Contemporary Sport Consumers: Some Implications of Linking Fan Typology with Key Spectator Variables

Abstract

It has long been debated whether a winning team is the most important thing in professional sport. Although Lapidus and Schibrowsky (1996) withdraw from this assertion slightly they do argue that “while the hot dogs may not taste better when the home team wins, the music sure sounds better” (p. 1). Currently however, although there is substantial literature that ranks, attributes, and quantifies the importance of winning, identification, and loyalty in the sport fan's experience, the literature related to a more heterogeneous fan base is limited. Furthermore, research that links diverse fan segments with previously identified sport-fan variables to assess the impact of such on continued sport consumption is very much in its nascent stage. This paper is one attempt to commence to address this issue This research draws on fan surveys undertaken at professional sport events in Australia between 1996 and 1998. Interpreting responses elicited from fans connected with Rugby Union and Australian Rules Football, it clusters fans’ perceptions of their sports experience and suggests a three-dimensional consumption space map as a way forward for analysis.