Female and male sport fans: A comparison of sportconsumption motives.

Sport spectating represents a predominant form of leisure behavior in today's society. Largenumbers of people attend sporting events and think of themselves as sport fans. Attendance figuresreported in nationally syndicated newspapers indicated that the combined attendance at NationalFootball League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), National Basketball Association (NBA), andNational Hockey League (NHL) regular season games in 1999, exceeded 116 million. A nationalsurvey asking people how interested they were in sports found an increase in the fan base of alltwelve major sports measured (Frank, 2000). For example, 67% of the U.S. population wereestimated to be fans of the NFL; 54% reported being fans of the NBA, and 35% were fans of theWomen's National Basketball Association (WNBA) (Frank, 2000). Continued interest in following andwatching sports is evidenced by the growth of the major professional sport leagues in the NorthAmerica, and by the emergence of new teams and leagues, particularly for wo men's sports. Recentyears have seen the development of new women's leagues including the WNBA and the Women'sUnited Soccer Association (WUSA).

While it has been suggested that little is known about sports fans (Russell, 1993), and that fewscholarly articles have examined sport fans (Wann & Hamlet, 1995), Quick (2000) noted that asubstantial amount of research has been conducted. Research to date has come in large part from asport marketing perspective and focused on the demographic characteristics of fans in an effort tounderstand reasons for attendance (e.g., Ashley & Song, 1995; Hansen & Gauthier, 1994). Anotherbody of work has focused on the behaviors of sport fans relative to their identification with a sport orteam (e.g., Murrell & Dietz, 1992; Wann & Dolan, 1994; Wann & Branscombe, 1995).

Research on Sport Fans

Prior research pertaining to sport marketing has centered principally on the topic of sport demandand has examined the effect of economic factors, promotions, and residual preference factors (e.g.,scheduling of games, new arenas, accessibility) on attendance at sporting events, and therelationship between sociodemographic variables and watching sports (Baade & Tiehen, 1990;Greenstein & Marcum, 1981; Hansen & Gauthier, 1989; Schofield, 1983; Zhang, Smith, Pease &Jambor, 1997). This work has been important in helping sport marketers profile consumer segmentsand develop promotional strategies, but has provided little insight on the reasons why people watchand follow sports.

Research examining the behavior of sport fans relative to identification with a sport or team hasfound that those with a strong sport or team identification attend more games and predict morefuture success for their team (Murrell & Dietz, 1992; Wann & Dolan, 1994), are more knowledgeableabout the team's players and history (Wann & Branscombe, 1995), and are persistent in theircommitment to a team (Dietz-Uhler & Murrell, 1999; Wann & Schrader, 1996). This work hascontributed to our understanding of how identification with a sport or team moderates perceptionsand attributions relative to a favorite team, but has provided little insight into reasons why peoplewatch and follow sports.

Reasons for Watching and Following Sports

There is a growing body of research that has examined the reasons people watch and follow sports(Kahle, Kambara, & Rose, 1996; Kolbe & James, 2000; Milne & McDonald, 1999; Trail & James,2001; Wann, 1995). Much of the work has focused on identifying the reasons (motives) thought toinfluence an individual's general interest in sports and developing instruments to measure themotives of sport fans. Wann (1995), Kahle, Kambara, and Rose (1996), Milne and McDonald (1999)and Trail and James (2001) developed scales to measure the underlying motivations of sports fans.Wann (1995) developed the Sport Fan Motivation Scale (SFMS) based on the existing conceptualliterature within sport sociology (Sloan, 1989; Zillmann, Bryant, & Sapolsky, 1989; Zillmann &Paulus, 1993). Milne and McDonald developed an instrument to measure spectator and participantmotives based on the work of Sloan (1989) and Maslow (1943), and Kahle et al. proposed a scalebased on Kelman's (1958) functional theory of attitudinal influence. These efforts contributed to ourunderstanding of sport consumer motives, but an examination of the three scales revealed variouspsychometric limitations (Trail & James, 2001).

