footballphantom
17 Sep 2003, 12:04
Was reading this article and for those interstate thought that I would post it here.
http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/footy03/story_page/0,8747,7289337%255E25397,00.html
Who's afraid of the MCG?
By MICHELANGELO RUCCI
17sep03
PORT ADELAIDE's search for an answer to why it was losing home finals has given the Power reason to believe it is better off playing at the MCG in Saturday's AFL preliminary final against Collingwood.
Port now recognises - with several university and pyschological studies to prove the point - that home-ground advantage can turn into a disadvantage in finals.
And there are enough examples now in AFL football - with Port having offered three in the past three seasons - to emphasise the trend of home-ground advantage being eroded in play-off matches, as is the case in US baseball and basketball.
Williams, reflecting on how Collingwood stung the Power in last year's qualifying final at AAMI Stadium, still dismisses Magpie coach Michael Malthouse's mind games in the lead-up to that play-off messed the pysche of his players.
He questions whether the pressure of expectation from family, friends and fans in the home environment did the damage while the Collingwood team was sheltered in a hotel in Adelaide in the lead-up to the Friday night final.
"We were sitting around waiting for a side that hadn't won too much to have a crack at us," says Williams. "Expectations weighed on us.
"Now the tables have turned. Collingwood has to deal with that burden of expectation, that's why we say they are under more pressure - real pressure - than us."
Research backing up the suggestion Collingwood's home-ground advantage at the MCG on Saturday will be eroded by the home-crowd disadvantage should be well known by Malthouse. He has experienced the phenomenon at West Coast in 1991 when the Eagles, as minor premiers with a three-win lead on Hawthorn, lost its first home final at Subiaco to the Hawks.
One university research paper - based on studying hundreds of game results in World Series baseball and NBA basketball play-offs) concludes: "The percentage of wins by the home team in championship matches is much lower than in minor games.
"The suggestion is that being in a position to win a championship creates enormous pressure on players from devoted home fans.
"High expectations from home fans lead players to become overly conscious of winning. In this way, the presence of a home crowd may actually be harmful rather than helpful."
There also is Australian research to back up Port's hope its team is better placed to beat Collingwood at the MCG on Saturday than it was at AAMI Stadium last September.
Australia's teams for the Sydney Olympics were primed after pyschologists noted "home-ground advantage can turn out to be a disadvantage, if the stakes are high enough and the home team carries heavy expectations."
Psychologist Gavin Freeman noted Australian Olympians at Sydney 2000 experienced "absolute, sheer fear and terror" in the face of performing in front of thousands of Australians expecting them to win.
Freeman prepared the Australian Olympic archers for this phenomenon by having them train in front of 300 screaming schoolgirls. "They hated it," says Freeman, "but come the Olympics, the crowds didn't bother them - and they won gold."
Port this weekend will play before its biggest AFL crowd since 51,883 watched its debut against Collingwood at the MCG in 1997. Retired Adelaide captain Mark Bickley, who was part of the Crows teams which defied the home-ground advantage Victorian teams had in finals at the MCG in 1993, 1997 and 1998, says the Power players will face the biggest test of their character this weekend.
"Reality is some players handle these situations well, others don't," said Bickley, adding Adelaide's success in 1997 and 1998 was built on Crows players constantly encouraging rather than criticising their team-mates in the MCG cauldron.
http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/footy03/story_page/0,8747,7289337%255E25397,00.html
Who's afraid of the MCG?
By MICHELANGELO RUCCI
17sep03
PORT ADELAIDE's search for an answer to why it was losing home finals has given the Power reason to believe it is better off playing at the MCG in Saturday's AFL preliminary final against Collingwood.
Port now recognises - with several university and pyschological studies to prove the point - that home-ground advantage can turn into a disadvantage in finals.
And there are enough examples now in AFL football - with Port having offered three in the past three seasons - to emphasise the trend of home-ground advantage being eroded in play-off matches, as is the case in US baseball and basketball.
Williams, reflecting on how Collingwood stung the Power in last year's qualifying final at AAMI Stadium, still dismisses Magpie coach Michael Malthouse's mind games in the lead-up to that play-off messed the pysche of his players.
He questions whether the pressure of expectation from family, friends and fans in the home environment did the damage while the Collingwood team was sheltered in a hotel in Adelaide in the lead-up to the Friday night final.
"We were sitting around waiting for a side that hadn't won too much to have a crack at us," says Williams. "Expectations weighed on us.
"Now the tables have turned. Collingwood has to deal with that burden of expectation, that's why we say they are under more pressure - real pressure - than us."
Research backing up the suggestion Collingwood's home-ground advantage at the MCG on Saturday will be eroded by the home-crowd disadvantage should be well known by Malthouse. He has experienced the phenomenon at West Coast in 1991 when the Eagles, as minor premiers with a three-win lead on Hawthorn, lost its first home final at Subiaco to the Hawks.
One university research paper - based on studying hundreds of game results in World Series baseball and NBA basketball play-offs) concludes: "The percentage of wins by the home team in championship matches is much lower than in minor games.
"The suggestion is that being in a position to win a championship creates enormous pressure on players from devoted home fans.
"High expectations from home fans lead players to become overly conscious of winning. In this way, the presence of a home crowd may actually be harmful rather than helpful."
There also is Australian research to back up Port's hope its team is better placed to beat Collingwood at the MCG on Saturday than it was at AAMI Stadium last September.
Australia's teams for the Sydney Olympics were primed after pyschologists noted "home-ground advantage can turn out to be a disadvantage, if the stakes are high enough and the home team carries heavy expectations."
Psychologist Gavin Freeman noted Australian Olympians at Sydney 2000 experienced "absolute, sheer fear and terror" in the face of performing in front of thousands of Australians expecting them to win.
Freeman prepared the Australian Olympic archers for this phenomenon by having them train in front of 300 screaming schoolgirls. "They hated it," says Freeman, "but come the Olympics, the crowds didn't bother them - and they won gold."
Port this weekend will play before its biggest AFL crowd since 51,883 watched its debut against Collingwood at the MCG in 1997. Retired Adelaide captain Mark Bickley, who was part of the Crows teams which defied the home-ground advantage Victorian teams had in finals at the MCG in 1993, 1997 and 1998, says the Power players will face the biggest test of their character this weekend.
"Reality is some players handle these situations well, others don't," said Bickley, adding Adelaide's success in 1997 and 1998 was built on Crows players constantly encouraging rather than criticising their team-mates in the MCG cauldron.