Hey, Wowzer fans.
Mindy here.
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Proceeded, 3, 2, 1, ignition.
I don't know what you've been told, but we're in a golden age So many discoveries that are jumping off the page.
Thank you,
You are watching BSPN Classic.
If you like your sports tiny, hard to see and buzzing with excitement then you've come to the right place.
It's the Boo Boo Beanie Popper B-Ball World Soccer Championships.
Come on, everyone.
The game is starting.
I can't believe that bee ball has become so popular, it's gone global.
Well, bees do live on every continent.
Tonight's matchup is so hot, it could melt the ice in Antarctica.
Well, every continent except Antarctica.
First up, the South Town Stingers.
Wait, we don't like them?
No, we don't.
You're going down, South Town.
Yeah, South Town, you're going down.
Right?
And the reigning world champions, the Bufftail Buzzers.
Wow, Grandma G-Force, I had no idea you were such a huge fan.
Trust me, you don't.
G-Force, take it easy, would ya?
We're coming to you live from the Honeycomb Dome.
I'm Jurgle Jorgensen and seated next to me providing color commentary is the ketchup to my mustard, the peas to my carrots.
It's Petra Petra.
Mary Winkle Jones.
Thanks, Jurgle.
Now let's go down to the field where our on-site reporter Meriwether III is standing by with the captain of the Bufftail Buzzards.
Thank you, Jurgle.
Yes, that's right.
I'm standing here with the Captain Queen Bee herself.
Now, tell me, how are you feeling about tonight's game?
Oh, yeah, that's what I'm talking about.
Wow, thank you.
Didn't understand a word of what you just said.
Back to you in the studio, Jurgle and Petra.
Well, this is certainly shaping up to be a match for the ages.
That's right, Jurgle.
Tonight, one of these two teams will be crowned the World Champions of Bebop.
And it's gonna be us, the Bufftail Buzzers.
Us?
Yeah, G-Force kind of thinks she's on the team.
But she's not.
She's just a fan.
What's she doing?
Is she stretching?
T-Force, quit warming up like you're about to play the game.
Don't you tell me what to do.
So, Guy Raz, who are you rooting for?
What?
Uh, me?
Yeah.
Who do you want to see win the world soccer trophy?
And be crowned the global champions of b-ball.
Well, I'm really not a very competitive person.
I just hope both teams have fun.
Okay, buff tails, we're gonna take them good-for-nothing slimy South Town stingers and we're gonna rack them and sack them and.
Spit them out!
Yeah!
Spit them out!
Because they're slimy!
Right?
Yeah!
Yeah!
What about you, Mindy?
Do you have a favorite team in this matchup?
Well, I guess I'm Team Bufftail Buzzers, but that's really just because of my loyalty to Grandma G-Force.
Well, thank you, Mindy.
I appreciate it.
Eat them all!
Buzzers!
Yikes!
But mostly, I'm just here for the science.
Science?
Well, yeah.
Mindy, this is a sports party, not a science party.
It's for sporty sports people like me, who like sports, and sports costumes, and sports snacks.
Mindy, what?
What do you mean you're just here for the science?
Well, I just read this fascinating new study on sports fans and their brains in the scientific journal Radiology.
The lights are bright, the stakes are high, and this b-ball game is about to begin.
And here we go, folks.
Looks like the Bufftail Buzzards have got the ball.
They're kicking it.
They're moving it closer to the goal and... Let's go, Bufftails.
Time to pollinate that pass.
Show me the honey.
But what's this?
Looks like the South Town Stingers have the ball, has been intercepted by one of the south town stingers who seems to have flown in from the sidelines.
Get it together, don't just hover there, do something.
We did not come here to laugh.
Ah, Grandma J-Force be careful.
You almost spilled the honey mustard dip.
Oh.
J-Force, get a hold of yourself.
What is happening?
Uh-oh.
Uh-oh.
I can't handle it.
There, there, G-Force.
It's going to be all right.
Why'd you pinch me?
