What Makes You a Sports Fan

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A sport fans consumption can be either indirect or direct. Direct being personal “attendance at a sporting event” and indirect involving “ones exposure to sport through some form of mass media” (Mackreth 2012, Lecture: ‘hello sports fans!’, slide 4). “Participant consumption behavior is defined as actions performed when searching for, participating in and evaluating the sport activities that consumers believe will satisfy their needs” (Shank, 2009). “Sport and event consumer behaviour (SECB) is the process involved when individuals select, purchase, use and dispose of sport and sport event related products and services to satisfy needs and receive benefits” (Funk, 2008) . There are different reasons that sports fans behave differently in spectating environments. Wann et al (2001) identified a set of sport fan motives. This ranges from, group affiliations, family, aesthetic, self-esteem, economic, eustress, escape and entertainment. However one motive may be the dominant factor of why the individual may be a sports fan. For example, one individual may have an economic motive so will place bets on sporting matches or events. On the other hand, an individual may have a family motive to be a sports fan so they can spend more time with family. Behaviour is also effected by the type of sports fan identified by Hunt, Bristol & Bashaw (1999). They showed that temporary fans show “phenomenon is time constrained”. This means they will wear, for example, a team shirt just after they win but not at other times. Local fans are “bounded by geographic constraints”. A devoted fan “remains loyal even if the event has ended”. A fanatical fan is the “degree in which fans engage in fan like behaviour”, examples such as face paint or participating in chants. However a dysfunctional fan “uses being a fan as primary method of self-identification”. This means they show extreme signs of

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