Sports Affiliations
A deep dive into the levels and
connections to sports fandom
Survey Findings
Conducted with people between the ages of 16-65 with 88 participants.
85%
Attribute hometown ties to favorite teams
72%
Say "we" when their favorite team is playing
74%
Are influenced by family or friends to watch
56%
Say "we" when their favorite team is losing
54%
Spend more than 6 hours a day with sports involved in their routines
61%
Associate enjoyment to sports
Interview Highlights
Define a true fan
Different levels of people who identify themselves as true fans
Actual true fans who involve sports followings in their daily lives (prioritizing games, reading stories, streaming highlights) vs. people who enjoy a team's successes
Popularity of streaming
Almost rare for people to sit through an entire game
Rather watch highlights of multiple games than dedicate themselves to hours of a singular game. Newer technologies like Reddit make more content easier to be found.
Connective Ties
People who moved to a new city are just as loyal as people who live in the same city they grew up in
Matters more where the origin of the love of the team was found. When people leave their original city, liking their home town team gives them a sense of memories and connective ties to their past.
Sports are a very common, common ground between families
Attending a sporting event allows for entertainment for all differnt age groups. Easier to watch a sporting game together than it is to pick a movie that will entertain all. Sports connect families together and give members a common bond.
Loyalty
Personas
Levels of fans and their attributed media consumption
Insane Intelligence
Statistic Specialist
Semi Enthused
The all knowing, know it all, absurd super fan
Follows every player on social
Re-watches highlights
Adds sports to daily routines
The whole 360
The numbers junkie, who breathes the records and swears by stats
Follows the main league
Believes every caption
Compares team to competition
Enjoys updates from apps
Dedicated to the team, but won't kill you when you mispronounce names.
Has read a few articles on ESPN
Likes the sports section in the newspaper
Likes sports environments
Wannabe Wisdom
Airhead
Repeats everything his hard core friends believe, but without them he wouldn't know who was playing
Doesn't follow any teams closely
Hears top stories from friends
Tries to impress coworkers with one key takeaway from last nights game
Is unsure what the championships are for
Is unsure of any upcoming events
Knows the Olympics happen....
But doesn't know when
Hater Gator
The strongest dislike of sports bars
Won't attend events around sports
Changes the channel at sport commercials
Despises anything sports related, even you for liking them
Affiliations
The rationale behind why people associate with certain sports teams.
Geography
Following a team that you live close to makes it easy to keep up with local stories, attend games, watch on local networks etc.
People are passionate about their roots and the area they were brought up in has connections to memories as well as members of family.
An easy way to make relationships around the team with similar minded people.
A way to communicate your identity with people from other cultures.
A sense of pride.
Family Connections
Watching sports with family members proves to be a large reason to follow a team.
Increases connection within families, either causes connections or rivalries between members, and gives a common bond of mutual interest.
Easy outings to please members of different ages.
Past Successes
It is easy to like a team that has constantly been a top contender.
With winning comes more news stories, more publicity, more excitment.
It is easy to attract new fans and keep the old.
Current Records
Easy for bandwagon fans to appreciate a team that is performing well in the current season.
Drive media stories and attract fans, especially towards championship time.
Media Consumption
The more dedicated you are to your team, the more content you wish to see.
More content availability means more options to view multiple games.
Streaming networks are becoming increasingly popular.
Social media connects consumers to teams, players, and leagues.
Affiliations
Geography is the leading factor to identify with a team. Consumers believe in the loyalty of when they first enjoyed a team, which is mostly at a young age with family members. Connection to a team leads to pride, sense of community, and identity for consumers.
Personas
Watching sports in a social setting gets more people involved and peaks more interest than watching alone.
Sports knowledge comes with pride, and people want to know about the hot topics.
Consumers think they are more knowledgeable about teams than they actually are.