So Mindy, you said that you read a study on the brains of sports fans?
Oh, yeah.
So a group of researchers from Santiago Chile, wanted to know why some soccer fans go completely bonker balls when their team wins or loses.
Grandma G-Force, no!
Oh, phew.
The dip's still good.
So I'm assuming that, to answer this question, they studied why sports make some people so emotional.
You're going quite cranky.
Now, how about some dip?
No!
I'm emotional.
Yep.
The researchers wanted to know how some fans managed to stay calm and under control, while others can't help but explode with anger.
Now listen here, you sloppy South Town stingers.
These buffalo bumblebee wings are so saucy and sticky.
Okay.
So the scientists wanted to know why some fans got overly emotional, why some of them lost their temper and why others managed to stay calm.
Yes, but more than anything, they wanted to know what is actually happening in a superfan's brain when their team is playing in a game against a big rival.
A big rival, huh?
There has never been a more bitter rivalry than between these two teams.
Oh, yeah.
I'm better, baby.
Oh, wow.
Jurgle, would you look at this?
The Boftail Buzzers are in an impressive coordinated 3B formation.
And they're headed straight towards the goal.
Can they do it?
You bet your bottom beehive we can.
Center passes to the wide.
Wide passes to the striker.
Striker passes to the winger.
Come on, baby.
And we'll be right back after this break.
No, not commercials.
Do you or a loved one suffer from extreme emotional sportsmanship?
Come on, G-Force.
Let's get outside for some fresh air.
Oh, good idea.
And I'll bring some of my famous b-ball pocket nachos just in case.
Don't you like pocket nachos?
Wow, that was intense.
Yeah, imagine what it was like for the scientists who chose to study these extreme sports fans while they were watching their teams lose or win.
So back to that, Mindy.
How exactly did these scientists study what was happening with their brains?
Were they able to find a way to peek inside?
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, so for this study, the researchers studied 60 grown-up soccer superfans.
And I'm assuming that these fans either loved one team or strongly disliked the other.
You know it.
But they didn't study them while they sat on a couch in front of a TV.
Instead, they had them lie down in something called an MRI brain scanner.
Of course, MRI.
It stands for magnetic resonance imaging.
And a brain scanning MRI is like a super powerful camera that can get pictures of the inside of your brain without having to open it up.
Exactly.
It uses super powerful magnets and radio waves to take these detailed pictures so that doctors and scientists can see what's going on in there.
You know, while you think or feel or watch b-ball or soccer games.
So I'm going to assume the researchers had these soccer superfans lie down in the MRI scanner while they watched their favorite teams play their ultimate rivals.
You know it.
And what exactly were the researchers looking for in the brain scans?
Well, these MRI machines track the way the blood flows through the brain, and this helps to show which parts of the brain are working extra hard.
So more blood flowing to a certain part of the brain means that that part is more active than others.
Exactly.
And while they were lying still inside the MRI machines, the researchers had them watch soccer games where their teams played a rival team.
Watching their favorite teams play a rival while lying still inside of a machine?
Yep.
And they watch their favorite team win and score goals.
Yeah?
And they watch their rival team win and score goals.
And finally they watched a neutral or random team that they didn't really care about.
Either way, win and score goals.
And I imagine that then the scientists would compare how each brain reacted in each situation.
You know it.
And what they found was pretty bonker balls.
What's that?
What was Pretty Barker Balls?
That was my nickname in high school.
What?
Your nickname was not Barker Balls in high school?
Hush, boy.
Game's back on.
And we're back.
Live from the Honeycomb Dome, where the reigning world champs, the Bufftail Buzzers, are facing off against their ultimate rivals.
The South Town Stingers!
Boftail Buzzers had complete control of the ball on their way to scoring a goal.
Yeah!
But the Stingers swooped in, intercepted the ball, and scored a goal instead.
We've been robbed!
That's it.
I'm going in.
What?
Steve Force quit trying to climb into the TV.
Could I interest anyone in a bee in a blanket?
See?
