Dionisio Leal e Moutinho a Comparative Study of Surfing and Football

A Phenomenological Research Study on Sports Fandomin Portugal: A Comparative Study of Surfing and Football

Pedro DionısioCarmo Leal

Luiz Moutinho

ABSTRACT. The aim of this research is to identify the existence of tribal behaviour in surfing loversand football fans and the impact of this tribalism on the consupmption of brans associated with surfing.The intention is not to focus on tribal relationships between fans and their club or sport, but to identifyto what extent the fan commitement level can impact on preferences toward sponsor brands.

KEYWORDS. Fandom, cult, tribe, tribal brands, surfing, football

INTRODUCTION AND RESEARCHCONTEXT

Over the last century, sport has grown into acultural phenomenon commanding media, aca-demic, and government attention (Holden &Wilde, 2004; Knoppers & Anthonissen, 2005).Sporting events offer a strong emotional valueto consumers and therefore occupy a promi-nent role in their lives, also representing im-portant market potential for sponsors (Green,2005; Lardinot & Le Nagard-Assayag, 2004;Pons, Mourali, & Nyeck, 2006).

In Europe, football has become increasinglypopular. Big events like the Champions Leaguefinal attract an enormous number of fans. Onthe other hand, surfing is currently riding a waveof popularity, reflected in the rising consumptionof surfing-oriented high-fashion clothing and ac-cessories (Booth, 2001). It also continues to at-tract new participants, especially young riders.

Pedro Dionısio is Assistant Professor, Director of Marketing Master Program and Researcher at MRC-ISCTE Business School, Lisbon, Portugal. Carmo Leal is Visiting Professor at GIEM-ISCTE Business School,Lisbon, Portugal. Luiz Moutinho, BA, MA, PhD, FCIM, is Professor of Marketing, University of Glasgow,Scotland, United Kingdom.

Address correspondence to Pedro Dionısio, MRC-ISCTE, Av das Forcas Armadas, Lisbon 1649-026,Portugal. E-mail: [email protected]

Surfing fashion remains popular in the form ofvarious clothing brands (O’Rourke, 2006).

Since the middle of the 20th century, Euro-pean football has attracted important fan com-munities mostly associated with sport clubs. Al-though these communities may be attached tovarious sport forms, most of them relate to foot-ball. In the case of surfing, whose popularity inEurope stems from the 1990s, the great appealand fandom feeling are fundamentally related tothe sport itself, since in surf there are no specificclubs. The behaviors of practitioners and surfsympathizers as well as those of football fansseem to demonstrate tribal behavioral patterns.

In order to analyze these behaviors we chosesurfing and football due to the fact that footballhas historically been the sports modality with thegreatest level of fan attraction. Surfing, on theother hand, is the most popular of the emergentsports, particularly among youth (Booth, 2001).Brands are progressively becoming more aware

Journal of Euromarketing, Vol. 17(3/4), 2008C© 2008 by The Haworth Press. All rights reserved.

doi: 10.1080/10496480802640353 233

234 JOURNAL OF EUROMARKETING

of and attached to these sports in order to profitfrom these communities’ consuming patterns.

Under these circumstances, the final objec-tive of this article was to identify in what waysthis type of tribalism impacts the cognitive andaffective responses of community members re-lated to the brands connected to sports activitiesand, particularly, those that sponsor football andsurfing.

We did not intend to perceive or analyze be-havioral patterns regarding either specific foot-ball club brands or surfing as a sport but ratherto understand whether the fandom of these com-munities really impacts the knowledge and pref-erence of sponsor brands. With this objective inmind, our goal was to identify in what way thebehaviors of members of the football and surfcommunities allows for the conceptualization offan typologies and how these different types offans associate with each other. In addition, wedesired to filter this information through the levelof affinity shown by each group for their sport,based on the need of the fan for social recogni-tion, socialization, and attachment to the sym-bolism the practice of these sports represents.

