RITUALS, FIRST-IMPRESSIONS, AND THE OPENING DAY HOME ADVANTAGE

Durkheim's discussion on ritual and Goffman's theoretical work on firs t impressions are used to predict superior performance among home team s on opening day. Information on opening day game outcomes is compiled and compared with the results of regular season and championship play . The analysis reveals a greater home advantage for teams playing in o pening day games than for home teams competing in regular season or ch ampionship games. When controlling far the effect of stadium attendanc e on the home advantage, the opening day home advantage exceeds that o f championship competition. The results suggest that ritual activity a nd concerns for first impression management may be factors that condit ion home team performance, offering support for the assertion that per formance is partly a social product. Further home advantage research c an direct attention to cross-cultural differences in the opening day h ome advantage and focus on qualitative data collection to supplement t he current abundance of archival data.