Being a sports fan is good for us individually and is even a force for positive change in society, suggests Larry Olmsted, who cites fascinating new studies to make the case that the more you identify with a sports team, the better your social, psychological, and physical health can be. Fans maintain better cognitive processing as their gray matter ages; they have better language skills; and college students who follow sports have higher GPAs, better graduation rates, and higher incomes after graduating. As Olmsted also explains, on a societal level, sports help us heal after tragedies, providing community and hope when we need it most.