The Color of Victory Is Red, Scientists Say

[Yavin4]

Interesting...

Wearing red increases the chance of victory in sports, say British researchers who clearly do not follow the Cincinnati Reds.

"Across a range of sports, we find that wearing red is consistently associated with a higher probability of winning," wrote Dr. Russell Hill and Dr. Robert Barton, researchers in evolutionary anthropology at the University of Durham, in a paper that will appear on Thursday in the journal Nature.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/18/science/18cnd-red.html?hp

[dogday]

1. I was always told red vehicles are involved in more accidents...

[deadparrot]

2. Damn straight.

[spunky]

3. I thought red was an angry color, i.e. seeing red.

That and my college team was red and they rarely ever win.

[kevinmc]

4. It's Obvious the Scientist......

is wrong and probably a Commie.

[SmokingJacket]

5. What, are they trying to explain why Bush won??? nt

[libhill]

7. Probably

The Repukes are slipping so they're grasping at straws - they know their days are numbered. Those "scientists" are probably on the Repuke payroll.

[Telly Savalas]

14. Did you even read the article?

[ck4829]

6. That would explain a lot

I say we change our colors to a red-white-blue combo. Who made us blue anyway?

[libhill]

8. The Repukes

they were singin' the blues, cuz everybody won't fall on their knees and worship the Chimp. "Who is greater than the Beast?"

[AmericanErrorist]

26. Dupe

[AmericanErrorist]

27. The media

Wikipedia knows all and sees all:

Since the increased popularity of color television, the national colors of red and blue have traditionally been used by the mass media to represent the two major parties in U.S. elections. According to http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2004_11/005157.php">Washington Monthly, networks have assigned these colors to the two major parties based on a system designed to prevent bias or the perception of bias. This system alternates the color assigned to the candidate of the incumbent party for every election.

[Toby109]

9. So that's why Tiger Woods

wears red on Sunday.

[democracyindanger]

10. Explain the LA Clippers.

[lazarus]

12. Yup

But, let's look at the last 25 or so NBA champions:

2004 - Detroit Pistons (RED and blue)
2003 - San Antonio Spurs (black and silver)
2002 - Los Angeles Lakers (purple and gold)
2001 - Los Angeles Lakers (purple and gold)
2000 - Los Angeles Lakers (purple and gold)
1999 - San Antonio Spurs (black and silver)
1998 - Chicago Bulls (red and black)
1997 - Chicago Bulls (red and black)
1996 - Chicago Bulls (red and black)
1995 - Houston Rockets (red and white)
1994 - Houston Rockets (red and white)
1993 - Chicago Bulls (red and black)
1992 - Chicago Bulls (red and black)
1991 - Chicago Bulls (red and black)
1990 - Detroit Pistons (RED and blue)
1989 - Detroit Pistons (RED and blue
1988 - Los Angeles Lakers (purple and gold)
1987 - Los Angeles Lakers (purple and gold)
1986 - Boston Celtics (green and white)
1985 - Los Angeles Lakers (purple and gold)
1984 - Boston Celtics (green and white)
1983 - Philadelphian 76ers (red and blue)
1982 - Los Angeles Lakers (purple and gold)
1981 - Boston Celtics (green and white)
1980 - Los Angeles Lakers (purple and gold)

25 champions. Of these, 12 wore red. The Detroit-Chicago-Houston-Chicago run of championships was 10 straight years the champion won red.

So maybe there's something to this. The key is causality. Does the red make you win, or do winners prefer to wear red, because they've seen others wear red and win? Causality and correlation are not the same thing.

[northzax]

15. but how to explain the Trailblazers?

they wear red...

And Les Boulez, wear the rouge as well.

I wonder what percentage of NBA team have red in their uniforms...

[HuckleB]

16. Yeah.

And they won the championship in 1978, to take that NBA list back even further. Plus, they had the longest streak of playoff appearances in the NBA until two years ago.

As piss-poor an owner as Paul Allen has been, they've still usually won far more than they lost until recently.

[JohnKleeb]

11. well there is some validness to it

The cardinals have won 9 championships and wear red.
The fourty niners in football as well and I believe the patriots wear some red.

[HuckleB]

13. True.

And yet the Yankees do not wear red, with their 26 championships. The Celtics do not wear red, with their 16 championships. The Packers do not wear red, with their 12 championships. And there are a few other multiple championship teams that I can think of off the top of my head that don't wear red: Lakers, Steelers, Cowboys, A's, Dodgers, Lance Armstrong...

:hi:

I dunno. This just sounds a bit off to me.

[JohnKleeb]

23. Its a mix

Hah yeah, its somewhat valid but its not totally unvalid because gasp the Yankees dont wear red, though isnt there a little red on their log, you know the white Yankees thingie. Anyhow I am glad both they and the sox lost tonight for obvious reasons.

[HuckleB]

24. Indeed.

And I admit that I'm pulling for the O's, despite my purely emotion-based distaste for Sosa, at least out east. Heck, I guess I'm so mentally in tune with a desire for change that I'm rooting for the Chi-Sox, and that's with a more logic-based distaste for Ozzie Guillen in tow. Hell, I woke up this morning to see that the M's had beaten the Padres, something I am usually happy about. But with M's in disarray and the Padres in first place, I was actualy bummed! The caveat there being that the Padres AAA club is here in Portland, so I've followed a lot of the guys on that team for a while.

Anyway, I suspect that some prospective PhD is gonna turn this red finding on its ear in a few years. And we'll all be making our anecdotal lists to justify or refute the findings. Ah, it's all for fun. Dang, but I am wordy this Sunday morning.

A toast to you: Go O's!

Salud.

[BamaLefty]

17. Alabama

Roll Damn Tide!

[ronzo]

18. Harumph.

Not in fifteen years... :P

[Ravenseye]

19. Read the Article

"This does not mean that a bad team can reverse its fortunes by wearing red, Dr. Barton said. The research applies only to competitors who are closely matched.

"Unfortunately, if you're hopeless," he said, "then wearing red isn't going to make you start winning.""

Sorry Reds fans.

[Twillig]

20. It explains why the 49'ers squeaked out wins against the Bengals--Twice.

49'ers got the red, while the Bengals had (just enough of) the dreaded Orange working against them.

Case in point: The Denver Broncos. Orange Unis? Four super bowl losses. Dark Unis? Two straight wins. Case closed.

Orange is a loser when teams are closely matched.

[ronzo]

21. Ouch.

Nice park though... :7

[Ravenseye]

22. Hey, I'm from Pittsburgh

I know all about having nothing but a nice park. :7

[AmericanErrorist]

25. So that explains why the Red Sox won the 2004 World Series

:)

[AmericanErrorist]

28. And the other WS they won 86 years ago

But what about the gap? "The Curse" is b--s--t.