Revisiting the effect of team passion displayed during national anthems on subsequent success: A replication and...

Slater et al. (2018. Singing it for "us": Team passion displayed during national anthems is associated with subsequent success. European Journal of Sport Science, 18(4), 541-549. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2018.1431311) found that the perceived level of team passion displayed during (pre-match) national anthems at UEFA Euro 2016 predicted team performance during the match. Teams that displayed greater passion conceded fewer goals and team passion predicted the likelihood of victory during the knockout (but not group) stages. Here, we replicate Slater et al. using a larger sample of matches from the FIFA World Cup (n = 415), and apply more appropriate analyses, and control for potential confounds. We also extend the original study to consider additional performance-related outcome variables (fouls, bookings, and possession). We find no evidence that anthem passion was a reliable predictor of performance outcomes (i.e. match outcome, goals scored/conceded, fouls, bookings, possession) in competitive international soccer matches.HIGHLIGHTSFailing to replicate previous research, we find no evidence that the amount of collective passion displayed by a team during the national anthem predicts performance outcomes in soccer matches.Collective passion was unrelated to goals scored, goals conceded, match outcome, fouls, possession, and expected goals. The effect of passion on these outcomes was not moderated by the stage of competition.The reported null effects may be because verbal and non-verbal behaviours during the national anthem are poor signals of collective passion.