For humans, the urge to cry is instinctual. It happens at birth—though babies don’t yet have the capacity to produce tears at that early age—and often during milestone events, like weddings, birthdays, funerals, and even while watching the Olympic Games.
Why are we so often moved to tears during the Games? Experts theorize that crying—even outside of the context of the Olympics—happens due to feelings of helplessness, overwhelment, or awe, all of which reverberate through the body as onlookers watch the world’s top athletes race against one another. But the quadrennial event is also vastly more unique, and perhaps somehow more uncomplicated, than any other highly-watched showdown. “For a moment, I can just be proud that this person who is draped in the flag that I share, has done something meaningful,” says Benjamin Perry, author of Cry Baby: Why Our Tears Matter. “It’s one of the things that I think the Olympics in particular offer that has been very core to both the history of the Games themselves, but also why we find ourselves watching back.”
Here’s what experts say about why people cry when watching the Olympics.
We feel attached to the competitors
Humans don’t only feel bonded to the people they personally know and love. They can also feel attached to sports teams, countries, identity groups, or popular athletes.
It’s the reason why entire countries rally behind international soccer star Lionel Messi or gymnast Simone Biles. “[Crying] is a signal to others that we’re all in this together,” says Randolph Cornelius, professor emeritus from the department of psychology at Vassar College. “Tears are a broadcasting of identification and attachment.”
The Olympics are also unique in that the event functions as a great unifier—even for countries swamped in division or polarization. “There’s an uncomplicated nationalism associated with the Olympics that many of us deeply yearn for because we have such complicated relationships with our national politics,” says Perry. “We might have deep disagreements with our fellow countrypeople about things that matter greatly, but for a moment, we can all still be cheering for the same women’s soccer team that has won gold.”
People feel empathetic toward athletes
People also tend to empathize with others when they are rooting for a similar outcome, like during the Olympics. Even though most of us aren’t competitive athletes, “you understand the goal of trying to beat the opponent or cross the finish line just ahead of the others, so your body is sort of feeling that experience, and it has that shared goal,” says Stephanie Preston, a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan. “When they cross the finish line or they get that last point, you’re elated along with them, because you’ve been feeling into the experience as you watch.”
Watching athletes express joy when winning at the Olympics can also be contagious. “Joy is a very intense emotion, and intensity can sometimes leak into crying,” Preston says.
The Olympics are unique
The fact that the Olympics happen every four years already increases the stakes of the Games. But research also shows that the intensity of a match—experienced during soccer penalty shoot-outs or when watching a sprinter make it just past their opponent—also stimulates tears.
That’s because our tear ducts are connected to the parasympathetic nervous system, “which is the part of the nervous system that calms us down after we’ve been excited,” says Cornelius. “Crying helps to break that tension.”
For others, simply watching people perform at the highest level can stir strong emotions.
“Especially when people display a performance that we feel is hardly possible for normal humans,” says Ad Vingerhoets, a clinical psychologist specializing in crying. “It can have a major impact on us—leaving us with a feeling of being overwhelmed by the beauty.”
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