Compared to previous instruments, the Motivation Scale for Sport Consumption (MSSC) has beenshown to accurately and reliably measure the motives of sport consumers (Trail & James, 2001). TheMSSC was developed from a review of the sport sociology literature (Sloan, 1989; Zillmann et al.,1989; Zillmann & Paulus, 1993) and from an evaluation of the scales proposed by Wann (1995),Milne and McDonald (1999), and Kahle et al. (1996). The MSSC provides an assessment of ninemotives: achievement, acquisition of knowledge, aesthetics, drama/eustress, escape, family, physicalattractiveness of participants, the quality of the physical skill of the participants, and socialinteraction.

Across the research that has examined sport fans in general and the emerging work on the motivesof sport fans, there has been little attention given to studying the similarities and differencesbetween male and female sport fans. Dietz-Uhler, Harrick, End, and Jacquemotte (2000) noted thatfemales may be just as likely as males to be to sport fans based on the increasing female fan base forprofessional sports teams, and Frank (2000) reported that there has been an increase in female fansages 35 and over for twelve major sports. With the increasing female fan base, and the growth ofwomen's professional sports, it is important to examine the similarities and differences betweenmale and female sport fans.

Research on Male and Female Sport Fans

Dietz-Uhler et al. (2000) found that little researchhas examined the similarities and differencesbetween male and female sport fans. The notableexceptions were the works conducted by Gantz(1981) and Gantz and Wenner (1991, 1995) whichfocused on the television sports viewing experiencesof males and females, and examined televisionviewing behavior and reasons for watching sports ontelevision. Other works cited by Dietz et al. dealtwith media coverage for male and female athletes

(Duncan, Messner, & Williams, 1990) and the media portrayal of females in sports (Kane &Greendorfer, 1994).

Earlier work by Armstrong (1999) examined the profile of consumers for a professional women'sbasketball team and found that females made up 70% of those attending games. The only

assessment of gender similarities and differences by Armstrong dealt with factors influencingattendance. The most influential reason for attending a game for females and males was being a fanof women's basketball; females also reported that they attended games to see specific players, whilemales reported attending to be entertained and to share the experience with their family. It isunclear, however, why the particular factors thought to influence attendance were chosen, or wherethe items came from.

Dietz-Uhler et al. (2000) examined whether males andfemales were equally likely to be sport fans, whether maleswould be more likely than females to engage in traditional,masculine sport behavior, and if reasons for being a sportfan differed for males and females. Results indicated thatmales and females were equally likely to report being sportfans, that males spent more time discussing sports withsomeone, watching sports on television, had a greater

interest in sports, and possessed more knowledge of sports. One exception to the behavioraldifferences was that males and females reported spending equal amounts of time attending sportingevents. An open-ended question was used to ascertain reasons for being a sports fan. Findingssuggested that females seemed more likely to be a sport fan for social reasons, which includedattending games, enjoyment of cheering, and enjoying watching sports with friends and family.Males reported being a sports fan because they played sports, enjoyed sports in general, a ndenjoyed learning about sports.

The findings reported by Dietz-Uhler et al. (2000) provide some insight into the similarities anddifferences between female and male sport fans. At the same time, several questions emerged thatbear further investigation. First, as noted by Dietz-Uhler et al. the study did not examine whethermales and females were fans of a specific sport, which may be important for determining "the typesof sport fan behaviors one exhibits, the type of sport knowledge one possesses, and the motivationsfor being a fan" (p. 228). Second, with the growth of women's sports it is important to examine thesimilarities and differences between fans of the same sport played by male versus female athletes tobetter understand the gendered nature of sports fanship which could prove vital to the continuedsuccess of women's sports. The primary purpose of the current study was to extend the study ofsport fans by examining whether females and males differed in their motives for being fans of aspecific sports team. A secondary purpose of the study was to examine whether the motives offemale and male fans of the same sport (college basketball) played by male versus female athleteswere similar or different.

Two hypotheses were developed based on the previous research with female and male sport fans:

Hypothesis 1: Female and male consumers will be equally likely to report being sport fans in generaland fans of women's or men's basketball teams.

This hypothesis was based on the findings of Dietz-Uhler et al. that females and males were equallylikely to report being sport fans.

