Development of A Sports Fan
We define a fan as an enthusiastic devotee of some particular sports consumptive object. Thus, a fan is a consumer of organized sports. We use the term devotee to mean that the fan has some level of attachment with an object related to sports. Fans manifest their attachment through specific behavior toward the object. Further, that a fan is an enthusiastic consumer means that he or she is motivated to engage in behavior related to sports. The sports consumptive object can be a sport in general, or a specific league, or team. Or the object can refer to a personality such as a player, coach/manager, broadcast announcer or other individual who has strong associations with a team or sport.
The Halo Effect
This halo
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The motivation may have grown from the geographic or time bound allegiance, but the motivation with the consumptive object now lies deep. The devoted fan continues to follow and love the team even if the primary schema that caused him to appreciate the club is removed. The concept of ownership and attachment to the object begins at this stage. The more an object constitutes part of a consumer identity, the more the consumer exhibits protective behavior toward the object, the greater the effort the consumer spends on maintaining the object, and the greater the consumer's emotional difficulty in accepting deterioration or loss of the object. The devoted fan may possess an attitude of ``my team right or wrong''. An alternative explanation of why fans stay devoted in the face of losing seasons as mentioned above, is that they are attached to a ``My team right or wrong'' different level of schema. In other words, because they identify with and are attached to a player, sport, or league, they may still identify with and support the losing team because of the halo effect (cf. Fisher and Wakefield, …show more content…
We realize the term ``fanatical fan'' may appear redundant since ``fan'' is a derivative of ``fanatical''. However, we use the term to emphasize the degree to which this fan is engaging in fan-like behavior. The fanatical fan is similar to the devoted fan in that the fanatical fan is not bounded by time (as the temporary fan) or distance (as the local fan) and defines self through attachment with the sports consumptive object. Such identification is very close to the center of the self for a fanatical fan, yet remains firmly outside the core center. This representation is used to infer that the fanatical fan uses being a fan as a very important part of self-identification, yet there remains at least one aspect of their lives (family, work, religion, etc.) that the individual uses for identification that is stronger than being a fan. This primary difference between the devoted fan and the fanatical fan is manifested through the actual behavior toward the schema target or sports object. The fanatical fan engages in behavior that is beyond the normal devoted fan, yet the behavior is accepted by significant others (family, friends, and other fans) because it is considered supportive of the target ± sport, team, or player. The devoted fan may go to games. The fanatical fan will go to the game and paint their body the colors of the team, go in costume, or in some way exhibit behavior different from the devoted
Blood pressure rising and testosterone dropping are good symptoms (that is, to someone who is a sports enthusiast); nail biting, heart pounding, and barn burning games are bread and butter to sports enthusiasts such as me. Rivalry, unity, and relaxation help me bond with other individuals who share a common interest as I do. Within the article “Are Sports Fans Happier?”, author Sid Kirchheimer gives his bias reasoning over sports and its social, health, and psychological effects on sports enthusiasts, which elaborates and aligns concisely to why I passionately enjoy lacrosse and soccer. Fundamentally speaking, sports initially bequeath an array of positive benefits besides good health and mental stability; sports allow individuals to indulge
the wild antics of the die hard fans. In my essay I will try and attempt to describe as
Lets look into the psychology of being a sports fan shall we? A loyal fan likes to represent his/her team in the best possible way. Loyal fans cannot stay away from the game. They will support their respe...
Sport fans, sometimes also called sport devotees, followers, or supporters, are persons who are enthusiastically devoted to a particular athlete, team or sport. They may show their enthusiasm by often attending sporting events or watch on television, being members of a fan club, follow sport news through newspapers, online websites, and creating fanzines. Their disposition is often such that they will experience a game or event by living through their favored players or teams. These behaviors manifest itself in different ways. To enable better understanding of these behavioral patterns, we have to classify these sports fans into groups based on their devotion to teams: fair-weather fans, bandwagon and the super-fans.
