The game nears its final stretch. Tension rises in the arena and in your living room. Time seems to slow, but your pulse seems to quicken. The ball soars through the air. Nothing is in your control. There’s only one thing left to do, Scream. Yelling at the TV during a sporting event is a ritual that has continued across generations. Whether male or female, football or soccer fan, winning or losing, every spectator finds his or herself directing professional athletes on how to play through the TV screen.

Many studies claim to have proven that even hollering while in physical attendance of a game has little affect on the final outcome of the competition. Therefore one might assume that yelling at a TV, likely miles away, would have absolutely no impact on the players. So why do sports fans yell? Screaming at a game comforts us and makes us feel like we have some sort of power. And even though we don’t really have a mutual relationship with the athletes or clubs that we worship, yelling makes us feel like a part of the team. While friends and family members often encourage us to lower our volume, our hollering cannot be contained. Telling dedicated sports fans to be quiet is asking them to be something that they are not. When a three pointer is launched in the final seconds of a close game, a squeal lets your family know that you care more about this basketball game than you do about their ears. When your quarterback fumbles down the stretch, a wild tantrum is necessary and proper reaction in your mind. And after witnessing a rough loss, any destruction caused to objects in our immediate surrounding is no match to the damage done to our hearts.

“Emotions are at a high during sporting events, especially for us diehards,” said junior Nick Sanitsky. “It’s important for us to let out our emotions and think that we can affect the game even if we’re helpless.”

Whether done for comfort, superstition, habit, anger or for joy, screaming at a televised sporting event is necessary regardless off what narrow-minded studies or silent spectators suggest.