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In a recent study, Yonghwan Chang, Assistant Professor of Sport Management at the University of Florida, joined with a colleague to research how aspects of the game, coupled with the fans’ connection to the team, affected attendance and purchases.
Photo by Elio Santos - Unsplash
September 15, 2022
by Collin Ulmer
Fans of ABC’s longtime telecast ‘Wide World of Sports’ will undoubtedly recall the opening: “Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sports… the thrill of victory... the agony of defeat.”
Though commentator Jim McKay was no doubt referring to the athletes’ reactions, fans are also familiar with the emotional impact of sport. How, though, do close calls affect fan behaviors?
In a recent study, Yonghwan Chang, Assistant Professor of Sport Management at the University of Florida, joined with a colleague to research this very topic. They focused on how aspects of the game, coupled with the fans’ connection to the team, affected attendance and purchases.
The researchers conducted an experiment with almost 400 people, most of whom were White and men. All had attended games in the past and considered themselves fans.
The researchers designed the study where they could examine the competitiveness of the contest, whether the team won or lost, and the strength of the fans’ connection with the team.
Fans were most interested in attending future games and buying merchandise following blowout wins, and the opposite was true when the team was soundly defeated.
A different picture appeared in close contests. Fans who closely connected with the team enjoyed the more competitive games and were more likely to attend games in the future. For the more casual fan, though, the opposite was true.
Finally, fans were more likely to attend future contests and buy team goods after close losses. This was true for casual and highly identified fans, alike.
In explaining the conclusions, the authors wrote “the findings from this research suggest specific conditions where spectators’ intentions for future attendance and desire for status consumption are enhanced.”
Overall, the study showed that spectatorship and fandom can vary based on the competitive nature of the contest, the outcome, and their identification with the team.
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Read the full article here:
Chang, Y., and Wann, D. L. (2022). Effects of Game Outcomes and Status Instability on Spectators’ Status Consumption: The Moderating Role of Implicit Team Identification. Frontiers in Psychology, 71. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.819644
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