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Received: April 2020; Accepted: January 2021; Published: June 2021
Abstract: Using the framework of social identity theory, the purpose of this study was to assess the effects of sport fan identity on the behavior of male and female sport fans. This study replicated and extended the study by Dietz-Uhler, Harrick, End, and Jacquemotte (2000) conducted 20 years ago. Participants completed a questionnaire to assess whether they categorized themselves as sport fans, their sport knowledge, the sport fan behaviors they displayed, and the degree of sport fan identification. Unlike the previous study, results showed that males were more likely than females to consider themselves a fan of sport. Males also reported thinking of themselves as more authentic sport fans than females, as possessing more sport knowledge than females, and engaging in more traditional sport-fan behaviors than females. Males and females did not differ significantly in their reasons for being a sport fan, which was also different from the previous findings. Exploratory mediational analyses revealed that the degree of sport fan identification explains gender differences in sport-fan behaviors. Implications for these results focus on measurement issues related to sport fan identity and behavior, with an eye toward a greater focus on females' experiences as sport fans.
Keywords: sport fans; sport fan behavior; gender differences
Introduction
Sport spectatorship is regarded as an enjoyable activity that is often deeply entrenched in family and community traditions (e.g., Wann & James, 2019). As such, sport spectatorship and sport fandom have been topics of scholarly interest in several disciplines, including psychology, sociology, and communication, for example. In the last 20 years, there has been ample growth in the research on sport fans and spectators (e.g., Wann & James, 2019). For example, scholars have studied the factors that motivate fans (e.g., James, Trail, Wann, Zhang, & Funk, 2006; Sloan, 1989; Trail & James, 2015), the reasons fans choose to align themselves with certain teams (e.g., Funk & James, 2001, 2006), the strength of their psychological connection to teams (e.g., Dietz-Uhler & Lanter, 2008; Murrell & Dietz, 1992; Wann & Branscombe, 1993), and the consequences of being a sport fan (e.g., Dietz-Uhler & Lanter, 2008; Wann & James, 2019). Also in the last 20 years, there has been increased interest in sport fans...