Fan Experience Research Articles

Newly minted: Non-fungible tokens and the commodification of fandom

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) exist today as a component of a broader, ever-evolving financial environment in which questions of value, ownership, and intention are characterized by their ambiguity. This article considers Dapper Labs “NBA Top Shot,” a blockchain-backed website inviting NBA fans to join in “a new era in fandom” wherein they may acquire NFTs of NBA highlights by opening “packs,” which are functionally similar to trading cards. NFTs reflect the pressures of market forces, as well as increased cultural and economic emphasis on marketization, financialization, commodification, and the ubiquity of gambling-like designs and interactions. Furthermore, this study explores tensions present in differing intentions for the NBA Top Shot platform and Discord server, the diffuse nature of user conversations (a nature that disregards topical boundaries), and audience attention toward marketization and investment interests. The commodification of the NBA fan experience illustrates a shared social pressure to more readily think of one’s life, interactions, and consumptive behaviors through the lens of the investor, fostering financial attitudes that normalize instability and encourage risk-taking beyond the scope of a platform where purchase-dependent interactions serve as a source of joy and social experience in a venue representing a perceived electronic gold rush.

Celebrity brand break-up: Fan experiences of para-loveshock

When consumers become fans of celebrities, they can form intense emotional attachments that resemble a kind of love. Althoughthe love felt for celebrities is based on one-sided parasocial relationships, fans nevertheless experience a trauma that they consider to be very real when these illusory relationships end. We explore how fans manage and perform their break-up with a beloved celebrity brand following public allegations of wrongdoing. Building on Giddens’ theorization of loveshock – which encapsulates thedisorienting after-effects of falling out of love – we propose the new concept ofpara-loveshock. Para-loveshock is performed socially and discursively through three fan practices: grief enfranchisement; flagellation; and indignation. Recognizing how fans perform and legitimize their trauma through these practices helps to sensitize managers to the importance of consumer identity work following celebrity transgressions. This has implications for how damage control efforts are planned and how managers engage with fans when responding to celebrity transgression.

Keep the Arrows: Interrogating Discrimination in Fandom Through Solo Performance

ABSTRACT Keep the Arrows was a 30-minute solo performance about the experience, and discrimination faced by Black people who are active in Futurist Fantasy Fiction fandom from children to adults. Framed in the context of the conflict between idealized fantasy worlds and societal racial values, the performer/author attempted to show the audience a view of the intersection of these opposing influences, through a performance developed through dramaturgy, devising, and accent exploration. In this practice as research study, the performer/author explored their own experiences in fandom as well as the experiences of Black professional level cosplayers, casual fans, and people of all ages who share the stories of being unwelcomed in fandom. The mission of Keep the Arrows was to define and dissect the discrimination faced by Black fans of worlds beyond race.

#FreeBritney and the Pleasures of Conspiracy

#FreeBritney and the Pleasures of Conspiracy

Being a Modrzejewska's Fangirl: Female Fandom and Celebrity in Nineteenth-Century Polish Theatre

This essay brings together the perspective of theatre history studies and fan studies in order to ask what it meant to be a celebrity fangirl in the late nineteenth century and thus to historicize fandom and recover forsaken aspects of nineteenth-century theatre culture. By invoking the unique traces of fan experience and fan practices such as recollections left by a self-declared "theatre maniac" or fan letters written to Helena Modrzejewska, this essay investigates Polish female, middle-class fandom of this theatre superstar. Despite emigrating to the United States in the mid-1870s, during the following decades Modrzejewska, known to American audience as Modjeska, guest-performed in Polish lands on a regular basis to great enthusiasm of local audiences. Even though no organizations like the US Modjeska Club ever emerged among Polish spectators, there were equally devoted circles of Modrzejewska's fangirls. They can be compared to other female theatre fans at the turn of the twentieth century, such as the matinée girl in the United States and the psikhopatka in Tsarist Russia. Fangirls shared hierarchies of values, which often collided with social expectations, and together they tended to explore and test alternatives to roles prescribed to them by society. The essay proposes to imagine these women as social and theatre "pirates" who both challenged accepted gender norms of behavior and questioned their own alleged female limitations, as well as advanced forms of reception that were abolished in the process of the "embourgeoisement of theatre."

‘It’s not football anymore’: perceptions of the video assistant referee by english premier league football fans

ABSTRACT This article draws on the responses of one hundred English Premier League Football fans and their perceptions of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) during the 2019/2020 season. A multi-sited ethnographic study was applied to capture fans opinions of VAR who were physically present at matches. Data was collected at pubs, fan areas, family zones, public areas, and online on Premier League Forums and Official Message Boards. Fans indicated various themes such as accuracy, flow, in the dark, ruining the moment and acceptance. The results of this study expose significant complexities between the VAR and the experience of matchday fans. Findings also hold implications for the continuous discussion surrounding VAR in elite football. Overall, this paper contributes to the literature that explores decision-aid technology in sport and the evolution of football fandom in England.