Hypothesis 2: There will be a significant difference between the motives that influence females andmales to be fans of a specific team.

The second hypothesis examined motives from the MSSC (Trail & James, 2001). In terms of specific

motives, the preliminary findings of Dietz-Uhler et al. suggest that females would rate socialinteraction, spending time with family, and aesthetics higher than males. Males were expected torate achievement, empathy, knowledge, action, drama, and physical skill higher than females basedon a greater interest in playing, and learning about sports, and the importance of sport as anidentity for males (Dietz-Uhler et al., 2000). It was not clear what difference, if any would be foundfor escape.

Since the study represented a first attempt to compare the motives of sport fans for men's andwomen's sports, it was unclear whether there would be differences in the reasons sport fans enjoyedthe respective games. Accordingly, a research question was included to guide the comparison ofmen's and women's basketball.

Method

Research Question 1: Would fans of women's basketball and fans of men's basketball differ in regardto the reasons influencing their enjoyment of the respective sports?

Participants

A two-stage process was used to collect information from people attending women's and men'scollege basketball games at a large Midwestern university. In the first stage, twelve trainedvolunteers assigned to different seating sections in the arena randomly collected names andaddresses from individuals at two men's and two women's basketball games that expressed awillingness to participate in the study. A list of random numbers was utilized to select row and seatnumbers. Following a prepared script, the volunteers approached individuals prior to the beginningof a game, explained the project, and asked if they would be willing to participate. A total of 1200names and addresses were collected, six hundred from those attending two women's games and 600from those attending two men's games. The sample size was based on criteria proposed by Krejcieand Morgan (1970).

In stage two, a letter explaining the project and a questionnaire were mailed to those agreeing toparticipate. The packages were mailed the day after the respective game. Three hundred andeighteen useable surveys were received from those attending the women's games (53% responserate), and 316 useable surveys were received from those attending the men's games (53% responserate).

Procedure

Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire to assess whether they were fans of sport ingeneral and fans of the women's or men's basketball teams specifically, and their reasons forfollowing the respective teams. Individual items were distributed throughout the survey to reduceorder and other biases. Those responding were also asked to provide demographic information (age,sex, level of education completed, household income, race, and marital status) so that a profile ofpeople attending men's and women's college basketball games could be developed.

Dietz-Uhler et al. proposed that the definition of a sport fan should be based on an individual'sperception of themselves as a sport fan. Participants were asked to rate themselves as fans of sportin general and the respective basketball teams using two nine-point scales (1 = Not a fan at all, 5 =Loyal fan, and 9 Extremely loyal fan). Research has shown that people vary in their level ofidentification with sport teams (e.g., Wann & Branscombe, 1993, 1995; Warm & Schrader, 1996); itis just as likely that people vary in terms of how strongly they view themselves as fans. The current

study sought to ascertain whether there were differences in the degree to which females and malesthought of themselves as sport fans.

The current study included eight of the nine factors from the MSSC to assess reasons for being a fanof a specific sports team (see Table 2 for a listing of the factors and individual items). Officials at theuniversity asked that the Physical Attraction items not be used, so this factor was omitted. To bettermeasure the motivations relative to a specific sports team, the wording of the MSSC items wasaltered to include either the name of the team or the sport (basketball). For example, the firstAchievement item, "I feel like I have won when the team wins," was altered to read, "I feel like Ihave won when the team name win." The first Escape item, "Games provide an escape for me frommy day-to-day activities," was changed to, "Basketball games represent an escape for me from myday-to-day activities."

Two additional factors developed by the authors, Empathy and Action, were also included in thequestionnaire. The Achievement factor measures whether there is a positive emotional associationwith a team that wins or does well. If a person is truly a fan and has an emotional connection to ateam, research suggests that s/he should feel proud when the team plays well and engage in aBIRGing (basking in reflected glory) process (Cialdini, Borden, Thorne, Walker, Freeman, & Sloan,1976; Sloan, 1989) as a tactic for enhancing self-esteem. Research has also found that if a persondoes not have a strong personal connection (identification) with a team, s/he would likely decreasehis/her association with a team that performs poorly (Wann, 1993; Wann & Branscombe, 1990). Theprocess of decreasing association is referred to as cutting off reflected failure (CORFing).

