This is your brain on sports : the science of underdogs, the value of rivalry, and what we can learn from the T-shirt cannon / L. Jon Wertheim and Sam Sommers.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Your brain on sports -- Why the T-shirt cannon has something to teach us about human nature -- Why Tom Brady and all those other quarterbacks are so damned good-looking (or are they?) -- Why we channel our inner Mayweather and secretly crave disrespect -- Why we are all dog lovers at heart (but not deep in our hearts) -- Why hockey goons would rather fight at home -- The curse of the expert: why the best players make the worst coaches -- Acting on impluse : why we aren't so different from the sports hothead (L-O-B, Crabtree!) -- Why athletes don't need an empty bed before competition -- Why the coach's seat is always hot -- Why so many successful ultra-endurance athletes area also successful recovering addicts -- Why giving every little league kid a trophy is such a lousy idea -- Why rooting for the Mets is like building that IKEA desk -- Why we need rivals -- Why we want Gronk at our backyard barbecue-- and why he wants to be there -- Tribal warfare : why the agony of the other team's defeat feels just as good as the thrill of our team's victory -- Why we are all comeback kids -- Why running on a treadmill is like running a business -- Why the World Cup doesn't lead to world peace (even if J. Lo and Pitbull claim otherwise) -- Why our moral compass is more flexible than an Olympic gymnast -- Why unlocking the mystery of human consciousness is-- like so much else in life-- all about sports.

THE book for sports fans searching for a deeper understanding of the games they watch and the people who play them. Bestselling author L. Jon Wertheim teams up with Tufts psychologist Sam Sommers to take readers on a wild ride into the inner world of sports. Through the prism of behavioral economics, neuroscience, and psychology, they reveal the hidden influences and surprising cues that inspire and derail us--on the field and in the stands--and by extension, in corporate board rooms, office settings, and our daily lives.--Adapted from book jacket.