Unfair Advantage?

[Ludwig]

It was a psychological study in fact. Part of basic psychology same as Pavlov's Dog. The study found that in sport wearing red was a distinct advantage due to several factors. Red is the brightest and most aggressive colour in the spectrum. By aggressive I mean that placed next to other colours it overpowers. Red is also psychologically linked to high aggression, competitiveness and violence due to it's association with blood. sayings like 'He saw Red', 'Red with Rage' denote anger. Bulls are supposed to only attack a red cloth, of course this a bull@@@@ as bulls are colour-blind. I think we have to be careful though as the results of tests are generational. One generation finds red cowering, another does not. They are also cultural. As with IQ tests, most of which are rubbish as they don't test artistic intelligence, colour testing should be based on cultural grounds. For instance one thing that must be taken into account is that to some cultures red is a revered colour and if the participant from these cultures was to draw blue they would have no chance of winning. The opposite applies to a person who draws blue who is a Thai who supports the Yellow political movement, he/she will attempt to kill the red.

Although cattle do have less sensitivity to higher wavelengths of human visible light, red, at the low end of the spectrum, is one of the colours they can differentiate well.

I think basing colour testing on cultural differences has some merit, but one can't draw conclusions about what the results would be from such testing, if these tests have not been done.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that anti-Taksin Thais would attempt to 'kill' an opponent randomly chosen to wear red shorts; but there are extremists in most political groups. Yellow and pink are associated with the monarchy, mainly because the king has expressed a preference to these colours. Again, it is difficult to say whether these preferences would extend to sporting contests.

Regardless of the reasons, the question remains whether it is in fact an advantage to be in red in a sporting contest, all other things being equal. The findings in the tests done say it is.

[Bladey Blood]

Roger Federer & Martina Hingis share a red & white national banner .... they did alright between them

Yes, I agree.
The Swiss flag is a big plus for them.

[0918330512]

Maybe it has to do with the amount of red in the jumper? Dogs & Saints have a splash of red in theirs. Limited success. From the mid 1930s until they went for the all red back the Swans were primarily white with a red V. Limited success (ok I'm ignoring the largely successful early 1930s). Change to a majority red jumper (back and 1/3 of the front) ... regular finals for the Swans. Is that why the Suns went with their primarily red jumper?

- Fruhike, Byers & Langley

[Dosser]

This is probably all based on perception. I believe I am a lot more successful than I really am after I have had a bottle of red.