If associating with a team is an important motive for enhancing self-esteem, feeling proud when ateam plays well only represents one dimension of the mental association. As noted in previousresearch, individuals with a strong connection to a team do not dissociate themselves when the teamplays poorly (Wann, 1993; Wann & Branscombe, 1990); these individuals maintain their associationsuggesting that they experience some level of frustration, or become upset, when a team playspoorly. Three items were developed by the authors to measure whether an individual shared in thedisappointment of a lost or poorly played game (Empathy), to assess more fully enhancement of self-esteem as a sport consumer motive.

The final factor included in the questionnaire was Action, the extent to which an individual consumesa sport because of the action associated with the sport. Drama measures the importance of thesuspense and uncertainty of outcome associated with sport. Action was included to measure whetherthe desire for stimulation was derived from the speed and pace of games, not just the suspense oruncertainty of outcome. The ten factors were each represented by three items; participants rated theitems on seven-point scales with 1 representing Strongly Disagree and 7 indicating Strongly Agree.

Results

Participant Characteristics

The individuals recruited from the men's games were primarily male (68%), 50% were between 40and 59 years old, married (73%), Caucasian (97%), and most respondents were well educated (i.e.,87% had completed at least an undergraduate degree). Those recruited from the women's gameswere primarily female (58%), 51% were between 40 and 59 years old, married (73%), Caucasian(98%), and well educated (i.e., 80% had completed at least an undergraduate degree).

Overall Difference Tests

A multivariate GLM was used to assess whether there were significant differences between femalesand males self-report measures of being sport fans in general, fans of the specific basketball teams,motives for following the specific teams, and in motives for following women's versus men'sbasketball. Results indicated that there were significant differences by sex of respondent([LAMBDA]=.862, F(13,6l8)=7.605, p<.00l), sport (men's versus women's basketball)([LAMBDA]=.957, F(l3,618)=2.136, p<.00l), and the interaction of sex of respondent and sport([LAMBDA]=.963, F(13,618)=l.8l9, p<.05). Specific findings relative to the fan ratings andrespondent motives are discussed below. (The univariate F-statistics reported below were generatedas part of the MANOVA procedure.)

Sport Fan Ratings

Sports in General. The frequency and percentage of responses for the participants' ratings ofthemselves as a fan of sports in general are reported in Table 1. The distribution of responses wasutilized to characterize participants as not being a fan of sports at all (Not a fan, rating of 1-4), beinga loyal sports fan (Loyal fan, rating of 5 or 6), or having a strong loyalty to sports in general (Strongloyalty, rating of 7-9). Females reported that they were fans of sport in general (M=6.46), but malesrated themselves more highly as sport fans (M=7.13)(F=22.243, p<.0l). A cross-tabulation of theresponses by sex of the participant clarified that a higher percentage of males reported a Strongloyalty to sports while a higher percentage of females reported being a Loyal sport fan or Not a fanat all.

Specific Team. The frequency and percentage of responses for the participants' ratings ofthemselves as fans of the men's and women's basketball teams are reported in Table 1. Theparticipants were characterized as Not a fan, a Loyal fan, or having Strong loyalty to the respectiveteams. There was a significant difference in the average rating as a fan of a specific basketball team(F=5.868, p<.05). Males (M=7.27) rated themselves more highly as fans of a specific team relativeto females (M=6.92), though both groups reported being fans of the respective teams. Among thoseattending the men's basketball games, a higher percentage of males reported Strong loyalty whilemore females reported being Not a fan at all or being a Loyal fan. A similar pattern was foundamong fans of the women's basketball team with one exception; a higher percentage of malesreported that they were not fans of the team.

The findings relative to the sport fan ratings do not support the first hypothesis. Males and femalesdid report being fans of sport in general and of the specific teams, but there was a significantdifference between the ratings. It is also important to note that while females reported being fans ofsport in general, the percentage of females rating themselves as having Strong loyalty was higherfor the specific teams than sports in general. The results suggest that females may think ofthemselves as fans of specific teams rather than general sports fans.

