The Surprising Reason You Might Break Your iPhone This Weekend

If you or a loved one is heavily invested in the outcome of this weekend's Super Bowl game, we have one piece of advice for you: Put away the phone. That may seem counterintuitive, as you may want to Periscope, Instagram, or otherwise document the shenanigans at your friendly Super Bowl party. But, it could save you some costly repairs. According to data from iCracked, fans of the losing Super Bowl team are almost 200% more likely to shatter their phone following the loss. After last year's Super Bowl, iCracked saw a 176% surge in Washington state repair requests following the Seattle Seahawks' loss. In 2014, Denver Broncos fans in Colorado caused a 186% boom in iPhone repair requests. It would seem a lot of fans throw their phone in anger when their team loses. Oof. "We first looked at the data out of curiosity, not expecting it to reveal any hugely different patterns," AJ Forsythe, iCracked cofounder and CEO, said in a statement. "When we discovered the pretty hilarious trend, we knew sports fans across the U.S. would relate to the frustration of such a crushing loss." If you're unable to separate yourself from your phone during the game, here's what you should do. First, invest in the strongest case you can find (we recommend an Otterbox or LifeProof case). If you don't own one already, Amazon Prime it. Second, identify breakable items in your living room, or wherever you'll be watching, and store them somewhere safe. Third, throw some rugs on the ground if you have a hardwood or tile floor to soften any potential blows. If all else fails, companies such as iCracked can fix your screen, starting at around $80. May the odds (and the football gods) be ever in your favor.