Spectatorship and fandom are fundamental to the understanding of sport, as evidenced by the dozens of articles in the Journal of Sport Management (JSM) researching these subjects. In Parks and Olafson’s (1987) editorial introduction to the journal almost four decades ago, the editors reflected on the Games from 11 BC where the “success of such an extravaganza” rested on a range of individuals from “business managers” to “marketing directors” (p. 1). Nevertheless, it would be several more years until a research article devoted to the subject of fans appeared in JSM by way of Hansen and Gauthier’s (1989) survey examination of factors influencing attendance at professional sporting events.
While many of the items showing differences across leagues would be familiar to academicians and practitioners today, the frameworks, methodologies, and complexity of our contemporary work on spectatorship has evolved and broadened. These have come from varying perspectives, including psychological (Kim et al., 2020; Koenigstorder et al., 2010), sociological (Schellenberg & Gaudreau, 2023), marketing (Ross et al., 2008), and economics (Bradbury, 2020; DeSchriver & Jensen, 2002; Diehl et al., 2016; Mondello et al., 2017; Salaga et al., 2020; Sung et al., 2019; Tainsky et al., 2020), exploring identity (Hyatt & Foster, 2015; Wear & Heere, 2020), diversity (Delia et al., 2022), phenomenology (Sveinson & Toffoletti, 2022), policy (Mills, 2021), culture (Su et al., 2024), consumer behavior (Fujak et al., 2018; Kim & Trail, 2010; Ko et al., 2017), well-being (Berg et al., 2021; Delia et al., 2021; Gordon et al., 2025; Inoue et al., 2022; Kim & James, 2019), and innumerable other dimensions of fandom. The current issue of JSM is emblematic of the varied, compelling approaches to fandom that feature in this research.
The findings of Park and Lee (2025) suggest that effectance (e.g., empowerment perceptions) should be included in the Psychological Continuum Model (PCM). Specifically, they outline that “identified fans (attachment) may seek effectance to develop a sense of ownership over their teams, thereby shaping their behaviors (allegiance)” (p. following page assignments from publisher). Their findings also emphasize that social identity theory, along with stakeholder theory, provides a strong foundation for the psychological ownership framework. Moreover, psychological ownership is an overarching explanation of the underpinnings of fans’ BIRGing behavior. The study states that sport fans have evolved over the last decade. They now take psychological ownership of teams within their fandom, and this ownership influences their behaviors. The authors conclude by articulating the need to continue to explore the outcomes of psychological ownership in a variety of sport contexts and the importance of examining the experiences of contemporary sport fans.
Fans increasingly look for sport organizations and athletes to take political stances aligning with their viewpoints. That notwithstanding, there is a gap in the literature when it comes to how fans’ political identity shapes fan loyalty. The current work by Larkin (2025) presents two studies demonstrating the nuances of these relationships. In study one, the authors establish that conflict in political identity negatively impacts attitudinal but not behavioral loyalty. In study two, they uncover differences between conservative and liberal fans, specifically that right-leaning fans are less receptive to politics infiltrating sport.
Human flourishing, defined as a state of positive functioning in one’s individual and social life, is the focus of Gordon et al. (2025). The authors examine how spectatorship can contribute to well-being in the promotion of flourishing in life. In studying Japanese baseball fans over two years, they find strongly identified fans who actively engage are more likely to feel flourished in the future. Supporting a team enhances fans’ physical, mental, and social well-being.
The usage of augmented reality (AR) in spectator sports has increased substantially in recent years. For example, the National Football League (NFL) has integrated AR technology into its broadcasts for selected games. Using the habituation and sensitization framework, Ahn and Ko (2025) assess how individuals viewing NFL content perceive the visual effects of AR and how broadcasting format shapes viewing experiences. The authors demonstrate patterns of sensitization and habituation differ based on the consumer’s level of sport involvement. Highly involved consumers exhibit preference for brief AR highlights, while low involvement consumers exhibit sensitization by watching both brief and extended AR highlights. The results indicate enjoyment of AR technology is dependent on the sport-specific involvement level of the consumer.
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) games are immensely popular live televised content in the United States, routinely generating viewership in the millions and even tens of millions. Its organizational structure, however, creates scheduling complexities as conferences individually negotiate distinct television contracts with broadcast partners. Park et al. (2025) develops a model for predicting viewership which can be used to improve scheduling efficiency and optimize media revenues for conferences and affiliate members. The authors demonstrate the comparative importance of relative contest quality. In other words, the authors illustrate the importance of relative quality for a given game in comparison to the other live broadcasts it is scheduled against. This relative quality measure also differs in importance between higher-quality and lower-quality games.
To conclude, JSM scholarship has built from Hansen and Gauthier’s (1989) initial account of factors influencing attendance at professional sporting events to a more robust and thorough understanding of fandom and spectatorship. The articles in this issue contribute to the development of various theories related to fandom and spectatorship, and outline the complexity of the sport consumer today. These results emphasize the varied and broad perspectives of spectatorship that must be continually embraced as we navigate our design of sport management research into the future.
References
Ahn, J.W., & Ko, Y.J. (2025). The impact of augmented reality technology on sport spectators’ psychological and behavioral responses: The role of sensitization and habituation. Journal of Sport Management, 39(3), 196–209.
Berg, B.K., Inoue, Y., Bowers, M.T., & Chelladurai, P. (2021). “Sport is double-edged”: A Delphi study of spectator sport and population health. Journal of Sport Management, 36(4), 341–354.