It's a little piece of honeycomb wrapped in puff pastry.
Okay.
So Mindy, you were saying that the scientists discovered something else while studying these brain scans of sports superfans?
Oh, yeah.
So what they discovered was that when the sports fans team won the reward or cheerleader, part of their brain lit up.
And the reward system in our brains is the part that activates or gets excited whenever we experience something good.
Like when we eat our favorite food or hear some great news or when our team scores a point.
Exactly.
The buff tails have the ball.
They pass up the middle.
And...
It's official.
The fucktails are back in the game.
Oh, yeah.
We're the best.
We're the hot tamale.
We're the big cheese.
We're the champs.
And, just like we're seeing here, the stronger the fans' loyalty or love for the team, the stronger those reward signals become.
Think of it like having a built-in cheerleading squad inside your brain.
Yeah, that's a good way to look at it.
Uh-oh, it looks like the stingers have regained control of the ball.
Now, G-Force, just stay calm.
Here, try some of Dennis' famous chocolate chip honey cookies.
So, Mindy, what do these researchers notice in the brain when the sports fans' teams lost?
Well, they discovered that when their team lost or when the rival team scored a goal, the control system in the brain, That's the part of the brain that's responsible for self-control, calm thinking and stopping bad reactions.
Yeah, that part.
The control system became less active...
Think of it like the referees in your brain taking a break in the middle of an intense game.
Yikes.
So what happens when the control system or those brain referees stop doing their job?
Well, I could tell you... Yes?
Or I can show you because it's kind of happening right here in front of us.
And...
That's another goal for the Stingers!
Oof, that is not good.
See what I mean?
The researchers discovered that when those brain referees stopped doing their job, that people might do things like yell more.
Or act impulsively.
You know, doing things without thinking first.
That's it.
I'm throwing this table out the window.
Or just stop making sense and losing control altogether.
No!
That table's holding all the snacks.
Okay.
So it looks like when a fan is experiencing an intense rivalry or battle on the field, there's another equally intense battle happening inside their brain.
Oh, yeah.
The reward system, or cheerleaders of the brain, are getting louder, while the control system, or referees of the brain, are getting drowned out by the crowd of extreme emotions sitting there in the stands.
I want to bite something.
You can't.
You just throw. all the food out the window.
Would you two quiet down?
So Mindy, how is it that some people can watch a sports game without experiencing these extreme battles in their brains?
What do you mean?
Well, I mean, Thomas Fingerling is also rooting for the Bufftail Buzzers, but he's not throwing tables out of the window or trying to climb into the TV.
Well...
Maybe this will help answer your question.
Um, hey, Thomas Fingerling.
Yep?
When did you become a fan of the Bufftail Buzzers?
Uh, yesterday.
When G-Force told me that if I didn't root for them, she'd huff and puff and blow my house down.
Interesting.
So maybe not an extreme fan on his own.
And?
Grandma G-Force.
What?
When did you become a fan of the Bufftail Buzzers?
Well, Mandy, it all goes back to when I was just a wee little Granny G. What?
You were a granny when you were a little kid?
Well, my mother named me Grandalyn.
Oh.
And every year my mother would save all the pennies that she fished out of the fountain when everybody was looking and telling her to stop.
Sounds familiar.
And when she finally had enough fountain pennies, she used them to pay for two tickets for us to see the Bufftail Buzzers play the South Town Stingers in the B-Ball World Championship game down at the Honeycomb Dome.
Oh!
And my mother looked at me in my beady little eyes and she said to me Grandlin, we are buff-tailed buzzers.
And don't you ever forget that.
She said it like that.
And she said them.
South Town Stangers are nothing but a bunch of good-for-nothing hornets and bee suits, and we must do whatever it takes to stop them from winning, even if that means putting traps in the locker room at halftime so they can't come out for the rest of the game.
Wait what?
And so we did.
And the Buff Tales won the world championship fair and square.
And we were the best.
And we got a sash that said so.
The end.
Wait.
