If anyone understands the value of loyalty, it’s the Sports industry. Fans show up through good times and bad, braving weather and spending hard-earned cash to support their teams. To quote former British football Manager Bill Shankley: “Football is not just a matter of life and death: it’s much more important than that”.
We’ve overheard or read the discussions from time to time about fans and spectators in sports. The differences and the various factors of both sides. Sport is a product that is intangible as a service.
Some sports or sporting events can last only 10 seconds such as the 100 metres sprint, 90 minutes like a football match or just over a couple hours if it's a T20 cricket affair. But they are most times unpredictable.
And, not to forget, many people are emotionally attached to sports. Sport as a product is quite complex and unique, and this is why you have to ask yourself as a marketer: “How can I meet so many needs of a certain person to attract them to become a fan of my team or a spectator of my sport?"
Spectators are those who watch sport, either directly (in person) or indirectly (via the media), while fans also watch but have an affiliation in which aspects of identity, emotional significance and value are derived from group membership.
We’ve heard our own cries about how strongly our national teams are supported or the lack of it by persons who take part in supporting our athletes from the teams and in activities leading up to the main event as well as after the final whistle or last ball.
A spectator sport is a sport that is characterised by the presence of spectators or watchers at its competitions. Spectator sports may be professional sports or amateur sports. They often are distinguished from participant sports, which are more recreational.
I think being a fan involves taking oneself seriously and how we act in relation to our team but also to other teams and to other fans. At the core, we share a common appreciation of the sport and its own dynamics, but because fans often link their identity to their teams, the very ugliness that communal loyalties can unleash. So being a fan involves not just passion but, being responsible and self-controlled in your passion and loyalty.
Fans are different and that difference has some important implications for how they should act as fans. Being a sports fan is an existential choice. It involves a way of being in the world and relating to other human beings. The point of the game is being a fan involves a moral stance. It means acting in ways that impact others and the game. This means it involves obligations and responsibilities. It has been said that spectators refer to "the team" and fans use the word: "We".
Fans matter so much that sports teams often have a "home field advantage" largely created by the fans in the stands. We experienced that during past football World Cup qualifying campaigns, particularly 2006.
Hardcore fans work referees as hard as any coach on the sideline. Leaving aside the litigation about who owns the "12th man," a number of teams rely upon their home fans to give them a home field advantage. This advantage grows from the fan's emotional contagion and the comfort and support it imparts to players. The fan base can infuse energy and hope in emotionally flagging moments as well as provide an endless stream of invective against other teams. Sports fans actively shape the environment in which athletes play as well as interacting in some obscure way with players and teams, for good or bad.
Sports fans create and shape the experience of sports. They are not passive receptors but active parts of the game itself. They influence action on the field of play. Sports fans participate in a different way. The linguistic roots are obscure for this uniquely American term but seem a shortened form of fanatic. That should warn us right away.
Linguistically, fanatics are "inspired by God, mad, enthusiastic" and carry a lot of frightening connotations that suggest fans move beyond reason and analysis into a different realm.
Spectators watch. The Latin root of the word emphasizes "seeing" and "watching," sometimes in a disinterested way. Spectators can be very sophisticated, watchers know the nuances of acting or playmaking and enjoy the finesse and fine points of the game, art, spectacle. You can often recognise them as they lean forward with intent stares and moving eyes. But in a sports context, they remain passive in their interaction with the game; they watch, analyse and appreciate.
Spectator sports have built their own set of culture and traditions including, moreso in the United States, cheerleading and pre-game and half-time entertainment such as fireworks, particularly for big games such as competition decider events and international Tests. We see this also in the CPL (Caribbean Premier League) T20.
The better you as a marketer understand the needs of your audience, the better you can communicate and convert a spectator into a fan who is loyal and will keep coming back for more or putting out more to back their team.
Shaun Fuentes is the head of TTFA Media. He was a FIFA Media Officer at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey. The views expressed are solely his and not a representation of any organisation. shaunfuentes@yahoo.com