Sports Video Game Duel
If you’ve had your fair share of event watch parties and are looking to mix things up while staying in line with the theme of sports, try inviting friends over for a sports video game duel. In the same way as the betting pool party, this can be as competitive or as non-competitive as you want to make it.
First, choose a title that is of interest to you and your opponents. For example, the Madden series could be great if your fellow gamers are NFL fans, or you could pick NBA 2k if they are basketball fans. Fight it out on consoles as your other friends watch and cheer you on. If you want to bump up the entertainment level here, you can also consider betting on the outcomes in the same way that you would in a real, non-virtual sports competition.
Host a Sports Trivia Night
Last but not least, hosting a trivia night at home is a great way to get friends under one roof and share in their love of sports. Order some pizza and research some questions and you’re guaranteed to have yourself a night full of entertainment, laughter, and fun. Just be sure that your trivia covers a range of major sports so fans that are knowledgeable about a few particular leagues and teams have their shot at victory, too.
If you have only talked about football during this month and you have not missed a single game, do not worry; the good news is that sports passion offers different benefits.
According to Daniel L. Wann, author of Sports Fans: The Psychology and Social Impact of Spectators, the stereotype of this type of person – overweight, sedentary, who does not take off on television, and are beer drinker – is wrong.
The professor of Psychology at Murray State University in Kentucky, who has studied this subject for 25 years, points out that sports fans are pretty active physically, politically, and socially.
Thus, people who identify with a local team, for example, have higher self-esteem and are less lonely than a group of people who are not sports fans.
On the other hand, according to Sian Beilock, a psychology professor at the University of Chicago, playing or watching a sport improves language skills when it comes to discussing it. In this case, she studied groups of hockey players, fans of the game, and people who had never played or watched the game. He observed that the brain region
that is usually associated with planning and controlling actions
is activated when fans and players listen to conversations about their sport. He explains that research suggests a strong connection between mind and body so that when you’re sitting on a couch watching a football or hockey game, for example, the brain is playing a game in a certain way.
Similarly, a group of researchers from the University of Utah discovered that men‘s testosterone levels increase when they see their team win, which is related, among other things, to an increase in energy.
In any case, it is also important to monitor other aspects. According to the University of Arkansas, sports fans tend to have worse eating habits, eat more fast food and fewer vegetables, and skip breakfast more often than non-fans. In addition, some fans
get too involved in the outcome of games,
and sometimes the stress associated with attachment to a team can lead to physical problems.
Bryan Schwartz, Ph.D., of the Heart Institute at Good Samaritan Hospital, explained that there is a recurring pattern that a sporting event can increase heart problems and mortality rates when certain conditions are present
— fans are on the losing team when the A game is played at home, when the losing team was expected to win, especially in a game that goes into overtime or penalties.
In any case, this does not mean that a game is going to kill you; it means that people should keep in mind that, chronic risk factors aside,
there may be critical risk factors that cause physical and emotional stress, so it’s essential to keep things in perspective and remember that it’s just a game.
Exciting Home Party Ideas for Sports Fans and Their Friends