ABSTRACT
At most social gatherings, the attendees behave in a highly similar manner. For instance, the actions of those attending church, movies, club meetings, and even college classes are usually hard to differentiate. However, this is not the case with spectators attending sporting events. Rather, for anyone who has attended such an event, one fact becomes readily apparent-some of the attendees are more interested in the game than others. Some fans seem to pay no attention to the event. Others sit quietly, calmly watching the contest while casually carrying on conversations with their friends. And others seem to be captivated in the game. They are dressed (and perhaps painted) in their team’s colors and logo, cheer and/or boo loudly throughout the contest, and appear as though their entire existence is hinging on every play. These drastic differences in the behaviors of sport spectators highlight the importance of and can be attributed to variations in team identification.