Bradbury, J.C. (2020). Determinants of attendance in major league soccer. Journal of Sport Management, 34(1), 53–63.
Delia, E.B., James, J.D., & Wann, D.L. (2021). Does being a sport fan provide meaning in life? Journal of Sport Management, 36(1), 45–55.
Delia, E.B., Melton, E.N., Sveinson, K., Cunningham, G.B., & Lock, D. (2022). Understanding the lack of diversity in sport consumer behavior research. Journal of Sport Management, 36(3), 265–276.
DeSchriver, T.D., & Jensen, P.E. (2002). Determinants of spectator attendance at NCAA Division II football contests. Journal of Sport Management, 16(4), 311–330.
Diehl, M.A., Drayer, J., & Maxcy, J.G. (2016). On the demand for live sport contests: Insights from the secondary market for national football league tickets. Journal of Sport Management, 30(1), 82–94.
Fujak, H., Frawley, S., McDonald, H., & Bush, S. (2018). Are sport consumers unique? Consumer behavior within crowded sport markets. Journal of Sport Management, 32(4), 362–375.
Gordon, B.S., Yoshida, M., Inoue, Y., & Biscaia, R. (2025). Sport fans and flourishing: Examining the mediating role of sport fan well-being in predicting flourishing. Journal of Sport Management, 39(3), 180–195.
Hansen, H., & Gauthier, R. (1989). Factors affecting attendance at professional sport events. Journal of Sport Management, 3(1), 15–32.
Hyatt, C.G., & Foster, W.M. (2015). Using identity work theory to understand the de-escalation of fandom: A study of former fans of National Hockey League teams. Journal of Sport Management, 29(4), 443–460.
Inoue, Y., Berg, B.K., & Chelladurai, P. (2022). Spectator sport and population health: A consultation with US college athletics employees. Journal of Global Sport Management, 7(1), 21–42.
Kim, J., & James, J.D. (2019). Sport and happiness: Understanding the relations among sport consumption activities, long-and short-term subjective well-being, and psychological need fulfillment. Journal of Sport Management, 33(2), 119–132.
Kim, M., Oja, B.D., Kim, H.S., & Chin, J.H. (2020). Developing student-athlete school satisfaction and psychological well-being: The effects of academic psychological capital and engagement. Journal of Sport Management, 34(4), 378–390.
Kim, Y.K., & Trail, G. (2010). Constraints and motivators: A new model to explain sport consumer behavior. Journal of Sport Management, 24(2), 190–210.
Ko, Y.J., Chang, Y., Jang, W., Sagas, M., & Spengler, J.O. (2017). A hierarchical approach for predicting sport consumption behavior: A personality and needs perspective. Journal of Sport Management, 31(3), 213–228.
Koenigstorfer, J., Groeppel-Klein, A., & Schmitt, M. (2010). “You’ll never walk alone”—How loyal are soccer fans to their clubs when they are struggling against relegation? Journal of Sport Management, 24(6), 649–675.
Larkin, B. (2025). Identity conflict among politically engaged sport fans: Implications for fan loyalty. Journal of Sport Management, 39(3), 163–179.
Mills, B.M. (2021). A peculiarity that positions sport management. Journal of Sport Management, 35(6), 581–593.
Mondello, M., Mills, B.M., & Tainsky, S. (2017). Shared market competition and broadcast viewership in the National Football League. Journal of Sport Management, 31(6), 562–574.
Park, J., Kenter, F., & Hasler, O. (2025). Long-term viewership forecasting of American college football games. Journal of Sport Management, 39(3), 210–221.
Park, S.J., & Lee, H.W. (2025). Cognitive, affective, and behavioral approaches to the formation of sport fans’ psychological ownership and its impacts on prosocial behavior, attendance intention, and psychological well-being. Journal of Sport Management, 39(3), 147–162.
Parks, J.B., & Olafson, G.A. (1987). Sport management and a new Journal. Journal of Sport Management, 1(1), 1–3.
Ross, S.D., Russell, K.C., & Bang, H. (2008). An empirical assessment of spectator-based brand equity. Journal of Sport Management, 22(3), 322–337.
Salaga, S., Tainsky, S., & Mondello, M. (2020). Betting market outcomes and NBA television viewership. Journal of Sport Management, 34(2), 161–172.
Schellenberg, B.J., & Gaudreau, P. (2023). Does it matter if sport fans “Root for the home team?” A test of the team identification–social psychological health model. Journal of Sport Management, 37(3), 217–225.
Su, Y., Zhou, X., Funk, D., & Daniels, J. (2024). Cross-cultural comparison of satellite fanship: A consumer culture theory perspective. Journal of Sport Management, 39(1), 28–40.
Sung, H., Mills, B.M., & Mondello, M. (2019). Local broadcast viewership in major league soccer. Journal of Sport Management, 33(2), 106–118.
Sveinson, K., & Toffoletti, K. (2022). What makes sport spectating family-friendly? A phenomenological study of mothers’ sport fan game-day experiences. Journal of Sport Management, 37(2), 102–115.
Tainsky, S., Mills, B.M., Hans, Z., & Lee, K. (2020). On the road with minor league baseball externalities. Journal of Sport Management, 34(2), 120–129.
Wear, H., & Heere, B. (2020). Brand new: A longitudinal investigation of brand associations as drivers of team identity among fans of a new sport team. Journal of Sport Management, 34(5), 475–487.
