Red really is the color!

You may remember a piece we had in this column some months ago about the color red, and our suggestion that you might want to have a word with your coach about changing your strip if it was any other shade.

Well, we may have said it in jest, but the theory really does seem to have stood the test this season.

Two English universities - Durham University and the University of Plymouth - came to the conclusion that red is the most successful team strip in soccer.

Researchers at the colleges analyzed data on English league results since the second World War. They found that red, in nature, is often associated with male aggression and display.

"It is a testosterone-driven signal of male quality, and its striking effect has even been harnessed by soldiers in the past," said the report.

It concluded that supporters are subconsciously more attracted to a club wearing red, so the club develops a bigger resource base within its community, while there is also a positive psychological boost from wearing red that is reflected on the field of play.

You may have noticed that Spain won the European Championship against Germany on Sunday, decked out in glorious red.

That followed hot on the heels of Manchester United’s success, the Red Devils winning the English Premiership and the European Champions' League in May.

And then, of course, there is Javanon’s U16s, featuring our very own Trevor Bruner and Keenan Sparks, winners of the US Youth Soccer Region II championship. All the club’s state champions get to wear a red jersey, and they relished the opportunity to play in theirs when overcoming Eclipse Select of Illinois last Wednesday.

Incidentally, the least successful colors are yellow and orange, which probably explains why Holland (orange), Sweden (yellow) and Romania (yellow) didn’t have too much luck at Euro 2008.