So you and your mother cheated by trapping the bees on the other team in their locker room in order for your own team to win the game.
Why, yes, we did.
And I'll do it again.
Who's gonna drive me down to the honeycomb dome?
Let me just grab my traps first.
Grandma G-Force, cheating to win?
What made you think this was a good idea?
Thinking?
I ain't thinking.
Everybody knows that thinking is the first thing to go out the window when the buff tails are in danger of losing to the stangers.
Actually, the snack table was the first thing to go out the window.
Uh-huh.
See what I mean, Guy Raz?
Yeah.
The referee in her brain was drowned out by the noise of her emotions.
Exactly.
But to answer your question from earlier... Which question again?
You know, the one about why some sports fans take their fandom to the extremes?
Oh, yeah.
So where does this extreme loyalty to a sports team even come from?
Well, the researchers discovered that group loyalty or extreme love for something like a sports team is actually something that people learn when they're kids.
Aha, as in the case of wee little Granny G or, uh, Grandalyn.
Exactly.
According to this study, some of the most extreme sports fans were actually taught as kids who their team was and who their rivals were.
And this understanding was all made stronger by the way that the people around them acted when these teams were winning or losing.
And I assume that means that people around them tended to act in extreme ways during these rivalry games.
Doing things like yelling or flipping tables.
Or putting bee traps in the locker rooms of the other teams.
Yeah, all of these things.
And this study suggests that when people experience these extreme reactions when they're kids, they're more likely to grow up to have extreme reactions to their teams winning or losing when they're adults.
I ain't an adult.
I'm a teenager.
You know, Mindy, I'm wondering if this kind of thing goes beyond sports.
What do you mean, Guy Raz?
Well, besides sports teams, there are all kinds of different groups, and sometimes our brains treat them as my group versus your group.
And when this happens, we can see other groups as rivals or enemies, rather than just different groups.
Exactly.
You know, the researchers of this study actually pointed this out too.
And now they're wondering if these same brain systems the reward system cheerleaders and the control system referees may also affect battles outside of the sporting arenas.
Right.
So when extreme loyalty to one group becomes so strong that it creates intense emotions towards another group, it makes it even harder to control those emotions.
You know it, but it doesn't have to be this way.
These scientists are hoping that by better understanding how our brains work in these types of situations, we might be able to find better ways for us humans to handle rivalry and competition better.
You know, to keep angry crowds from losing control, to better understand how to deal with groups who have different beliefs, and how to help kids learn healthy ways to compete.
The game is tied, and the Stingers are in control of the ball, inching their way closer to victory.
If they manage to score the next goal, the South Town Stingers will become the new World B-Ball champions.
Oh, no.
Somebody take my eyeballs.
I can't walk in this.
Center passes to the Y. Y passes to the winger.
And... Ooh!
Intercepted by the buff-tailed buzzer.
Oh, yeah, baby.
Fingerling.
Give me back my eyeballs.
Go on, took your eyeballs.
They're still in your head.
And the bucktail buzzers are headed straight for the stinger's goal.
Can they do it?
Come on, you can do it.
And...
I can't even believe it.
Come on, everybody.
Let's go take to the street and go climb a lamppost and scream a whole bunch.
Huh, interesting.
Do any of you feel the energy Grandma G-Force seems to be feeling?
No, not really.
Yeah, I mean I'm happy the bufftail buzzers won and all, but I don't think I feel like climbing a lamppost.
I don't even think I can climb a lamppost.
Yeah, I feel the same way.
And thanks to those researchers from Chile, I think I now understand where Grandma G-Force's fanaticism comes from.
And a little bit more about how it all works.
Hey, everybody, come on out here and help me flip over this ice cream truck I found.
It's a celebration!
Come on, everyone.
Let's go help make sure Grandma G-Force hasn't hurt herself celebrating.
All right.
Anyone have an idea for how to calm her down?
Uh, a glass of warm milk?
Uh, bedtime story?
A lullaby?
Oh, yeah.
A lullaby.
