The meaning of sport-related events in the process of becoming and being a fan : a grounded theory study of highly committed sport fans

Newspapers across the country and around the world are filled with reports of events that have occurred within the sporting world. These events range from summaries of wins/losses and statistics of the players in the game to reports of more significant even�s ( e.g., a player's retirement, a team relocation, a league folding, or a player's legal battles). The initial purpose of this dissertation was to explore and describe sports fans' perceptions of and reactions to sport-related critical incidents. However, the research focus was modified to examine (1) what it means to be a sport fan, (2) the factors and conditions that influence an individual to become a sport fan, and (3) how sport fans interpret sport-related events. The design for this study was qualitative and attempted to explore sport fan's experiences by understanding the phenomenon from the participant's perspective. Grounded theory methodology was selected as a means of exploring this previously unexamined phenomenon. This study relied on interpretations of interviews with fourteen highly committed sport fans and excerpts submitted by sports fans on two popular sport-related websites (www.SportingNews.com and www.ESPN.com). The findings from this study suggest that sport-related events are interpreted differently as a function of (1) the individual, (2) the knowledge and experience the individual brings to an event, and (3) the meaning the individual ascribes to the event. The theory that emerged in this study demonstrates that the process of interpreting a sport related event is dynamic and dependent upon four categories: (1) experiencing the event, (2) becoming more informed regarding the event, (3) determining the personal significance of the event, and ( 4) identifying which event components are relevant. Additionally, a sport fan brings with him/her a combination of life and sport-related experiences to each subsequent sport-related event. The fan then takes the accumulated knowledge and experiences with him/her to the next event and the process begins again. The collective of these experiences and interpretations gives meaning to the fan and facilitates the evolutionary process of being a sport fan.