From the highest of highs to the lowest of lows, the nail biting final to the dreaded walk to the penalty spot – there’s nothing that toys with your emotions like sports.
Is there anything better than watching a truly electrifying team in action? One that keeps you on the edge of your seat, makes your heart race, and has you shouting at the screen or leaping to your feet in celebration?
who are the most exciting teams and athletes in the world
We don’t think so. But who are the most exciting teams and athletes in the world, the ones that make you hold your breath when they take to the field?
Over the past year, our team of experts here at VegasSlotsOnline conducted a rigorous study, measuring the heart rates and variance of fans of some of the world’s biggest teams and sports to find out who are the most scientifically exciting teams to watch.
How do we measure excitement in sports?
Over the past 12 months, we curated a list of teams across major leagues and sports, known for their high-octane play, gripping stories, triumphant history or passionate fanbases.
Using heart rate monitors, we tracked the heart rates (BPM) and heart rate variance (HRV) of fans in attendance at games throughout the season, to see what physical impact watching their teams play had on them.
Taking fans from multiple teams at numerous games, we measured which teams cause the biggest surges in adrenaline — whether it’s a last-minute goal, a nail-biting comeback, or sheer all-out intensity.
To get an average result, we conducted our research with our volunteers across a season of fixtures, only measuring time when games were ‘in play’
the resting heart rate of all fans across all teams
For each sport we average the resting heart rate of all fans across all teams to give a solid baseline, before measuring two different metrics to form our ‘excitement score’.
The Excitement Score
For each team, we measured three different physical factors to assign an average ‘Excitement Score’.
Heart Rate (BPM):
Measured in beats per minute, BPM shows how fast your heart is working. Stress, excitement or exertion makes it rise as part of the body’s “fight or flight” response. In our test, a higher BPM means games got our fan’s hearts pounding.
Heart Rate Variance (HRV):
Your heartbeat isn’t perfectly regular — the small differences between beats are called HRV, measured in milliseconds. A higher HRV means you’re more relaxed and resilient, while stress, like a penalty shootout, makes our HRV lower and more uniform. In our study we’ve shown HRV as a negative percentage change from the baseline, meaning a higher score means more stress.
Heart Rate Spike (BPM):
In addition to looking at people overall level of excitement we also took data from the highest individual spike, to show which teams brought the highest single moment of excitement or elation.
By combining all metrics, we create a single Excitement Score out of 100 — ranking the world’s most thrilling teams to watch.
What are the most Scientifically Exciting soccer teams?
Across the 2024/2025 season, collected heart rate data from fans of 35 clubs during their attendance at games to find out the most scientifically exciting soccer teams.
In each case we looked at major leagues across the world and selected teams based on factors including fanbase size, notable rivalries, past success and of course season betting odds. We also looked at teams who progressed to meaningful finals or cup games throughout the season.
According to our study, Real Madrid were the team most likely to send supporter’s heart rates racing, raising average heart rates by a massive 25 BPM to 91 over the course of 90 minutes, giving them an excitement score of 98/100.
Close behind were Liverpool (96), FC Barcelona (94), Arsenal (93) and Hollywood Star owned Wrexham (92) rounding out the top 5 scientifically most exciting teams.
While the Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac owned Welsh team may seem like the odd one out of the list, it was a Wrexham fan who also registered the single highest spike in BPM in our study, following a goal in Wrexham’s 3-0 victory over Charlton Athletic. The victory sealed the club’s third consecutive promotion, landing them in the Championship and the 2nd tier of English football for the first time since 1982.
Arsenal registered the biggest drop in heart rate variance at 21%
Of all the teams in the study, Arsenal registered the biggest drop in heart rate variance at 21% making them the most scientifically stressful team to watch last season.
While several major clubs performed well in the study, there were a few notable omissions at the top of the table with Manchester Utd, Manchester City, Spurs, Bayern Munich and Chelsea all failing to break the top 10.
What are the most Scientifically Exciting women’s soccer teams?
With the Women’s Euros taking place this year, there was plenty to get excited about when it came to women’s football.
The sport, which has grown exponentially in recent years recorded some of its highest ever TV viewership this year, with our study collecting heart rate data from supporters in attendance at knockout games in the tournament.
Of the eight teams in the study, it was the Lionesses who sent fans’ hearts racing the most, raising them by an average 23 BPM, up to 88, along with a massive spike of 132 BPM and heart rate variance difference of 23%.
