ABSTRACT
Sport spectatorship is one of the largest forms of leisure behavior in the world today (James and Ridinger, 2002). Large numbers of individuals attend sporting events and refer to themselves as sports fans, and their consumption of sport is increasingly shifting to online platforms. Sports fans are consuming news and other content via social media and mobile devices more than ever, with 26 percent of sports fans using social media to follow leagues, teams, and players in 2012, compared with just 15 percent the previous year (Laird, 2012). Further evidence of the growth in the use of new media by sports fans is the surging usage of mobile platforms to both consume and convey sports content. Fans do not need to attend the game or even congregate with other fans to share the experience. With changes to media, fans can tweet, text, blog, and Facebook, all while watching the game, providing a new and enriched fandom experience. Because media, like fans, are constantly changing, sport media researchers need to be constantly observing and recording these changes. This chapter provides insight into how fans, teams, athletes, and other stakeholders interact and engage in fandom in the digital world. The chapter commences with an examination of how one becomes a sport fan. It then moves on to how sport fandom manifests itself in the new digital world, including uses and gratification of fans and the increasing potential for fan – athlete interaction. The chapter concludes with a discussion on the role of sport fans as content creators and the challenges and opportunities this presents.
