My husband, my housekeeper, and my dog—the three people I live with—will attest that my mania for watching sports this year was Olympic-sized (no pun, etc.). In the 16 days that the games were on, one could hear frequent shouts of elation, anger and despair emerging from my house. All from me, of course. I watched the Games this time with my whole heart, soul and even body (considering the amount I jumped up and down in excitement). I watched many sports this time—ones I had never seen before whose rules I was completely unaware of. I can safely say that for 16 days I lived and breathed the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

It’s been a week now that the Games have been over, and I still have found nothing to fill the Olympic-sized vacuum I find in my life. Something is missing when I wake up in the morning, which was there two weeks ago. I can’t help wishing the good times had not got over. I have found my reaction quite surprising because if you knew me well, you would know that I am not a typical sports enthusiast. I’m not a huge fan of cricket. Truth be told, I don’t enjoy watching cricket at all. I know, I know, such sacrilege! As I have explained in an earlier post, I watch some football, mostly the FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro Cup, but almost no club football. I used to enjoy watching tennis, but somehow that has lost its charm since after Steffi Graf and later Federer, I haven’t been able to find a favourite in the current crop of players. As for badminton, I have watched a few games when PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal have played, but so few that I can count them on my fingers. I am ashamed to say that before these Olympics I had never watched a full hockey match, neither Men’s nor Women’s Hockey.

So my reaction to the Olympics and its aftermath is justifiably confusing. After giving it some thought and discussing it with Nikhil, this is what I have come up with – the reasons for my Olympics 2020 mania.

The Time Factor

This was cheekily suggested by Nikhil, and I have grudgingly accepted it. Yes, the past 2-3 times that the Olympics have taken place, I was working a full-time job and I couldn’t have taken out time to watch the Games even if I had wanted to. This year I’m at home. Sony LIV provided great coverage, so it was easier to watch for long hours. But let me say this too, it cannot be just that. Even though I don’t work full time, there are so many things I need to do in a day that 24 hours never seems enough. There’s reading and writing and knitting and, don’t forget, sleeping. Taking out time to do one more thing is possible only when there is a great desire, and with the Olympics, I took out huge chunks of time in the day, sacrificing even sleep. So I have to believe that it was more than just the availability of time that led to my obsession with the Olympics.

The Inspiration Boost

If you think about it, watching sports is like watching the best kind of reality television. All human emotions you can think of—the happiness of winning, the anguish of loss and the satisfaction of a job well done—are there and nothing is fake or scripted. You see people being at the top of their game and straining to perform at the highest level of their potential. Most importantly, you see people showing incredible acts of courage, fair play, and camaraderie in an arena where they are required to be competitive. And like I said, it’s all real. Can anything be more inspiring than to see the strength, discipline and compassion people are capable of once they set their minds to it? Even during this pandemic, athletes still broke records, they still made history. The only thing different was that there were no spectators in the stadium while this was happening. But millions of people were watching from their homes and to us, it was just as inspiring as it would have been had we been present in Japan in person.

For me, watching the games was like getting a shot of positivity every day. And I got addicted to it. I was incredibly proud when Indian athletes performed well and I always cheered them extra hard. But to be honest, I felt the same amount of pride when anyone from any country won. So when Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands fell and got up to win her 1500m race, I cheered her on. When Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi and Mutaz Barshim of Qatar shared the gold instead of settling a tie with a jump-off, I applauded them. And when Neeraj Chopra stood on the podium and deservedly got his gold, I sang the National Anthem along with him. Each time someone won, I felt like we had all won. Like the score was Humanity – 1, Virus – 0. Don’t ask me why I felt that way, I just did. In uncertain times like these, I think I needed this Olympic boost of inspiration.

The Dopamine Kick

Finally, let’s come down to the brain. Most of you know, playing sports releases endorphins just like exercising does. Endorphins make us happy. I speak from personal experience. As a teenager, I used to play basketball every single day, and I remember it was the happiest time of my life. It’s also probably the only time I ever woke up at the crack of dawn—I would wake up at 5.30 am to go to school basketball practice. I used to be buzzing with energy for hours afterwards. It is a feeling I haven’t been able to replicate since I injured my knee and stopped playing about 13 years ago. No amount of alcohol, food, and even good company has given me the same high.

But it surprised me to find that while I was watching the Olympic Games, I was experiencing a fraction—albeit small—of my old basketball high. I knew it couldn’t be because of endorphins. As much as I wish it could happen, exercise-related endorphins will not release unless you move your butt. When I did some research, I found that a completely different chemical was making me feel so upbeat during the Olympics – Dopamine. It would seem that while watching sports if a team/player you like wins or performs well, a neurotransmitter called dopamine releases into your brain. Dopamine is what controls your brain’s reward and pleasure centres and helps regulate your emotional responses. You see your favourite player winning, dopamine is released, and you feel on top of the world.

The reason this happens is because of certain cells in our brain called Mirror Neurons. These neurons allow us to place ourselves in the shoes of the person we are looking at. They are also responsible for generating the feeling of empathy inside you. While watching a game, mirror neurons make you feel as if you are on the field yourself, playing the game too. When the team you are watching wins, mirror neurons make you feel as if you have won. That releases dopamine in the brain, making you happy. The flip side is that when your team loses, you feel as if you have lost too. This releases cortisol in your body, pulling your mood down. Notice how your heart starts beating faster when your team starts losing? Also, how furious some people get when their team loses? Blame it all on your mirror neurons.

But I handled my mirror neurons the smart way during the Olympics. By allowing myself to feel joy and pride for all winners, irrespective of their nationality, I skipped the cortisol part completely. For two weeks, I remained on a dopamine high, which is probably why I miss it so much now. Just like an addict, I am now looking for my next dopamine fix. This month’s resolution is to watch more sports, hoping to keep the buzz alive. I know, I know. A better solution would be to play some sport myself. It’s just that my couch will miss me too much if I stopped spending time with it. Alas, I’ll have to make do with the next big sports tournament.

~P

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