Abstract
This research is a comparison of identification and motivation factors between sports with team as a point of attachment (college football) and sports with an individual athlete as a point of attachment (NASCAR). The results contribute to advancing our understanding of identity formation and spectator motivation. Geography and family were found to be important antecedents of college football team identification, while media influence drove consumer identification with NASCAR drivers. NASCAR sport consumers were prone to watch their sport casually, while college football sport consumers were influenced to watch their sport by the aesthetics of the game, and a relationship to other recreational activities such as tailgating. Findings help us to understand what specific factors play a role in individuals connecting with different types of sport symbols, but also have implications for the management, marketing, communications, and selling of sport and sport-related products.
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