Bandwagon fan
Encyclopedia
Fan loyalty is the loyalty felt and expressed by a fan
towards the object of his/her fanaticism. Allegiances can be strong or weak. The loyalties of sports fans have been studied by psychologists, who have determined several factors that create such loyalties. Fan loyalty can be threatened by team actions.
s, is different from brand loyalty
, in as much as if a consumer bought a product that was of lower quality than expected, he or she will usually abandon allegiance to the brand. However, fan loyalty continues even if the team that the fan supports continues to perform poorly year after year. Author Mark Conrad uses the Chicago Cubs
as an example of a team with a loyal fan following, where fans spends their money in support of a poorly performing team that (as of 2010
) had not won a pennant since 1945 or a World Series
since 1908.
Several psychologists have studied fan loyalty, and what causes a person to be a loyal fan, that sticks with a team through adversity, rather than a fairweather fan, that switches support to whatever teams happen to be successful at the time. These include Dan Wann, a psychologist at Murray State University
, psychologist Robert Passikoff, , and B. King.
They attribute it to the following factors:
entertainment value:The entertainment value that a fan derives from spectating motivates him/her to remain a loyal fan. Entertainment value of team sports is also valuable to communities in general.
authenticity:This is described by Passikoff as "the acceptance of the game as real and meaningful".
fan bonding:Fan bonding
is where a fan bonds with the players, identifying with them as individuals, and bonds with the team.
team history and tradition:Shank gives the Cincinnati Reds
, all-professional baseball's oldest team, as an example of a team where a long team history and tradition is a motivator for fans in the Cincinnati area.
group affiliation:Fans receive personal validation of their support for a team from being surrounded by a group of fans who also support the same team.
fair-weather fans: Fans who only follow their team when they are winning.
die-hard fans: Fans who follow their team no matter they are winning or losing.
fans in April 1997, and printed in the Forecast newsletter. Fans were asked to rate their hometown teams on each of four scales. The index ranged from the Chicago Cubs
at the top, with a loyalty index of 132, to the Chicago White Sox
at the bottom with a loyalty index of 73. The index was scaled such that the mean
loyalty index was 100, as scored by both the Colorado Rockies
and the Pittsburgh Pirates
.
Passikoff studied the loyalties of U.S. sports fans towards all Major League
sports in the summer of 2000, finding that loyalty to Major League Baseball scored the highest, followed by the National Basketball Association
, the National Football League
, and the National Hockey League
.
Some professional sports teams have taken measures to combat this erosion. The Nashville Predators
employ customer relationship management
techniques to collect information about the demographics and psychographics of their fans. Their loyalty programme involves a loyalty card that is swiped through a card reader in kiosks at the entrances to team events. The team can gather data on the fans, and the fans are rewarded by collecting points that are redeemable against tickets, merchandise, and concessions. The vice president of ticket sales for the Predators, Scott Loft, is quoted by Shanks as observing that "90 percent of sports teams either don't care or don't bother to find out any information about their fan base", however.
Fan (person)
A Fan, sometimes also called aficionado or supporter, is a person with a liking and enthusiasm for something, such as a band or a sports team. Fans of a particular thing or person constitute its fanbase or fandom...
towards the object of his/her fanaticism. Allegiances can be strong or weak. The loyalties of sports fans have been studied by psychologists, who have determined several factors that create such loyalties. Fan loyalty can be threatened by team actions.
Underpinning psychology
Fan loyalty, particularly with respect to team sportTeam sport
A team sport includes any sport which involves players working together towards a shared objective. A team sport is an activity in which a group of individuals, on the same team, work together to accomplish an ultimate goal which is usually to win. This can be done in a number of ways such as...
s, is different from brand loyalty
Brand loyalty
The American Marketing Association defines brand loyalty as:# The situation in which a consumer generally buys the same manufacturer-originated product or service repeatedly over time rather than buying from multiple suppliers within the category .# The degree to which a consumer consistently...
, in as much as if a consumer bought a product that was of lower quality than expected, he or she will usually abandon allegiance to the brand. However, fan loyalty continues even if the team that the fan supports continues to perform poorly year after year. Author Mark Conrad uses the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
as an example of a team with a loyal fan following, where fans spends their money in support of a poorly performing team that (as of 2010
2010 Chicago Cubs season
The Chicago Cubs' 2010 season was the 138th season of American baseball for the Chicago Cubs.- Off-season :In December 2009, Florida Governor Charlie Crist met with Cubs president Crane Kenney, chairman Tom Ricketts and other team officials about possibly moving the Cubs' spring training and minor...
