Football Crazy

You're a level-headed guy, a rock for your girlfriend and highly respected by friends and colleagues. Yet when Saturday night comes round, you're as nervous as a teenager on his first date. You fight back tears, hug random dudes and sing songs with complete strangers like a bridesmaid on a hen night. And the reason for this oddly emotional behaviour? Not a personal crisis or a nervous breakdown, but a 90-minute football match. What's that all about?

The Crying Game

There's no doubt football is an emotional release for guys. Two-thirds of men questioned by UK's Mental Health Foundation said football made it easier for them to share their feelings with other men. And 76 percent of the 500 men surveyed said they wouldn't be embarrased to hug their friends while watching a game. A quarter admitted crying over a game.

Sports psychologist Dr Martin Perry explains why. "Fans become very open emotionally during a highly charged game...winning lifts them as much as losing deflates them," he explains. "That openness manifests itself in a  range of emotions, all of which happen in a crowd, where there is permission to express your feelings."

For the full article, check out June issue of Maxim: Out now at all newsstands!