Identiv and collectID deliver NFC-enabled fan experience for 1. FC Köln / Holst Centre launches ECOTRON project / Heliatek and Looop announce exclusive partnership for organic solar films / E Ink awarded world’s first ePaper module carbon footprint verification

Identiv and collectID deliver NFC-enabled fan experience for 1. FC Köln / Holst Centre launches ECOTRON project / Heliatek and Looop announce exclusive partnership for organic solar films / E Ink awarded world’s first ePaper module carbon footprint verification

Home Fare Advantage: An examination of the Role of Food and Beverages in Mercedes-Benz Stadium’s Event Experience

Through the lens of Expectation Disconfirmation Theory and with consideration of other event experience factors, our study examines how strategic concessions changes implemented by the Arthur M. Blank (AMB) Group with the building of Mercedes-Benz Stadium affect the fan experience at its professional sport events. These changes differ significantly from operational practices at most sport venues, with emphasis on eliminating bottlenecks to increase throughput and allowing for reduced costs without negatively affecting quality. Data were collected through an online survey of Atlanta United match attendees and an online observation. Results from this study suggest that management prioritization of concession services may be the most effective approach for engendering positive, overall event experiences from patrons.

‘Genuinely in love with the game’ football fan experiences and perceptions of women’s football in England

Women’s sport, and perhaps especially women’s football, in England has enjoyed much greater media visibility and support over the past decade. But we still know relatively little about the response of fans of men’s football to the rise of the women’s game and their views on attending it. This paper highlights responses from 2,347 fans of the men’s game in Britain to BBC terrestrial coverage of the FIFA Women’s World Cup of 2015. It also investigates general views on women’s football, experiences of attending matches and the perceived barriers to match attendance. It argues that there remains residual resistance to the women’s game, but also increasing reflexivity about its performance and prospects. Concerns over the financial excesses of the men’s game and about the values expressed in its elite versions additionally contribute to more positive attitudes and expectations in our sample about the future of elite women’s football.

David against Goliath: Diagnosis and Strategies for a Niche Sport to Develop a Sustainable Fan Community

Pilota, played using the hands, is a niche sport with origins dating back to Greco-Roman times. In the Valencian region of Spain, an indigenous version of the sport is played with healthy participation rates despite having to compete with the major global sports. This study is aimed at understanding the current situation of this sport in terms of knowledge, transmission channels, fan experience and media consumption, as well as the brand strategy challenges it faces for building a stable and sustainable fan community. The methodology consists of a combination of quantitative and qualitative techniques. Nearly 1500questionnaires completed across three study universes, four focus groups and 33 in-depth interviews with stakeholder representatives have served to check the data obtained and discuss the challenges facing the sport in a process of dialogue. The main finding lies in the management proposals that can be applied to most of the world’s surviving traditional sports. On a theoretical level, the study presents an analysis of niche sports in Europe from the point of view of branding and sustainability.

Diversifying the fan experience and securitising crowd management: a longitudinal analysis of fan park facilities at 15 football mega events between 2002 and 2019

ABSTRACT Rationale This article explores the development, use and impact of fan parks in host cities of men’s football mega events, constructed as temporary commercial sites where fans congregate to watch matches on large screens and partake in other forms of entertainment. Approach This study draws on ethnographic, observational, interview and focus group data, exploring perspectives of fans, volunteers, organisers, journalists, police and security personnel, totalling 212 respondents at five FIFA World Cup finals and ten other confederation tournaments. Findings This paper reveals that fans have increasingly engaged with such provision where available, relative to the degree of cultural resonance, accessibility, affordability, security and the suitability of facilities. However, these fan parks remain conspicuously absent in confederation events beyond Europe. Practical implications The research shows that fan parks can help diversify the fan experience, allowing users to interact with supporters from across the world in defined spaces. They also contribute to crowd management, enabling authorities to contain fans, confine their movement, monitor alcohol consumption and control behaviour. Research contribution This longitudinal study examines the emergence and development of fan parks at 15 events in five continents, analysing their impact on the fan experience and the securitisation of crowd management.