The typical fan of the Sounds is male and is between the age of 22 and 40. He has a family more often than not and takes them to games with him. He has played baseball at some level, most often, at least, in high school. He first attended a game either as a child or a young adult depending on whether or not he grew up in Nashville. He attends between 5 and 10 games per season and is not a season ticket holder. He does typically enjoy a meal at the ballpark and has purchased souvenirs either for himself or his family. He doesn’t usually have a favorite player or see the Sounds play on the road. He also for the most part does not follow the players in their winter leagues. He has attended at least one major league game in his life and sometimes attends other sporting events in Nashville (Titans or Predators). His favors minor league ball over major league because it is more affordable, there are more activities at the ball park, and it is convenient. He calls himself a fan for two reasons: it is affordable family fun, and he loves baseball.
The term “fan” was originally used to describe sports fans during the nineteenth century and was later adopted by science fiction enthusiasts in the 1920s. The term “fan,” however, is used for describing a type of person who is enthusiastic, or fanatic about a certain subject. Popular fan culture, nicknamed “fandoms,” have become an integral part of society in many countries, and have connected people sharing a common interest through online communities where they can freely discuss fan related topics. Popular fandoms today include Directioners, Beliebers, and VIPs. People who are part of fandoms usually show their devotion by participating in fan conventions such as Comicon, writing fan mail, creating fan art, or by promoting their interests to others. Being a fan also comes with the responsibility of changing one’s lifestyle in order to accommodate time and energy into the fandom. Fan culture also offers people the chance to feel passionate about something or someone in order to satisfy the emotional needs they lack from their daily life.
Millions of fans follow the game, attending every game as if it were some sort of religious ritual. These people might miss Church every Sunday but make sure they attend every match their team plays without fail. The stadium has become their Church where they stand in worship of their ‘Gods’. However even the sacred may lose it’s sacred status. Hamilton found that in Italy people directed their prayers at statues of the saints, if the people had been praying for pro-longed periods of time without having their prayers answered the statues were tipped on their heads and whipped.
The importance of fans is vital because in addition to skill talent and hardwork, fans greatly affect how a team performs in their games. They affect the way a player plays because fans have a way of getting into their players heads and the opponent's head, even the referees are affected by the fans and we rarely notice the importance. In 2001 a Sports Ethics article “ The Ideal Fan” by Myles Dichter he explains the importance of fans and connection between fans
We all know this guy. A Bandwagon Fan jumps from team to team based on popularity. If their supposed favorite team is struggling, they’ll move on to another team. A lot of the time, they don’t begin to root for a team until the playoffs. A Bandwagon Fan also follows their favorite player around. For example, when LeBron James signed a contract with the Miami Heat, his fans from all over the world immediately claimed to be Miami Heat fans. Most of them didn’t even know who the other team members were. These fan bases seem to pop up overnight and usually don’t last very long. Want to know if someone is a bandwagon fan? Just ask them a question about the team’s history. Chances are, they won’t know the answer,
Known as the world’s most popular sport, professional soccer has helped create and define different groups of people around the world for longer than a century. The hoopla surrounding teams, geographic areas fans dwell in, and political ideals associated with individual clubs have carved an identity for millions of supporters whose heart and soul becomes dedicated to their favorite players, stadiums, and coaches. Soccer teams and their fans can give us a window into how people can be divided and defined by their allegiances and ideals, and why those with similar views band together to create a familiar environment for themselves.
Finally, baseball fans are insanely loyal to the team of their choice. Should the home team's players lose eight in a row, their fans may begin to call them "bums." They may even suggest that the slumping cleanup hitter be sent to the minors or the manager fired. However, such reactions only hide their broken hearts. They still check the sports pages and tune in to get the score. Furthermore, this intense loyalty can make fans dangerous, for anyone who dares to say to a loyal fan that some other team has sharper fielding or a better attitude could risk permanent, physical harm.
The term “fandom” is thought to have first come into use in 1903, which is when Merriam-Webster’s dictionary first found evidence of the term being used, though its meaning has since evolved. The fandom of 2014 is very different to the fandom of 1903, and this is because of the fact that as the world evolved, so did the meaning of the word “fandom”. Social media is the main reason for the fact that fandom is used to refer to many different areas of interest. Sites such as “Tumblr” and “Twitter” have allowed fans to form a global community with those who share ...
Different studies and analysis opens up many of the inner dimensions of the experience of sports and media. Understanding sports, media, and spectacle reveals both details and generalizations about our culture and our general humanity.