Sports Widow

The Definition of a Sports Fan & Their Stats

July 16, 2007 10:08 PM | 0 Comments

As we unite the Sports Widow Nation, it's helpful to understand our foils, those often loveable sports fans. According to www.Wikipedia.org, sports fans are: enthusiasts for a particular athlete, team, sport, or all of organized sports as a whole. Sports fans are often seen attending sporting events or following them on television, as well as through newspapers, radio and Internet websites such as ESPN.com. The mentality of the sports fan is often such that they will experience a game, or event while living vicariously through players or teams whom the fan favors. (I like to add that sometimes the athlete is the fan's child, which makes the association especially vicarious and personal.) This behavior manifests itself in a number of different ways, depending on the venue.

Big Lo****

In the U.S. alone, there are well over 52 million *sports fans and 19 million **sports addicts, and they are 92% male, ages 18-54. Over 140 million people attended professional sporting events last year. Attendance at college football and basketball games are double that of professional sports.

Spectators consume sports to a far greater extent through television (my favorite breed, the armchair fan). More than 2,100 hours of televised sports air on the major television networks annually. Cable TV provides an additional 24,000 hours of sports each year. In addition, regional sports cable networks and direct satellite broadcasts continue to grow rapidly, and they broadcast countless thousands of hours of sports each year. Over 97 million people each week are exposed to sports on ESPN media alone. All of this feeds the seemingly insatiable appetite of sports fanaticism.

Fan Anatomy
Sports Fan*/Sports Addict** Profile/Statistics
•Men, 18-54; Median Age 37.4; Married; College Grad; Employed; Median HH Income $62,200; Homeowner, A & B Counties.

A sports fan is someone who watches sports on TV (at least) once a week; listens to sports stats/games on radio (while driving); attends sporting events 6 times or less annually; reads the Sports section in the newspaper or watches sports news (network, cable, local) irregularly; accesses the Internet to follow sports scores/stats (once a week or more); follows at least one of the Big Seven*** sports (college/pro) teams regularly; and exercises/plays sports in free time (or at least thinks about it) once a month.

A sports addict is someone who watches sports on TV at least twice a week or more (8 hours min.); attends sporting events once a month or more (season ticket holder); reads the Sports section in the newspaper or watches sports news daily; listens to sports/sports talk on the radio while in the car; accesses the Internet to follow sports scores/stats daily; subscribes to or reads one or more national sports magazines regularly; follows at least three of the Big Seven (college/semi-pro, pro, amateur, high-school, etc.) sports teams avidly; and thinks about or actually exercises/plays sports in free time once a week or more.

*** Big Seven: Baseball, Basketball, Football, Hockey, Golf, Tennis, Racing (NASCAR)

Fan Facts
68% of Americans call themselves National Football League fans—the NFL is the most popular sport in the US
60% of Americans are Major League Baseball (MLB) fans—2nd only to the NFL
57% of Americans call themselves college football fans
51% of Americans are National Basketball Association (NBA) fans—4th among all sports
27 million Americans play golf—63% of them watch golf on TV

Impressive, isn't it? No wonder why I feel so isolated. It's not just me, is it??????

How would you describe your fan/s?????

Don't believe it? Here are my Sources:
Nielsen Media Research 2004; Q Metrix Quarter 4, 2001; 2001 Jupiter Media Metrix, Inc.; ESPN/NBC/CBS/ABC/TNT/ESPN II; MRI Spring 2002 Fact Sheet; ESPN Sports Poll 2004; National Golf Foundation 2004; MRI Spring 2005; 2007 ESPN, Sports Illustrated and Sporting News Media Kits (Data Points combined and interpreted).

****Every city has a sports Super Fan. The Big Lo SUPER FAN Action Figure is based on a real-life super sports fan in Seattle. Lorin "Big Lo" Sandretzky is a 6'8", 400 pound fixture at every Seattle Seahawk, Super Sonic, Storm and Mariner game. His action figure is available online at Accoutrements.com or at the Archie McPhee store in Seattle.