Sporting Tension….What If? 1963-2018

Book excerpt: Tension in sport can occur at any level and is not simply confined to encounters or occasions when the ultimate or top skills are on display, although many, if not all, of the events chosen in this book do indeed feature extremely high skill levels. Perhaps the most obvious ingredient of tension is uncertainty, where the outcome is unknown throughout the majority or even all of the proceedings as the drama develops and reaches its peak. After all, how many times do you hear people say that they prefer to watch something live rather than watch it later in the day when it is repeated? Clearly, if you watch the same sporting event repeatedly it is most probably because you have enjoyed the outcome, all the tension having disappeared. At the height of tension the outcome is completely unknown until the very final seconds or even second.