Sport Fan Motives

Before testing whether there were differences between motives influencing female and male sportfans, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was computed using the RAMONA Covariance StructureModeling (CSM) technique (available in the SYSTAT 9.0 (1999) statistical package) to verify theinternal consistency and the construct validity of the sport consumption motives. The results of theCFA (reported in Table 2) indicated that nine of the factors showed adequate reliability and validity.Knowledge, Social Interaction, Family, and Drama each had one item that loaded below therecommended .70 level (Fornell & Larcker, 1981). The Cronbach's alpha scores and the averagevariance extracted for the factors indicated, however, that the dimensions were suitable formeasuring the sport consumption motives (see Table 2). The item loadings, Cronbach's alpha scores,and the AVE scores for the Physical Skill factor did not demonstrate acceptable levels of reliabilityand validity (see Table 2). Consequently, Physical Skill w as not included in the data analysis.

The data from the respondents were analyzed to determine whether there were overall differencesbetween the sex of participants and the sport consumption motives. Results are reported in Table 3.No significant difference was found on the three motives rated the highest by females. The Action inthe game of basketball, the opportunity to Escape from one's daily routine, and the Drama of gameswere the motives rated most highly by females (M=5.87, M=5.70, and M=5.35 respectively). Asignificant difference was found on five of the motives (Achievement, Aesthetics, Knowledge,Empathy, and Family). The results reported in Table 3 indicate that males (M=5.47) more thanfemales (M=5.30) desired to be associated with a successful team, appreciated the natural beauty inthe game of basketball (M=5.55 and M=5.22 respectively), and enjoyed the games in part becauseof their knowledge of basketball (M=5.35 and M=4.92 respectively). Females (M=3.84) disagreed

with the idea that they felt upset when a team lost or played poorly while males (M=4.52) wereneutral toward the idea. Both males and females disagreed with the idea that they enjoyedbasketball because it provided opportunities to be with family, with females expressing strongerdisagreement (M=3.24 and M=3.70 respectively). Social interaction was not an important motive forfemales or males.

Men's Versus Women's Basketball. Only one significant difference was found among the motives forenjoying men's versus women's basketball. Fans of women's basketball reported that they enjoyedthe natural beauty and grace of basketball to a greater extent than fans of men's basketball (M=5.44and M=5.26 respectively). Enjoyment of the aesthetic value of women's basketball compared tomen's basketball was further clarified through the analysis of the sport by sex of participantinteraction.

Sport x Sex of Participant. Each of the motives was examined to ascertain whether there was asignificant interaction between sport and sex of participant. The only significant interaction found([LAMBDA]=.963, F(13,618)=1.819, p<.05) was for Aesthetics. Females reported a greaterappreciation for the aesthetics of women's basketball games (M=5.37) than the aesthetic value ofmen's games (M=4.94). There was no difference in the aesthetic appreciation of men's and women'sbasketball among males. The findings relative to the sport consumption motivations provide partialsupport for the second hypothesis and also some support for the idea that women's basketballrepresents a purer or more aesthetically pleasing form of the game, particularly for femalebasketball fans.

Discussion

The study sought to examine whether females and males were equally likely to be fans of sport ingeneral and fans of specific teams, and to ascertain whether there were similarities and differencesamong the sport consumption motivations of female and male sport fans. The nine-point scaleemployed in the current study went beyond comparing the number of respondents and allowed foran assessment of the degree to which females and males thought of themselves as fans. The firsthypothesis, proposing that there would be no difference in the sport fan ratings for females andmales, was not supported. Females did report being sport fans, consistent with earlier findings, buta higher percentage of males reported a stronger connection to sports in general. Greater similaritywas found between females and males relative to being fans of a specific team; females reported astronger connection to a specific team than to sport in general.

