Fans: How Watching Sports Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Understanding

The perfect book for everyone cheering from the couch during the Tokyo Olympics

Larry Olmsted's writing and research have been called "eye-opening" (People), "impressive" (Publishers Weekly, starred review), and "enlightening" (Kirkus Reviews).

Now, the New York Times and Washington Post bestselling author turns his expertise to a subject that has never been fully explored, delivering a highly entertaining game changer that uses brand-new research to show us why being a sports fan is good for us individually and is a force for positive change in society. Fans is a passionate reminder
of how games, teams, and the communities dedicated to them are vital to our lives.

Citing fascinating new studies on sports fandom, Larry Olmsted makes the case that the more you identify with a sports team, the better your social, psychological, and physical health is; the more meaningful your relationships are; and the more connected and happier you are. Fans maintain better cognitive processing as their gray matter ages; they have better language skills; and college students who follow sports have higher GPAs, better graduation rates, and higher incomes after graduating. And there's more: On a societal level, sports help us heal after tragedies, providing community and hope when we need it most. Fans is the perfect gift for anyone who loves sports or anyone who loves someone who loves sports.

"Olmsted opens a window into a psychologically compelling world of passion and purpose."
--Harvey Araton, author of Our Last Season: A Writer, a Fan, a Friendship


Author: Larry Olmsted
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Published: 03/02/2021
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 7.20h x 5.40w x 1.20d
ISBN: 9781616208462


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 12/14/2020
Kirkus Reviews 01/15/2021
Library Journal 02/01/2021 pg. 88
Booklist 02/15/2021 pg. 12

About the Author
Olmsted, Larry: - Larry Olmsted is an award-winning journalist who has been a visiting professor at Dartmouth College, where he taught nonfiction writing. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller Real Food / Fake Food and Getting into Guinness, a history of the Guinness Book of World Records, a book for which he broke three world records himself while researching. He currently writes online columns for Forbes and USA Today, and he appears regularly on television and radio. Olmsted is an avid fan of American Ninja Warrior and a passionate fan of sports fans.