ANALISA ASPEK ‘FUN’ DENGAN MENGGUNAKAN TEORI VITRUVIUS dan SIR HENRY WOTTON PADA PRODUK MAINAN

Fun aspect is the main function of toy product design. On toy products for children this may not be a difficult job because aspects of pleasure can be more easily measured by designers. But on adult targets this is no longer easy because there seems to be something complex with regard to this aspect of pleasure. The fun and use of products experienced by adults is thought to be different from the fun and use of toy products experienced by young children, so in this study will find out about what kind of fun experienced by adults in using their toys and what elements of such toys are considered to bring senility. The study aims to find new forms that are dwarfed by adult toy product users. To answer this, this research is included in the basic research which goes into TKT level 2, namely with the stages of literature study and initial analysis. This is realized by gaining the experience of adult toy fans with the process of interviewing and observation as a user of the product which is then abstracted using the theory of user experience in order to find a model of how to use the toy and then will be reviewed with theory of fun. The next stage of the toy's product properties will then be reviewed using discussions using Vitruvius Theory and Sir Henry Wotton. The results that will be obtained later are expected to explain the model of fun type in using toy products. This is expected to be a useful basis for the development of design science, especially the design of toy products that is to determine the design process of toy products

JAX, THE ARCHITECTURE: Designing a Chatboat Architecture to Reduce Ajax Fancare’s Logistical Problem and Enhance Fan Experience

This paper is the documentation of a graduation internship at Digital Society School (DSS) in which they teamed up with Ajax Fancare to solve their logistical problem and enhance the fan experience. Ajax Fancare is facing a logistical problem in manually answering every fan’s question via calls, emails, social media, or live chat. They believe that chatbot is the solution to this problem. The goal of this project is to research, design, and prototype a chatbot that could tackle the logistical problem and enhance the fan experience. The deliverable is a chatbot prototype and architecture in which Ajax Fancare could build upon for their future customer service chatbot. The main question of the research is answered by the chatbot architecture: Jax the Architecture, a conversational tree of all the possible interactions between a user and the chatbot. The final chatbot architecture answers the research question by mapping together the main elements of the chatbot such as the information fans needed from Ajax Fancare and additional features that create a new and inclusive experience. The prototypes and final chatbot architecture are ready to be tested for further research and serve as a cornerstone for future development of the Ajax Fancare chatbot.

‘Lizzie’s story felt like home’: Narrative intimacy in The Lizzie Bennet Diaries fandom

In 2012, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (LBD) began to reimagine Austen’s beloved novel, Pride and Prejudice, for the twenty-first century by conveying the narrative through multiple digital media platforms. LBD centred on a series of YouTube video diaries ostensibly uploaded by Lizzie Bennet, a 20-something graduate student. The LBD narrative eventually expanded to include four complementary YouTube channels, thirteen interconnected Twitter feeds, Tumblr posts, Facebook profiles and numerous social media interactions and ‘conversations’ between the narrative’s characters and its fans. One of the key features of LBD was how the narrative actively invited fans and readers to participate and interact with the characters through its multiple media platforms, providing fans with the sense that their contributions to the narrative mattered and creating what Sarah K. Day has termed ‘narrative intimacy’. According to Day, texts with narrative intimacy ‘reflect, model, and reimagine intimate interpersonal relationships through the disclosure of information and the experience of the story as a space that the narrator invites the reader to share’. This article explores how LBD used the interactive and participatory functions of YouTube, Twitter and Tumblr to create a deeply immersive narrative experience for fans and how that immersion helped contribute to the development of LBD’s narrative intimacy through the use of Lizzie and Lydia as vulnerable narrators. Drawing on results from the author’s mixed-methods survey of LBD fans, this article highlights the lasting affective attachment fans have to the narrative and how their LBD experience reinforced their connection to Austen’s original novel.

Player Tracking Technology and Data for Injury Prevention in the National Football League.

The recent partnership of NFL's Next Gen Stats with Amazon Web Services has created a buzz among media and fans, yet the full scope and utility of digital biosensors has yet to be determined. We review current uses of Global Positioning System technology and digital biosensors in the NFL and discuss the future role of this technology in injury prevention. A complete literature review was conducted, along with review of the NFL web site and news outlet articles, to obtain a comprehensive assessment of all prior and current uses of biosensor technology in the NFL. Limited data exist on successful injury prevention and return to play, and utilization of this emerging technology has mostly been for fan experience. While ethical and legal challenges exist, the integration of digital biosensor and GPS technology in the NFL has enormous potential and is an invaluable tool in the comprehensive assessment of player health.

