The study – released to celebrate the thrills, spills and tensions of the beautiful game – proves that it is not necessarily the teams battling for the title or relegation that are the most exciting or nerve-wracking to watch.
Wrigley’s Extra® worked with scientists to test the heart rate and cortisol levels (the higher the cortisol level the higher the level of tension) of a group of ‘football mad’ fans to see how excited they get when watching different teams.
Fans from each of the 20 Barclays Premier League clubs were tested at four matches throughout the season. Each team was awarded points per game based on their fans’ heart rate and cortisol levels before, during and after the match.
With the table-topping score of 189 points in the Extra Excitement League, Rovers even beat Barclays Premier League champions Manchester United who finished in third place with 187 points.
Other teams that were considerably better at exciting fans than winning games included Wigan Athletic, Bolton Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion.
The Extra Excitement League showed how Newcastle’s Toon army reacted to their team’s fight to stay in the top flight - despite seeing their team relegated on the final day of the season, fans managed to keep their cool throughout the game.
Extra Excitement League Table 08/09
1 Blackburn Rovers 189
2 Arsenal 188
3 Manchester United 187
4 Wigan Athletic 186
5 Bolton Wanderers 185
6 Liverpool 185
7 West Bromwich Albion 183
8 Chelsea 180
9 Manchester City 178
10 Stoke City 177
11 Aston Villa 176
12 Portsmouth 174
13 Tottenham Hotspur 174
14 West Ham United 173
15 Middlesbrough 171
16 Hull City 168
17 Fulham 168
18 Everton 167
19 Sunderland 161
20 Newcastle United 157
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