The NFL has the second biggest home field advantage out of the major sports. With weather, and geographic location being major factors in that advantage, home teams over the past four seasons have a winning percentage of about 56%. Since the most NFL games are played outdoors, Mother Nature will usually put on the home team’s jersey. A player gets used to playing in the conditions where he calls home. So if you have a team that is not used to cold weather, that advantage can be magnified and used as part of your sports betting strategy. For example, we all saw what the Patriots did to the Tennessee Titans in week six of the 2009 season. Granted, the Titans weren’t playing good football at the time. One can’t help but notice a team coming from a relatively warm climate in Tennessee all the way up to the arctic climate of Foxboro and getting routed 59-0. Weather is always going to play a part in any outdoor event, but when you aren’t used to the conditions and they take you by surprise, the outcome can be brutal.
However not all games are played outside, and those who have the luxury of playing inside a dome can take advantage of their surroundings as well. Besides the obvious point that you are not dealing with the elements inside a dome, the real key to this point is in the ground. I’m talking grass versus turf. There is not meant to be a large difference between the two, but ask any player and he will have a preference. These are all important factors to consider when developing your sports betting strategy. From the way the ball bounces, to the way it feels under their feet, football players will alter their games slightly when playing on a different surface than they are used to.
There is another notable difference between NBA home field advantage and that of the NFL and that is the length between games. Away games for NFL players force the team to change the whole way they approach the week. For a game on Sunday, they will arrive in their city usually by Thursday. This means eating, sleeping, and training in an unknown environment for three to four days prior to the actual game. Since athletes are typically creatures of habit, this change forces them alter their methods for preparing for the game. For some players this game drastically alters their intensity level and their focus on the game, keep this in mind for your sports betting strategy because if you’ve ever played sports on any level, you know that focus and intensity are essential for a good performance.