The findings provide support for the idea that while females enjoy sports, males enjoy and alsoderive an important social identity (Tajfel & Turner, 1986) from sport. The higher ratings on theAchievement (sharing in a team's success), Empathy (feeling the disappointment of a loss or poorplay), and Knowledge (wanting to know the technical aspects and strategy of a sport) measuresamong males suggests that sports do provide an important identity not shared by females.Responses in the current study indicated that females felt some sense of Achievement when theteam won or played well, but there was no Empathy with the team, and Knowing the strategy andtechnical aspects of basketball were not important to females. Future research should examinewhether females derive a social identity from being a fan of a specific sport or team.

The second hypothesis proposed that there would be significant differences between the sportconsumption motives of female and male sport fans. Males rated each of the motives higher thanfemales, and as expected there was a significant difference relative to Achievement, Empathy, andKnowledge. For the three motives rated most highly by females (Action, Escape, and Drama) therewas no significant difference between sport fans. This finding is important because it suggests to

providers of sporting events themes upon which to develop promotional campaigns to attract femaleand male fans. Inconsistent with earlier findings, females did not rate the opportunity to spend timewith Family or Social Interaction higher than males. Further, females and males disagreed with theidea that basketball games were good opportunities to spend time with family members.

The study included one researchquestion addressing whether fans ofwomen's basketball and fans of men'sbasketball would enjoy the respectivegames for different reasons. It has beenproposed that women's sports have adifferent appeal than men's sports, thatwomen's sports are appealing becausethey reflect a "purer" form of a gameand that women's sports promotefinesse and teamwork (particularlywomen's basketball) (Lopiano, 1997).Among the motives measured, the onlysignificant difference found betweenenjoyment of men's and women'sbasketball was with Aesthetics. Theaesthetic appeal of women's basketballwas rated higher than men's basketball,

but only among female fans. Males appreciated the beauty and gracefulness of basketball regardlessof whether the athletes were male or female, while females found women's basketball moreaesthetically appealing.

One contribution of the current study was distinguishing between being a general sports fan and afan of a specific team. Females reported being sport fans in general, but the pattern of responsesindicated that they had stronger loyalty to a specific team. One implication of this distinction is thatthe study of sport fans, particularly females, should be conducted relative to specific teams in orderto better understand the (a) motives that influence an individual to follow a team, and (b) behaviorsof sport fans. As noted by Diezt-Uhler et al., the sport that an individual is a fan of may influencewhich type of fan behaviors are exhibited.

A second contribution of the study is extending our knowledge of female and male sport fans,especially in the context of women's sports. The study was an initial effort to compare the motives offemale and male sport fans, and to compare the motives of fans of a sport played by male and femaleathletes. It is important to examine the characteristics and motives of female sport fans because theyare growing in numbers. It is important to study the differences between men's and women's sportsto determine whether people are interested in the respective sports for similar or different reasons.

As with any study, several limitations should be noted. The current study examined fans of one sport,college basketball. The sample did include sport fans in general, but the generalizability of theresults beyond college basketball is limited. Additional research should examine other sports todetermine whether there are differences in the self-ratings of males and females as fans of differentsports and as fans of specific teams for different sports. A second weakness of the study is that it didnot include measures of fan behaviors. Future research should include measures of behaviors toascertain whether there are differences not only between males and females, but also among

individuals who rate themselves as loyal fans compared to fans reporting strong loyalty.

The current study was also limited in that it only measured ten motives thought to influence theconsumption of sport. Results suggest that the motives which have been empirically tested byprevious research, which may be thought of as "traditional" motives, are likely the same forconsumer's of men's and women's sports. A key question to address is whether there are othermotives that could provide a better understanding of the reasons why people watch and followsports and specific teams. For example, Armstrong (1999) proposed that supporting women'sbasketball and watching positive female role models may influence attendance at professionalwomen's basketball games. These ideas could also be examined as reasons for being a fan ofwomen's sports and a fan of a specific team.