Influence of ceiling fan induced non-uniform thermal environment on thermal comfort and spatial adaptation in living room seat layout

Ceiling fans are common in Indian residences as airflow is important for thermal comfort. Ceiling fans are generally located in the centre of room for good distribution of airflow though airflow is limited to a small area and air velocity is reduced with increasing distance from the fan. Occupants spatially adapt while deciding seating layout considering various functional factors including thermal comfort. This study evaluates the effect of ceiling fan induced non uniform airflow on thermal comfort conditions in four living room seating layouts. The thermal environment was monitored in a living room and ceiling fan induced airflow was measured to study the distribution of airflow in four selected furniture layouts. The thermal environment in seats varied widely due to non-uniform distribution of airflow in the space. Thermal sensations in 12 seating positions of 4 different layouts were analyzed using Tropical Summer Index (TSI) and Predicted Mean Vote (PMV). Thermal comfort conditions in different seats improved at higher fan speeds in all layouts. TSI and PMV based thermal sensations varied from ‘Too hot’ to ‘Slightly Cool’ between warm summer and cool winter tropical seasons. The number of seats with ‘Too Hot’ thermal sensation were reduced at higher fan speed. Overall, seats farther from the fan experience relatively hotter thermal sensation in summer months and are not affected by fan speeds. The study emphasizes the relevance of moveable furniture and role of spatial adaptive behavior in room layout design, where required airflow for thermal comfort is not available within the space.

ビデオ受容空間の経験史:「趣味の地理学」と1980年代のアニメファンの経験の関係から

ビデオ受容空間の経験史:「趣味の地理学」と1980年代のアニメファンの経験の関係から

Fan centricity of German soccer teams: exploring the construct and its consequences

ABSTRACT The goal of the present study is to conceptualize fan centricity and explore its consequences. The study focuses on German soccer teams and used in-depth interviews with 26 experts and inductive coding procedures to categorize the experts’ opinions on defining the construct and on perceived consequences. Based on the results, fan centricity is defined as an organization’s strategic and operational focus on the establishment and maintenance of relationships with fans in a reciprocal sense. Seven categories describe fan centricity: identification and segmentation of fans; fan involvement in decision-making; facilitation of extra-role behaviour; communication and mediation; optimization of fan experience; facilitation of fan influence on organizational and soccer-related changes; and adaptation of modus operandi. Two broad themes have been identified: process-related components as well as organizational and societal components. The construct has a variety of consequences (e.g. for the teams’ operating models), as revealed by the interviews.

Coaches attitudes about returning to play in youth and varsity sports post- COVID-19

BACKGROUND: One industry affected by the COVID-19 mandated social distancing policies is sport. In the wake of pressures to return to some normalcy, sport leagues have begun a return to play, many of which include regulations additional to the typical athlete and fan experience. Youth, Middle School, and High School sport leagues are of specific interest in America given the currently inconclusive national plan for returning to face-to-face instruction of students at schools. PURPOSE: The current goal is to identify the perceptions and experiences of current sport professionals throughout the country regarding a return to play. METHODS: The participants of this study were 181 Youth and High School Sport Coaches of various sports. The sample contained males (n = 123) and females (n = 58). The age of respondents ranged from 20 or more years of age. A return to play questionnaire was created and used to collect data for this study. The survey consisted of 12 yes or no questions regarding a return to play during the pandemic, with an opportunity for an open-ended explanation for each. Statistical methods employed to conduct data analysis included frequencies to determine percentages. A crosstabs analysis and Pearson Chi-Square tests of association were utilized to identify statistical significance within the variables. FINDING: No statistically significant association was found at the p ≤ .05 level between age or years of coaching experience and any response to a yes/no question. Percentages for high school coaches who responded "Yes" to each question are presented. Due to the wide variety of responses in these open-ended explanations, statistical expressions were not conducted, and an inclusive list of explanations for each question is provided. CONCLUSION: While the research result is unclear, the information obtained from coaches in the current study presents a small illustration of the current perceptions of athletic leaders in this region regarding the return to play of youth sport coaches and their respective schools' policies.

Sport spectator adoption of technological innovations: a behavioral reasoning analysis of fan experience apps

ABSTRACT Mobile applications specifically designed for in-stadium use during games (referred to as fan experience apps) are an emergent technological innovation in professional team sports around the globe. Drawing on behavioral reasoning theory, this study proposes and empirically tests a model to explain sport spectator adoption of fan experience apps (FEA). By considering both reasons for and reasons against adopting FEA, the model represents an important theoretical extension of existing innovation frameworks in sport marketing. Using a qualitative pre-study, I operationalized reasons using specific pro-adoption factors (i.e., enjoyment, ease of use, game-related content, and social interaction) and anti-adoption factors (i.e., distraction from the game, declining atmosphere, social risk, and data security concerns). Survey data collected among German team sport spectators (N = 792) confirmed that both reasons for adoption (positively) and reasons against adoption (negatively) influenced adoption attitudes, usage intentions, and actual use of FEA. The results indicated that reasons for adoption had a stronger relative impact on spectators’ responses to FEA than reasons against. The study also delineated the relative contribution of specific pro-adoption and anti-adoption factors to overall reasons for and against adoption. The findings imply that FEA developers, marketing communications directed at potential users, and market research that explores consumer opinions of these technological innovations should take into account both reasons for and against FEA usage.