The Psychology and Motivations of Sports Fans

Abstract

With the number of fans growing each year, the world’s fascination with sports is nothing new—for example, FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) estimates that there are five billion soccer fans around the world. However, even with the worldwide obsession with sports, little is understood about the origins of a fan’s enticement, or even the psychology of a fan. The standing research done on this subject confronts this question with complexity when in reality, it should be faced with simplicity. This study attempts to add to the knowledge of the psychology and motivation of a sports fan by simplifying the approach. A survey was designed to reveal a participant’s background involving sports and motivations for becoming a sports fan. In the study, there were 41 participants, each self-categorized to a priority level—first, high, medium, and low—that indicated the extent that sports were to their daily lives. Each answer was compared both within and outside the group, with each trend and outlier being noted. It was found that the first and high-priority participants demonstrated strong support and pride for their team, while the medium and low-priority participants did not carry the same passion. The results of the study revealed that there were three dominant motivations for someone becoming a sports fan: desire for a sense of community, excitement/entertainment, and being influenced by a player from their country and the more someone becomes a devoted fan the more emotional involvement they will have with their object of support.