The irrationality of being a fan
There is nothing like sport to galvanise a people together to a common cause. Nor is there anything like sport to divide normally likeminded people of similar backgrounds into passionate warring tribes.
Fans, and in particular sports fans, are a breed of consumers like no other.
If you are a sports fan (I’m guilty your honour) there is probably not a lot that is rational about your behaviour and preferences. Not convinced? Ok, let’s take me as an example. I’m a sports fan and member of the Collingwood Football Club.
Just by saying who I support I am sure there are a bunch a people saying, “Go Pies!” with a little fist pump and probably a whole lot more thinking to themselves, “I hate Collingwood.”
That’s what sport does: it polarises our views based on emotional and illogical factors. One person associates me as part of their tribe. Another hates who I support and questions my judgement.
The irrationality of being a sports fan becomes even more obvious when I ask myself:
“Why am I fan and member of Collingwood?”
Now if I was a logical consumer considering a purchase from a supplier in a normal market situation, I would be breaking down the selection criteria for choosing a team that suited me.
Are they close to where I live? Making it easy for me to attend games.
Will I get a good return on my investment in attending games and being a member? Such as premierships and more wins than losses.
Does the product and service meet my personal needs?
Are the values of the club aligned with my values?
Will I be able to enjoy being a fan or member with my friends?
Logical right? Well, none of those criteria have anything to do with why I support the Pies. I follow Collingwood because my father does, my grandmother did, and my great grandfather did. I’m a fourth generation Collingwood fan that grew up in country Victoria miles away from Victoria Park and rarely got to go to a game as kid.
Supporting Collingwood is part of my family’s identity, and part of who I am.
Now if I was a customer, I might see my membership as being an investment in buying success and getting to see my team win a premiership. Given Collingwood has only one two premierships in my lifetime, that’s a pretty ordinary return (but better than some clubs).
As a customer, how many other products or services can you buy without any guarantee or commitment that you will get what you want? If my purchase was based on market norms, I’d have stopped buying membership years ago – but being a fan is not just about winning and getting a return on investment. You just need to watch how the behaviour and happiness of fans changes with their team’s success or failures.
When our team loses – we get angry, upset and disappointed. Fanatical fans can find themselves in a depressed state for days, or at least until the next game starts. Why should they care?
It won’t change their health and well-being.
Win or lose, their financial position won‘t change (unless they were having a punt).
Nobody dies from losing a game.
There will be another game next week or next season.
It makes no real impact on the environment, world hunger or the state of the nation.
After all, it’s only sport… isn’t it?
Not everyone is a fanatical sports nut, but there is a goodly portion of the population who are enthusiastic fans and passionate about who they support. There are some fans who will have their club’s emblem tattooed on their body and their car number plates branded with their club. At the other end of the spectrum are the occasional fans who watch the odd game on tv but aren’t consumed by their passion, and don’t try to digest every bit of on-line media and gossip about their sport and club.
In my previous article I highlighted how fans and customers are different and that organisations seeking to engage with fans should not look at them as customers. Fans are fans because of a range of different reasons and to be successful in engaging them, you need to understand Why they are a fan.
A customer is motivated to buy a product or service to satisfy a need, but that is unlikely to be the motivation for a fan to be emotionally committed to a brand. You don’t sell fanship. You sell ideals and values and community that engages people emotionally, so they want to be part of your tribe. Then you embrace them as part of your tribe or community.
Fans, and in particular, sports fans are unique. Their commitment to a club is unmatched in other industries, bar maybe music.
Sporting clubs have lifelong fans that demonstrate extraordinary loyalty and passion, regardless of whether their team wins or loses and in good times and bad times. Have you ever been to a funeral and heard the dearly departed’s club song being played? Incredible.
Let’s face it, sports fans can appear completely irrational and totally unpredictable – but only if you look at them as a normal customer or consumer. If you look at them through the lens of a sports fan and understand their journey and why they’re a fan – they’re actually pretty easy to understand.
Any organisation that has fans, and wants to keep them as loyal fans, needs to invest time and energy to know their fans and value them.
Value them as part of their community; not just ticket holders or customers.
Know why they are fans and understand their journey; not just their names, addresses and membership types.
Don’t think customer. Think community.
Don’t think sell. Think help.
Now my club has copped a fair shellacking in the media over the past week or so due to historical issues relating to racism and the club’s response to those issues. The club has apologetically accepted the findings, and recommendations and now has some work to do.
If anyone who has been involved with the club has felt that they have been marginalised, hurt, belittled or discriminated against because of their race, then the club has failed. Changes need to be made.
I’m a Collingwood member and part of the rich and diverse community that is Collingwood. It’s part of who I am. I’m bitterly disappointed and embarrassed with what has happened at my club, and that the club has failed to live the values it promotes. Racism in any form is unacceptable and should never be tolerated.
So, will I continue to support Collingwood?
Absolutely!
Credit must be given to the club leaders for conducting the review in the first place and accepting the findings. Sure, it doesn’t absolve the club from the past, but it shows some guts and humility to put yourself under the microscope.
I’ve been a Collingwood person all my life and have been fortunate to meet many people at the Collingwood Football Club. They have been good people – actually, that’s not true. They’ve been great people.
The recent communication from the players and staff shows that they are hurting. They want to fix the culture and the issues that have damaged the Collingwood brand and embarrassed them. To do this they need encouragement and support – not criticism.
How does banishing the club to Purgatory forever help the situation? Surely, giving them a chance to make amends and improve the environment for the future is a better outcome for everyone. And it the best way to ensure it never happens again.
Being a fan of a club is a bit like being part of family, a group of friends or a community. When your family, friends or community needs you – you don’t forsake them – you stick by them and you do what you can to help them.
If my friends and family had abandoned me, every time I did something stupid, thoughtless, hurtful or embarrassing, I’d be a very sad and lonely person.
While I might be annoyed with what has happened at the club; fed up with the constant flogging of the club in the media; and had enough of the jokes and jibes from my non-Collingwood mates – the club needs my support as it does, from every fan and member.
I don’t expect the club to win every game (I can dream though), I just expect them to be a club that I can be proud to support. They aren’t necessarily there at this point in time – but I know they will be.
That’s why fans aren’t like normal consumers.
When a brand, store or service provider breaks their promise or behaves badly, we "the customer" drop them – normally hard and fast.
But not fans. We’re in for the long haul.
Yes, being a fan is not very logical, in fact it’s totally irrational.
But I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Go Pies!
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Graham Plant is CEO of metafan, a company committed to helping organisations understand and engage their fans through data and insight.
Image Credit: Photo by Roman Koester on Unsplash