I was just putting in my tips for the NFL and seemed to be picking a lot of away teams (bearing in mind this is a sport I know nothing about) but I was wondering what you all think of the the home ground advantage.
Is it really worth that much more to any sporting team?

There have been times when teams have given up their home ground games to be played elsewhere for whatever reason (some of them I suspect are financial) so by doing so are they giving up their chance of winning?

Home court means a lot more in Basketball
not much in baseball or football
the better team usually wins
however, you cannot discount it.
I always give the home team a touchdown or field goal or two.

You should read the match reports for Wimbledon (Soccer Club) their manager reckons it's worth a two goal advantage - the rest of the league are used to playing to fairly full stadiums - it's a shock to the system to play in one where the fans all know each other!(lol)
Wimbledon V Leicester - 2,000 +
Leicester V Derby (at Leicester - 27,000+ already sold)

an NFL would never willing give up home field advantage during the regular or playoff seasons

only the Super Bowl and exhibition games are games held in neutral territory.
unless, of course, one of the two teams playing happens to be from that city...but that is very rare.

this only team that is kinda screwed this season is the Chicago Bears. Soldier Field is undergoing renovation
so they are playing 138 miles south in Champaign at the University of Illinois.

quizcall, no offense, but we are talking about American grid iron football here. in tracking this sport for years home field does mean something, but not a lot.

now if you wanna talk about football
home field means a ton...more so than basketball even.
just consider the fact that every home team in a World Cup always advances out of the first round.

i didn't only mean the NFL, that was what made me think of it because I seemd to be picking a lot of away teams and was wondering if I was shooting myself in the foot.

My Rugby League team has two home grounds because it is a joint venture and at one of the grounds we had a much better record than the other. I'm not sure if it was because of the 'home ground advantage' or just a coincidence. I don't think it matters so much in that competition when many of the teams are in the same city, Sydney. But when the teams have to travel to places like Aukland and Brisbane I think that there is an advantage there.

Is it the supporters that give the advantage or a sort of 'at home' feeling to a particular ground?

dunno where, but I remember reading somewhere that one of the home grounds in England has a distinct slope from one end to the other, such that (at one end) the goal-keeper can only see the top of the goal-posts at the other end! Can't remember which ground it is, or whether this is an urban legend.

Home ground advantage in UK Football is a statistically proven fact .. since the formation of the Football League in 1888 only two teams have gone through the season undefeated away from home, whereas every season (or every second season) one or two teams will go through the season undefeated at home. Winning every home game - this feat has been achived but once during those 113 seasons.

There've been quite a few "studies" over the years .. the author of this article Home-ground advantage - Myth or Truth? refers to some of the studies and their conclusions:

• the higher on the ladder you are, the more home matches you win. From the above point, you don't need to be Einstein to work out what research has also shown - that good teams (higher on the ladder) enjoy the home ground advantage more. One factor possibly contributing to this is that when teams are winning, as well as their form being good and confidence high, they attract a bigger crowd, which adds to the home atmosphere.
  
• research also shows that there are several psychological factors that influence how a team plays at home, compared to how they play away. Confidence, expectation, persistence and aggressiveness, measured in a range of sports have been shown to be higher when teams play at home! This reveals that it is not necessarily the home "ground" factor, but also the home "mind" factor that influences the outcome. This point is often not taken into account as much as the physical factors related to travelling.
  
• the physical factors that influence team performance that are often discussed include the travel factor (having to fly somewhere, stay in a hotel), different arrangements (change to routine in the lead up to a match and on match day) and the crowd. Specifically, when teams play at home they have more support from friends and family, and have familiar training and rest routines leading up to a game. When teams travel they have a range of changes, including different match preparation and even unfamiliar trainers bringing them drinks on the ground. Staying in a hotel also has an influence on your regular diet, sleep habits and social life.
  
• familiarity with how a ground plays in different conditions can influence the psychology of a player or their style of team play. Home teams also know that the opposition may be vulnerable when travelling and will try to exploit this. The home team also knows that the crowd will definitely be in their favour, supporting and encouraging them. When one considers these variables, it becomes evident why a team playing at home can be more confident, expect to win more and be more persistent than when they travel.