Sport Fans : The Psychology and Social Impact of Fandom

Sports, and the fans that follow them, are everywhere. The third edition of Sport Fans: The Psychology and Social Impact of Fandom examines the affective, behavioral, and cognitive reactions of fans to better comprehend how sport impacts individual fans and society as a whole.

Using up-to-date research and theory from multiple disciplines including psychology, sociology, marketing, history, and religious studies, this textbook provides a deeper understanding of topics such as the pervasiveness of sport fandom in society; common demographic and personality characteristics of fans; how fandom can provide a sense of belonging, of uniqueness, and of meaning in life; the process of becoming a sport fan; sport fan consumption; and the future of sport and the fan experience. Thoroughly updated throughout, this new edition includes:

• New chapters on rivalry between fandoms, and needs met by fandom;
• Increased coverage of fandom for women’s sports and fans;
• Additional sections on how fans react to the emotions of athletes, sport fandom as a platform for social change, attachments to specific sports, spectators at youth sporting events, and local versus nonlocal sports; and
• Expanded coverage of research on other targets of identification and what we can learn from this about sport fandom.

Expertly combining a rigorous level of empirical research and theory in an engaging, accessible format, Sport Fans remains the essential text on sport fan behavior.