This article is organized as follows: First, thetheoretical background supporting our researchquestions is discussed. Second, the results of thefocus groups that took place with the partici-pation of football and surf fans are presented.After analysing the implications of the findings,the article ends with the discussion of limita-tions of this work and suggestions for furtherresearch.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

The Meaning of Cult in Sports Fandom

One of the most telling aspects of being afan is the emotional involvement a person haswith his team or sport. Watching sports is oneof the most passionate and intense of human en-deavors, utterly dominating affect and cognition(Capella, 2001). But can we call it a cult?

A cult is a religious group,1 often living to-gether, whose beliefs are considered extreme orstrange by many people; it typically refers to acohesive social group devoted to beliefs or prac-

tices that the surrounding population considersto be outside the mainstream. And why do peo-ple join cults? Why do people become devotedto certain brands? It is because the group theyjoin tends to make them feel at ease by beingamong “like others.” Thus, one of the most im-portant tasks of cults and cult-like brands is thatthey establish their difference (Atkin, 2004).

Upon first glance it would normally be as-sumed that there is little, if any, relationship be-tween sport and cults. However, upon furtheranalysis it can be realized that both sport andreligious cults employ intricate rituals.

Novak (1995) argues that sport is, somehow,a religion; sports flow outward into action froma deep natural impulse that is radically religious:an impulse of freedom, respect for ritual limits,a zest for symbolic meaning, and a longing forperfection. The athlete may of course be pagan,but sports are, as it were, natural religions. Sportsalso have unique significant religious terminol-ogy as a means of expressing their sincerity, fer-vor, and seriousness. If sports can bring theiradvocates to an experience expressed througha formal series of public and private rituals re-quiring a symbolic language and space deemedsacred, then it is both proper and necessary tocall sport itself a religion (Prebish, 1984).

Percy and Taylor (1991) presented a compara-tive study of trends using football as a metaphorfor religion—relationship between rituals, per-formance, and expectations of crowds. Somesports supporters establish rituals involving theclothing they wear, the food they eat, friendswith whom they gather, etc. The objects becomesacred through their involvement in the ritual orassociation with the group. Brody (1979) givesan analytic emphasis on symbols but also de-tails the utility of the sociology of religion. Bothparticipants and spectators are seen to symbol-ize, to hold beliefs, and to support the generalcontention that sport is at least quasi-religious innature.

The essence of demand for a sport is fan inter-est (Borland & MacDonald, 2003). Fandom al-lows individuals to be a part of the “game” with-out requiring any special skills (Branscombe,Nyla, & Wann, 1991). Fandom still offers suchsocial benefits as feelings of camaraderie, com-munity, and solidarity, as well as enhanced

Dionısio, Leal, and Moutinho 235

social prestige and self-esteem (Chen, 2005;Neale & Funk, 2005; Zillmann, Bryant, & Sapol-sky, 1989). Sports sympathizers need not neces-sarily be fans. The difference between a fan anda sympathizer seems to depend on the degree ofpassion. Anderson (1979) notes that a fan can bedefined as an ardent devotee of a sport or as anindividual possessed frequently by an excessiveenthusiasm for a particular sport. Jones (1997)suggests that fans are more intense and devotepart of every day to the sport. Fandom has alsobeen defined as an affiliation in which a greatdeal of emotional significance and value are de-rived from group membership (Hirt, Zillmann,Erickson, & Kennedy, 1992).

One of the most frequently used criteria forunderstanding these distinct fandom levels is theconcept of commitment.2 Many researchers havesuggested different typologies of fans, recog-nizing a particular behavior for each segment.Hunt, Bristol, and Bashaw (1999) present con-cepts of temporary, local, fanatical, and dys-functional fans; Tapp and Clowes (2002) dis-tinguish between fanatics, regular, and casualsupporters; and Stewart and Smith (1997) pre-fer terms like aficionado, passionate partisan,champ follower, and reclusive partner. What-ever the names given, one of the most frequentlyused criteria for understanding these distinct fan-dom levels is the concept of commitment. Sportcommitment is defined as a psychological staterepresenting the desire to continue sport partici-pation (Scanlan, Carpenter, Schmidt, Simons, &Keeler, 1993). Chen (2005) suggests that fans’commitment to the sport or the team is reflectedthrough their attendance at every event and par-ticipation in the sport activities. Pimentel andReynolds (2004) note that ultimate fans are thosewho are affectively committed to the sport andengage proactively in sustained behaviors. Wannand Pierce (2003) propose that, because the re-actions of sport fans are so often a function oftheir level of commitment and identification withthe sport, the accurate measurement of identifi-cation/commitment is of utmost importance tosport psychologists and marketers. Haggerty andDenomme (1991), on the other hand, have iden-tified eight variables that jointly explain 35% ofthe variance in the commitment of sports mem-ber. They suggest, for example, that males ex-

