How sports fandom becomes personal identity

Sports fandom is a community of fans who share interests in sports, particularly spectator sports. The lessons answer how fandom becomes part of personal identity and help readers understand its ties to memory, relationships, experiences and consumer behaviour. They trace how shared interests can become personally meaningful.

3 articles, 1 video, 1 book · about 2 hr 11 min of reading and viewing

The reading path

1. Read
   

   sports fandom · Wikipedia · 6 min read

   Sports fandom is increasingly affected by the commercialization and commodification of sports, with products for fans ranging from sport-themed apparel and memorabilia to services such as sport bars and themed events like sport-themed weddings.

2. Read
   (SP) SPORT FAN IDENTITY AND THE NEW KID ON THE BLOCK · easm.net · 6 min read

   Sports fandom seems to comprise more than simply attending and observing a sporting event, and prior research has suggested that the degree to which individuals identify with a team has a causal effect on their consumer behaviour (Wann & Branscombe, 1993).

3. Read
   Social Media and Sport Fan Identity in a Local and Non-local Context · projekter.aau.dk · 60+ min read

   Researchers (1999) postulated that a fan's memories of a sports team fuel passion for the team and link those memories with the sports institution, personal relationships and personal experiences. Separately, Hirt & Clarkson (2011 3 in Kahle & Close: 2011) say fandom is part of an individual's overall identity and sense of self.

4. Watch
   

   Why Sports Fans' Brains are Built Different (with @smartereveryday) · YouTube · 19 min watch

   Fandom can become tied to identity, emotions and everyday life, and fans form intense attachments to the things they follow.

5. Book
   

   Fever Pitch · Bookshop.org

   Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby describes Arsenal devotion as a constant amid life's changes and football's highs and lows as a narrative, while presenting fandom as ritual and lifelong obsession.

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