Affiliation Activities

One of the key elements in the health of a professional sport or sports team is the extent to which fans feel strongly affiliated with the team. While “pure” sports fans will insist that they will watch a game for the joy of it over following a specific team, broadcast ratings and other indicators show that sports viewers are more likely to approach the sport as a fan of a team—which has always been one reason events like the Olympics and the World Cup do well, as national affiliations need not be built up through marketing for fans to pick a side to root for. In sports, proximity alone is not necessarily enough to build a connection between a fan and a team, and in many cases, it may not be immediately clear who the “local” team is, whether it is because a baseball fan is in the midwest more or less equidistant from two Chicago teams (Cubs and White Sox), the St. Louis Cardinals, and two Ohio teams (Indians and Reds), but near to none of them; or because a New York fan has such a plethora of teams to choose from. Retaining and building a fan-base, especially one that will continue to watch and attend even when the team loses, means building that fanbase's affiliation with the team. Sometimes attempts to do so falter or are tone-deaf to a fan's self-image: when the Red Sox offered a Fenway Nation “membership card” for a small fee in exchange for discounts off merchandise, there was grumbling in the stands from fans who proclaimed that Fenway Nation was an emergent phenomenon and no corporate hierarchy could simply sell membership.

Sports fanhood is part of an individual's social identity. It may be more mutable or seemingly more trivial than religious, political, or ethnic affiliation, but in practice it can affect just as much of a person's self-image and day-to-day life. It is comparable to other consumption- and activity-based identity components like “science fiction fan,” “Coca-Cola drinker,” “foodie,” or “runner.” This identity can be catered to through various activities. Much sports fan behavior involves public displays of affiliation: not just the fans who paint themselves [Page 34]blue to get on the jumbotron, but fans who wear team apparel, display bumper stickers or buttons, put up pennants and posters and other displays, purchase vanity plates for their cars, attend sports bars to watch the game, participate in sports trivia nights, listening to or calling in to sports talk radio, or simply sitting around the break room or bar talking about the game or the team's prospects in the coming season. Sports fandom is a social activity.

A fan of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the type of mega sports event that benefits from national affiliations.

Thus, it makes sense for teams and leagues to offer activities beyond attendance. This can include special events for opening day or during the preseason, participation by the team and management in municipal events like St. Patrick's Day, Independence Day, and Mardi Gras parades, involvement with charity events, and various fan outreach activities like talks, presentations about the upcoming season, and autograph signings.

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