press more commitment than females. The do-main of sports and physical activity has tradition-ally been considered as appropriate for men andnot compatible with the feminine role (Klein,1990; Koivula, 2005).

Conversely, instead of treating commitmentas a binary variable, Malhotra and Galletta(2003) argue that commitment can be repre-sented more appropriately through a continuum,ranging from negligible or partial commitmentto absolute commitment. Richardson (2004) andWann and Grieve (2005) remark that fans highlyidentified with a sport display a far greaterpropensity toward a self-serving bias. For Madri-gal (2002), most committed fans are less inclinedto be objective about the sports’ likely futuresuccess and Pimentel and Reynolds (2004) alsonote that fans with this higher identification withthe team or the sport are more likely to ascribepositive attributes to their personal in-group andnegative attributes to the out-group.

Fandom and its Relationship WithAffiliation

What determines group affiliation? Accord-ing to the Cambridge Dictionary, affiliating3

with a cause or to a group is to become partof or form a close relationship with another,usually larger, group or organization. Affiliationis motivated by social recognition, a desire forpositive distinctiveness from other social groups(Madrigal, 2002). Individuals strive to maintainor enhance a positive social identity by affiliatingthemselves with attractive social groups (Fisher& Wakefield, 1998). In affiliation, one importantpart of the identification process with the groupincludes rituals like gathering, pilgrimages, andviewing the sport as a part of one’s self-identity.The mechanism of role adoption is a constituentof identity reinforcement or of social recognitionin sport. The social-recognition facet of fandomis particularly relevant in the context of an activ-ity more intensely associated with aspirationallife styles.

Passion, ecstasy, and a sense of communitycan be experienced through being a sympathizerof a sport. Tajfel (1982) argues that individualsare unable to form self-images in the absence ofa social identity derived from group affiliations.


In the context of affiliation, one important partof the identification process with the group com-prises rituals such as collecting memorabilia, go-ing on pilgrimages, and viewing the sport as apart of one’s self-identity. Consuming certainbrands also becomes part of the integration.

Socialization leads the individual to attributedesirable group characteristics to oneself and toassume a greater similarity with other groupmembers (Fisher & Wakefield, 1998). Kolbeand James (2003) suggest that socialization con-tributed significantly to the understanding of fanloyalty and associative behavior. According toRichardson (2004), in a socialization process afan acquires a kind of cultural capital from thegroup as a means of preserving distinctions—notonly between classes but also between categoriesof fans. Cultural capital is knowledge of howto consume the product of sport, through spe-cialized knowledge, vocabulary, clothing, andrituals.

Past research demonstrates the positive effectof identification on sports fans. For example,using a sports context, Donavan, Carlson, andZimmerman (2005) investigated some disposi-tional antecedents of identification. Their find-ings showed that the basic personality traits ofextraversion, agreeability, and need for arousalpositively affect the need for affiliation, whichin turn positively influences the level of identi-fication with a given sport. Curry and Weaner(1987) present some measurement proceduresfor studying sport identity and demonstrate theutility of these procedures by testing similar hy-potheses on religious role behavior.

Weiss (2001) reviewed role analysis and sym-bolic interactions for their potential to further de-velop this dimension of sport’s place in modernsocieties. In the cases of both surfing and foot-ball, after being categorized as a group member,individuals achieve positive self-esteem by pos-itively differentiating their own group in com-parison with an “out-group,” with respect tosome valued dimension (Tajfel & Turner, 1986).Symbolism is the applied use of any iconicrepresentations (symbols) that carry specificconventional meanings. The utilization of cultsymbolism is inherent to fan groups—productsbecome social tools serving as means of commu-nication between the individual and his signifi-

cant references (Banister & Hogg, 2004). Sportis also a basis of distinction and reflects par-ticular taste signifiers (McGillivray, Fearn, &McIntosh, 2005).

