Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged the sports world, setting in motion drastic changes to the current landscape for spectator sports. Sports fans have been relegated to supporting their favorite teams through virtual and socially distant means. Specifically, North American sports teams have competed in various locations across (near) empty stadiums. With many stadiums no longer filled with fans to fuel home-field advantages, the legitimacy of team accomplishments has recently been called into question. For instance, a poll conducted by YouGov (White, 2020) revealed that approximately 28% of the 24,472 American adults sampled believed that the 2020 NBA championship was not as legitimate as prior seasons, and 21% were unsure. In addition, given the range of adverse effects brought about by the pandemic, from economic instability to concerns with mental health, it is also important to examine if fans’ attitudes towards teams with historically poor records have remained stable or changed as a result of this situation. Thus, we developed a survey to examine attitudes toward 2020 championship (i.e., “quarantine cup”) winners, along with fan interest and support for teams that have continued to struggle (i.e., “perennial chumps”) amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The study surveys fans of the four major North American professional sports leagues that held championship games during the 2020 season following national lockdowns due to the pandemic. We measure fans’ team identification, perceptions of league championships and their winners, attitudes toward their favorite team, and a variety of consumer behaviors (e.g., purchase intent and viewership).
Presenters
Sean PradhanAssociate Professor of Sports Management and Business Analytics, School of Business, Menlo College, California, United States Gregory Costedoat
San Jose State University Sean Laraway
Professor, San Jose State University Susan Snycerski
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, San Jose State University
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
Sports Management & Commercialization
KEYWORDS
Sports Fans, Consumer Behavior, COVID-19 Pandemic, Championship Teams, Poor-Performing Teams