) had not won a pennant since 1945 or a World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
since 1908.
Several psychologists have studied fan loyalty, and what causes a person to be a loyal fan, that sticks with a team through adversity, rather than a fairweather fan, that switches support to whatever teams happen to be successful at the time. These include Dan Wann, a psychologist at Murray State University
Murray State University
Murray State University, located in the city of Murray, Kentucky, is a four-year public university with approximately 10,400 students. The school is Kentucky’s only public university to be listed in the U.S.News & World Report regional university top tier for the past 20 consecutive years...
, psychologist Robert Passikoff, , and B. King.
They attribute it to the following factors:
entertainment value:The entertainment value that a fan derives from spectating motivates him/her to remain a loyal fan. Entertainment value of team sports is also valuable to communities in general.
authenticity:This is described by Passikoff as "the acceptance of the game as real and meaningful".
fan bonding:Fan bonding
Human bonding
Human bonding is the process of development of a close, interpersonal relationship. It most commonly takes place between family members or friends, but can also develop among groups such as sporting teams and whenever people spend time together...
is where a fan bonds with the players, identifying with them as individuals, and bonds with the team.
team history and tradition:Shank gives the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
, all-professional baseball's oldest team, as an example of a team where a long team history and tradition is a motivator for fans in the Cincinnati area.
group affiliation:Fans receive personal validation of their support for a team from being surrounded by a group of fans who also support the same team.
fair-weather fans: Fans who only follow their team when they are winning.
die-hard fans: Fans who follow their team no matter they are winning or losing.
Measurements and indices of fan loyalty
A Fan Loyalty Index was compiled from a survey of Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
fans in April 1997, and printed in the Forecast newsletter. Fans were asked to rate their hometown teams on each of four scales. The index ranged from the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
at the top, with a loyalty index of 132, to the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
at the bottom with a loyalty index of 73. The index was scaled such that the mean
Mean
In statistics, mean has two related meanings:* the arithmetic mean .* the expected value of a random variable, which is also called the population mean....
loyalty index was 100, as scored by both the Colorado Rockies
Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are a Major League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado. Established in 1991, they started play in 1993 and are in the West Division of the National League. The team is named after the Rocky Mountains...
and the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
.
Passikoff studied the loyalties of U.S. sports fans towards all Major League
Major professional sports leagues of the United States and Canada
The major professional sports leagues, or simply major leagues, in the United States and Canada are the highest professional competitions in team sports...
sports in the summer of 2000, finding that loyalty to Major League Baseball scored the highest, followed by the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
, the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
, and the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
.
Threats to loyalty
Shank observes that fan loyalty in the U.S. is perhaps higher towards sports teams than any other form of consumer loyalty to goods and services. Maddox Johnston states, "Fan loyalty gives idiots a reason to be bigger idiots." For example, a team many bandwagons have come a custom to is the Miami Hurricanes. Because of their large apperrance many young children have fallen victim to their bandwagon ways. This is becoming a serious problem. However, loyalty can be threatened. Fan loyalty towards professional level sports is beginning to erode in the U.S. as a consequence of continual threats to uproot a franchise and to move it to a new town. Shank considers that this is perhaps the reason behind the increased popularity of amateur athletics. School and college teams do not threaten to move away from the fans in order to obtain a better deal on their sports stadium. Athletes in school and college athletics are not traded to and from other teams and do not move around in search of better contracts (although they do, of course, sometimes leave their schools and colleges early for professional contracts).Some professional sports teams have taken measures to combat this erosion. The Nashville Predators
Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
employ customer relationship management
Customer relationship management
Customer relationship management is a widely implemented strategy for managing a company’s interactions with customers, clients and sales prospects. It involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize business processes—principally sales activities, but also those for marketing,...
techniques to collect information about the demographics and psychographics of their fans. Their loyalty programme involves a loyalty card that is swiped through a card reader in kiosks at the entrances to team events. The team can gather data on the fans, and the fans are rewarded by collecting points that are redeemable against tickets, merchandise, and concessions. The vice president of ticket sales for the Predators, Scott Loft, is quoted by Shanks as observing that "90 percent of sports teams either don't care or don't bother to find out any information about their fan base", however.