ABSTRACT
Traditionally, it has been decreed that in order to remain a highly identified fan one must be part of a fan community, which have traditionally been based on geography (Andrijiw & Hyatt, 2009). Team identification is durable, however, and tends to be determined in childhood and remain unchanged throughout an individual’s life (James, 2001). In today’s society, however, people are less likely to stay in their hometowns. These factors have led to the emergence of highly identified non-local fans, that maintain their identification by using technology to both consume sport itself and interact with other fans of the same team. In fact, it has even been suggested that these non-local fans create strong enough communities (both virtual via the internet and in person in their current cities), to develop social capital based on shared team identification (Collins & Heere, 2018). Because there is a positive correlation between identification and consumptive behavior among sport fans (Fink, Trail, & Anderson, 2002), these fans present an opportunity for sport organizations to reap financial gains. Exploring the unique characteristics of non-local fans and their fandom demonstrates that they are a largely untapped market for the creation of new revenue streams.