Another approach to the study of the sport fans would be to examine sport consumer motivesrelative to the level of fandom. Melnick (1989) raised the questions, "Why is a sport fan's behavior sofrequently unreasonable, extravagant, and intemperate? Why the fanaticism?" (p. 170). Findingsfrom the current study suggest that sport fans consume college basketball because they enjoy theaction of games (possibly a type of stress and stimulation seeking) and to escape from the routine ofdaily activities. The results, however, are based on the overall sample. Future research shouldexamine the motives of sport fans based on the level of fandom to ascertain whether the motives ofpeople that do not regard themselves as fans are similar or different than the motives of loyal fansand individuals that rate themselves as having strong loyalty. Further, are the motives of loyal fanssimilar or different than those reporting strong loyalty? Research dealing with different levels offandom could also provide insight int o the intra-personal motives that drive sport consumers tobehave in atypical ways (e.g., spending $50 to sit at the top of a stadium in freezing weather towatch one's favorite team, or leaving work dressed in a nice business suit and going to a hockeygame wearing a team jersey with one's face painted in team colors). As noted, the current study didnot measure behaviors of sport fans; including such measures along with the assessment of sportconsumer motives, based on the reported level of fandom, has the potential to broaden ourunderstanding of human motivation.

The results indicated that there are significant differences between the motives of female and malesport fans, and differences in the extent to which females and males think of themselves as sportfans and fans of specific teams. As interest in sport continues to grow, particularly among females,and with the emergence of more women's professional sports, it is important to continue studyingwhy people watch and follow sports, and the behaviors associated with being a loyal sport fan ingeneral or a fan with strong loyalty to specific team.

Table 1

Sport Fan Ratings - Frequency (Percentage)

Sport in General (a) Not a Loyal Strong Total

fan Fan Loyalty (Mean Rating)

Female 42 79 165 286

(15%) (27%) (58%) (6.46)

Male 23 70 255 348

(7%) (20%) (73%) (7.13)

Specific Team

Men's Basketball

Female 11 20 70 101

(11%) (20%) (70%) (7.02)

Male 12 34 169 215

(6%) (16%) (78%) (7.26)

Women's Basketball

Female 14 52 119 185

(8%) (28%) (64%) (6.83)

Male 13 29 91 133

(10%) (22%) (68%) (7.50)

Note. Not a fan (rating of 1, 2, 3, or 4) Loyal fan (rating of 5 or 6)

Strong loyalty (rating of 7, 8, or 9)

(a)A multivariate GLM indicated that there was a significant difference

between females and males in terms of being sport fans in general and

fans of the specific teams ([LAMBDA]=.862, F(13,618)=7.605, p<.01.

Table 2

Confirmatory Factor Analysis for the Sport Consumer Motivations: Item

Loadings ([beta]), Confidence Intervals (CI), Standard Errors (SE),

t-values (t), Cronbach's Alphas ([alpha]) and Average Variance Explained

(AVE)

Factor and Items (a) [beta] CI SE t

Empathy

When the team name play poorly, .776 .745-.809 .021 37.67

I become irritated.

When the team name don't win, .905 .880-.930 .015 58.92

I get frustrated.

I feel upset when the team name .810 .778-.841 .019 42.65

lose.

Aesthetics

There is a certain natural beauty .829 .798-.860 .019 44.34

to the game of basketball.

I appreciate the beauty inherent in .864 .835-.892 .017 49.91

the game of basketball.

I enjoy the gracefulness associated .745 .708-.782 .023 32.83

with the sport of basketball.

Achievement

I feel like I have won when .778 .739-.816 .023 33.50

the team name win.

I feel a personal sense of .768 .729-.807 .024 32.54

achievement when the team does

well.

I feel proud when the team name .765 .726-.804 .024 32.23

play well.

Escape

Basketball games provide an escape .751 .709-.792 .025 29.82

for me from my day-to-day

activities.

The basketball games provide a .756 .715-.797 .025 30.24

change of pace from what I

regularly do.

Team name basketball games give me .789 .750-.828 .024 33.20

a break from my normal routine.

Action

The continuous action is what I .700 .655-.744 .027 25.89

enjoy the most about basketball.

I like that basketball is a fast- .807 .770-.844 .022 35.91

paced game.

I enjoy seeing a fast-paced game. .727 .685-.769 .026 28.22

Knowledge

I like to know the technical aspects .787 .745-. 829 .027 30.84

of basketball so I can appreciate

the game.

