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The purpose of this study was to examine similarities and differences between male and female college students with regard to their sport fanship and sport fan behavior. Participants completed a questionnaire designed to assess whether they considered themselves to be sport fans, their sport fan behavior, and their reasons for considering themselves a sport fan. The results showed that an equal number of males and females considered themselves to be sport fans, although males identified more strongly with being a fan than females. Males also engaged in more sport fan behavior than females, with the exception of attending sporting events. Finally, females were more likely to report being a sport fan because they attended and watched sporting events with friends and family, while males were more likely to consider themselves to be fans because they played sports and wanted to acquire sports information.
In a national opinion survey conducted for the New York Times (1986), 71% of respondents considered themselves sport fans. Despite the large number of sport fans that exist, researchers know surprisingly little about them (Russell, 1993). For example, Wann and Hamlet (1995) found that only 4% of articles published in sport psychology and sport sociology journals between 1987 and 1991 examined sport fans. There has been even less research examining similarities and differences between male and female sport fans (notable exceptions include Gantz, 1981; Gantz & Wenner, 1991; Gantz & Wenner, 1995). Although research indicates that most people believe sport fans are predominantly male (End, Harrick, Jacquemotte, & Dietz-Uhler, 1997; Gantz & Wenner, 1995), recent reports suggest that females may be just as likely as males to report being a sport fan. For example, in 1990, females represented 33% of the NFL's fan base. In 1997, they represented 44% of NFL fans (USA Today, 1997). In 1994, Hofacre reported that women represent 50% of all major league soccer fans. As further evidence of an increasing female fan-base, coverage of the 1996 Olympics was geared more toward females than any other Olympics (Newsweek, 1996). It seems important to characterize the similarities and differences between male and female sport fans.
There has been a fair amount of research comparing the coverage of male and female athletes on television (e.g., Duncan, Messner, & Williams,...