As a result, both England and runner up Spain actually broke our Excitement Score rating, both scoring over 100 with scores of 111 and 101 respectively, making them the two most exciting teams in the world regardless of sport.
Across the board, fans at the competition saw dramatic increases to heart rates, likely due to a large number of high scoring games and ties that went to penalties.
What are the most Scientifically Exciting NFL teams?
It might not be scripted, but there is no shortage of drama in the NFL. Whether it’s Hail Mary throws, dazzling trick plays, Kansas City Chiefs’ mastery of the dark arts or simply a questionable ref call, there’s always fuel to fire up some of the world’s most passionate sports fans.
we collected heart rate data from NFL fans in attendance at games from 25 teams
Across the end of the 2024/2025 season, we collected heart rate data from NFL fans in attendance at games from 25 teams that either made the Playoffs or were in the hunt for a post-season spot. We also factored in other teams with particularly passionate fan bases including both New York teams, just because.
Our study found the Buffalo Bills are scientifically the most exciting team to watch in the NFL, raising heart rates by 22 BPM on average to 87 BPM, spiking heart rates to 128 BPM and bagging an excitement score of 79/100.
Despite a dominant Super Bowl, the Philadelphia Eagles only registered second place (95), followed by the Detroit Lions (92), Patrick Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs (88) and the Baltimore Ravens (86).
Despite placing 4th overall, former Super Bowl Champions the Kansas City Chiefs, featuring superstars Mahomes and Travis Kelce, only raised fan’s average BPM by 16, the lowest in the top 10. However, they scored the highest drop in heart rate variance in our study meaning fans found them the most stressful in the league.
At the bottom end of the scale both the New York Jets and New York Giants scored nearly identical excitement scores of 56 and 54 respectively, making them the least exciting teams to watch in our study. Along with low changes to BPM, both teams also scored low heart rate variance, suggesting that New Yorker’s had simply lost hope.
Other surprising performers were ‘America’s Team’ the Dallas Cowboys who struggled to register excitement in fans, and the New England Patriots who despite registering the lowest BPM change, scored a massive 20% change in heart rate variance, making them the least exciting but most stressful team in the league.
Who are the most exciting WWE wrestlers?
Offering larger than life characters, unmatched spectacle, jaw-dropping athleticism and more drama than you can shake a stick at – it’s no wonder why WWE has amassed hundreds of millions of fans around the world.
But in a world of real-life superheroes performing unbelievable feats, who are the most exciting Superstars laying the smackdown in the most heart pounding matches?
In our WWE study, we tracked the heart rate and heart rate variance of a number of fans at several 2025 domestic WWE Premium Live Events, including the Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber, Evolution, SummerSlam and of course, WrestleMania 41, to find out what were the most scientifically exciting matches of 2025 so far.
According to our study, WrestleMania 41’s Women’s World Title Match between IYO SKY, Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley is the most scientifically exciting match of 2025 so far, score 98/100 in our index, and raising the heat rates of our participants by a whopping 24 BPM, with a top spike of 112 BPM.
Both IYO SKY and Rhea Ripley would also take the number two spot, with their ‘triple threat’ match also featuring Naomi, scoring 92/100, sending pulses racing.
Rounding out the top 5 were El Hijo del Vikingo vs Chad Gable from Worlds Collide, SummerSlam’s ‘6-Pack Ladder Match’ and Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn from Elimination Chamber.
To work out the most exciting individual wrestler, we combined the number of appearances in the top 20 matches in our list, average heart rate difference and average excitement scores of their matches, excluding wrestlers who featured in just a single match.
Featuring in both of the top two matches, it’s no surprise that when it comes to the most exciting wrestler in the WWE, Rhea Ripley takes the crown, with the Australian featuring in 4 matches in the top 20 and an overall excitement score of 95/100.
Close behind Ripley were IYO SKY (92), Naomi (92), Kevin Owens (87) and Cody Rhodes (85). Of the top 10 most exciting wrestlers, 60% were women.
Owain Flanders from VegasSlotsOnline said: “Every sports team claims it has the most passionate fanbase in the world, but our new study shows the teams that can back that claim up.
“While we would expect to see established, historically successful giants at the top of our study, we actually found smaller teams were in some cases even more exciting to be a fan of, with teams like Chelsea, Man City and Bayern Munich, failing to ignite as much passion in their supporters.
we found that it was England’s Lionesses that captured the hearts
“However, we found that it was England’s Lionesses that captured the hearts, quite literally, the most of any other team or athlete in our study, officially making them the most exciting athletes in the world.”
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