by Cain Carpenter

Created on: July 29, 2009

In the realm of sports it's always important to be able to play in front of your home crowd. The cheer of fans from the excitement of a big breakaway run or the cascade of boos raining down your opponent can easily provide a boost. However just how important is home field advantage in the NFL? A league in which grown men that by all measures should be immune to the pressure and taunts that come with entering a hostile stadium.

Examining this from different perspective such as high school football or even college makes one think that it's incredibly important. Although the argument there is the inexperience of players. Young kids haven't had the chance to play under various types of situations like an overtime game on the road. Or even needing a goal line stand on an important fourth and one for the go ahead touchdown. College stadiums prove to provide a key advantage when playing at home. Again though one has to credit much of this to inexperience.

Finally coming to the NFL why does it seem that so many teams that play at home have the advantage? It's merely the fatigue that comes with traveling. The mental aspect of the game of football can never be underestimated. While it may not be that physically demanding on players in the NFL to fly across country and play just a few days later, one cannot discount the mental weariness that comes along with that.

The grind of flying over 1200 miles is a stress on any one of us. Especially someone that still has to run through practices and meetings before playing such an important game. It's difficult and grueling to an extent to have to deal with that, especially on a regular basis. Personally I can't even drive over 100 miles without having to take a break and rest for a bit. I especially couldn't imagine having to fly across eight states, get off the plane and expect to get to the meeting room later to watch game film.

Many fans would like to think they have so much to do with why their team plays well at home. It cannot be discounted but this isn't such an important factor. While stadiums such as Lambeau Field are historically significant and can play a role in the mental prowess of the opposing team, it simply doesn't allow for such a huge stress on the importance of home field advantage.

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