I like to know the rules of .728 .683-.774 .022 26.52

basketball so I can enjoy the game.

I enjoy the game because I .681 .632-.729 .029 23.22

understand the strategy involved in

basketball.

Social Interaction

Interacting with other team name .638 .586-.690 .032 20.18

basketball fans is an important

part of being at a game.

team name basketball games are .707 .658-.755 .029 24.02

great opportunities to socialize

with other people.

I like to talk with other people .831 .787-.875 .027 31.12

sitting near me at basketball

games.

Family

The game provides an opportunity .905 .851-.958 .033 27.75

for me to spend time with my

family.

The game provides an opportunity .700 .646-.754 .033 21.45

for me to spend time with my

children.

The game provides me an opportunity .561 .503-.618 .035 16.00

to spend time with my spouse.

Factor and Items (a) [alpha] AVE

Empathy .86 .69

When the team name play poorly,

I become irritated.

When the team name don't win,

I get frustrated.

I feel upset when the team name

lose.

Aesthetics .85 .66

There is a certain natural beauty

to the game of basketball.

I appreciate the beauty inherent in

the game of basketball.

I enjoy the gracefulness associated

with the sport of basketball.

Achievement .82 .59

I feel like I have won when

the team name win.

I feel a personal sense of

achievement when the team does

well.

I feel proud when the team name

play well.

Escape .84 .59

Basketball games provide an escape

for me from my day-to-day

activities.

The basketball games provide a

change of pace from what I

regularly do.

Team name basketball games give me

a break from my normal routine.

Action .76 .56

The continuous action is what I

enjoy the most about basketball.

I like that basketball is a fast-

paced game.

I enjoy seeing a fast-paced game.

Knowledge .78 .54

I like to know the technical aspects

of basketball so I can appreciate

the game.

I like to know the rules of

basketball so I can enjoy the game.

I enjoy the game because I

understand the strategy involved in

basketball.

Social Interaction .77 .53

Interacting with other team name

basketball fans is an important

part of being at a game.

team name basketball games are

great opportunities to socialize

with other people.

I like to talk with other people

sitting near me at basketball

games.

Family .75 .52

The game provides an opportunity

for me to spend time with my

family.

The game provides an opportunity

for me to spend time with my

children.

The game provides me an opportunity

to spend time with my spouse.

Table 3

A Comparison of Sport Consumption Motives by Sex of Participant: Means

(Standard Deviations), F-statistics, and p-value.

Sex of Participant

Total F

Dimensions (a) Sample Female Male Statistic (b)

Action 5.87 5.88 5.87 .055

(1.12) (.793) (.826)

Escape 5.67 5.64 5.70 .302

(1.04) (1.04) (1.04)

Drama 5.35 5.31 5.37 .237

(1.02) (1.04) (.996)

Achievement 5.39 5.30 5.47 3.958

(1.12) (1.08) (1.16)

Aesthetics 5.40 5.22 5.55 19.837

(1.07) (1.16) (.965)

Knowledge 5.15 4.92 5.35 34.092

(.975) (1.01) (.904)

Social Interaction 4.74 4.69 4.78 1.069

(1.15) (1.15) (1.16)

Empathy 4.21 3.84 4.52 29.975

(1.46) (1.48) (1.37)

Family 3.49 3.24 3.70 6.985

(2.18) (2.25) (2.11)

p

Dimensions (a) value

Action n.s.

Escape n.s.

Drama n.s.

Achievement <.05

Aesthetics <.01

Knowledge <.01

Social Interaction n.s.

Empathy <.01

Family <.01

Note. (a)1 = Strongly Disagree; 7 = Strongly Agree

(b) A multivariate GLM was utilized to assess the difference between sex

of the participant and the sport consunption motives (F = 7.605,

p<.001). The univariate F-statistics reported in the table were produced

by the MANOVA.

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Address Correspondence To: Jeffrey James, Department of Leisure Studies, University of Illinois, 104Huff Hall M/C-584, 1206 S. 4th St., Champaign, Illinois 61820. E-mail:james1@uiuc.edu. Fax: (217)244-1935.

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