Grandma G-Force, it's time to go.
Wow in the World will be right back after this ad break.
That's it.
Now back to the show.
Wow in the World.
Hi, thanks for calling Wow in the World.
After the beep, get ready to record.
Hi, Mindy.
Hi, Guy Raz.
My name is Aaliyah, and I'm from Toronto, Ontario.
My wow in the world is that frogs breathe through their skin.
Say hi to Grandma G-Force for me.
Booyah!
Hi, my name is Gus.
My name is Ben.
And our wow is that beaver teeth never stop growing.
I'm Indian Guy.
My name is Lauren, and I live in Pearland, Texas.
My wow in the world is that Lake Natron is so salty it can mummify animals that fall in, except for flamingos.
Isn't that bonker balls?
Say the bongo for me.
My name is Lydia.
I live in Nashville, Tennessee.
My mom in the world is that babies have 300 bones, but adults have only 206.
Isn't that a bongo ball?
Say hi to Grandma G-Force.
Ready?
Thomas Fingerling, and it's like that.
Oh, yeah.
That's what I'm talking about.
All right.
And that's it.
Ahoy there.
Bye.
Love your show.
I'm Indian Guyot.
My name is Adam, and I'm calling from Colorado, North Carolina.
My round the world is that lions sleep 20 hours a day to conserve energy, and they are very loud.
You can hear them from five miles away.
Say hi to Dennis, Reggie, Grandma G-Force, and Thomas Fingerling.
Hi.
Oh, yeah.
Trump.
Hi, I'm Bea.
I'm 13 years old, and I live in Vermont.
And my wow in the world is that there are six American flags on the moon and that eventually they're all going to be bleached white by the sun.
Isn't that crazy?
Say hi to Dennis, Thomas Finkeling, and Grandma G-Force at the Playcast for me.
Thanks.
Have a great day.
Howdy.
Hi, my name is JoJo.
I'm nine years old, and I live in Atlanta, Georgia.
And my wow today is that in the winter, some frogs literally freeze up.
And in the summer, they just hop away.
Say hi to Dennis' pet fish, Goldie Bob.
Dennis.
Hi there.
Derek, man.
Reggie.
Thomas Fingerling.
I love your show.
I give you 100,000 stars.
Bye.
Thanks for listening to this episode of Wow in the World.
If you're a kid with a big wow to share with us, call our wow hotline at 1-888-7wowwow for a chance to be featured at the end of the show.
We'll see you next time.
Visit us at Tinkercast.com and become a member of the World Organization of Wowzers.
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You can also shop our Wow Shop, get tickets for upcoming live events, find our books, toys and science kits and learn all about the other amazing podcasts from Tinkercast.
Once again, that's Tinkercast.com.
Wow in the World is written by Mindy Thomas and Tom Van Kalken with contributions from me, Guy Raz.
Original sound design and music editing is done by Tyler Thole, with help from our senior production director, Jed Anderson, and audio producer Henry Moskal.
You can also hear Jed Anderson in the voices of Dennis Thomas Fingerling, Reggie and many of the other silly characters you hear on our show.
Jessica Bode keeps our facts straight as our fact checker.
Steph Sosa keeps our heads on straight as our executive producer.
And Meredith Halpern-Ranzer powers the wow at Tinkercast.
Our theme song was composed and performed by three-time Grammy nominees, the Pop-Ups.
Find them at thepopups.com.
Special thanks to our team, including Kristen Yang Thuy Mac, Ali Paksima, Linda Rothenberg and Anna Zagorski, and all of the other Tinkerers at Tinkercast HQ.
Grownups, you can follow Wow in the World on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at Wow in the World.
And our email address is hello at Tinkercast.com.
Thanks for listening.
Find episodes of Wow in the World every Monday to What's in the Wow every Friday, right here and on YouTube.
And don't forget, we wow on the weekends with Dennis every Saturday and Sunday right here in the Wow in the World podcast feed.
Until then, keep on wowing!
Wow in the World was made by Tinkercast.