Unequivocally placed within the context ofsociety’s significant symbols, sports impact anindividual’s self-perception, self-esteem, andself-worth. In other words, sport has a vital so-cial dimension, combining self-recognition withsocial recognition and symbolism.

Since consumption emerges as the linkingvalue surrounding a common passion in a tribe,will different fan typologies with distinct levelsof associative behavior triggered by affiliationreveal different consumption behaviors towardbrands?

Sports Fans’ Tribal Consumption

Brands are above the products; their valuecomes from the capacity to conquer an exclu-sive significance in the mind of potential con-sumers. This approach reinforces the relevanceof some brand concepts to consumer behavior asis the case of brand image developed from theidentity signals of the brand, as well as from itsmarketing mix. This is a concept of receptor asKapferer (1998) remarks. Brands are also basedon mental elaboration (Kapferer 1995). Whenbuying a certain brand, the consumer projectshis self-image. Moreover, brands are value sys-tems as well. Sheth, Newman, and Gross (1991)propose that we select brands in order to satisfyspecific values; by preferring a specific brandand not others of the same category consumersestablish a correspondence between brand per-sonality and the one they would like to project toothers. As Aaker (1996) points out, brand per-sonality guides brand communication and addsvalue to the brand.

On the other hand, some brands establish arelationship with their consumers; sometimes acult relationship that also signals the kind of per-son that consumes the brand. For the above rea-sons, in the construction of communities, brandsdo play a vital role, since they can be the linkamong the members of the group. Muniz andO’Guinn (2001) have approached the concept ofbrand community by considering it as a com-mon understanding of a shared identity. They


defend the existence of three major componentsin brand communities: a shared consciousness,rituals, and a sense of responsibility that maylead their members to recruit other membersfor the community. McAlexander, Schouten, andKoenig (2002) agree with the view of Munizand O’Guinn but expand the concept to in-clude the relationships between customers andthe product, the company, and even among cus-tomers. They also distinguish between commu-nities whose primary bases of identification arebrands and those who mostly share consump-tion activities. The authors stress that these com-munities have been observed to share meaning-ful consumption experiences. Rowley, Kupiec-Teahan, and Leening (2007) note that the mem-bers of the tribe may be willing to participatein the cocreation of the brands that support thecommunity and Muniz and Schau (2005) ac-knowledge that rituals, traditions, and behavioralexpectations characterize brand communities.

Burgh-Woodhaman and Brace-Govan (2007)used the surfing community to identify the differ-ence among the concepts of subculture of con-sumption and brand communities, concludingthat though they share certain common traits,they have distinct meanings. One of the waysof expressing the “we-ness” of a community isthrough consumption. It seems, then, reasonableto investigate to what extent the passion for thesport transfers to these linked brands throughthe acceptance and preference for these brands.The question is will the fans understand thatthese supporting and sponsor brands are emo-tionally linked to the surfing and football sportor are they seen as intrusive and opportunisticsupporters?

Consumers are supposed to value the goodsand services that, through their linking value,permit and support social interaction of the com-munal type (Cova & Cova, 2002). Each con-sumer becomes “an illusion consumer . . . buysimages not products” (Elliot, 1999). This trendmay take the form of a rejection of virtual sat-isfaction through purchasing or search for directsatisfaction through emotion shared with others,not through consuming with them but throughbeing with them Cova (1997).

We cultivate and preserve our identitiesvia symbolic use of possessions (Kleine &

Kleine, 1999). Postmodern researchers believethat image does not represent the product; it’sthe product that represents the image (Cova,1999). As suggested by Venkatesh, Sherry,and Firat (1993), the objectivity gives way tosymbolization—consumption becomes produc-tion (Christensen, Torp, & Firat, 2005) and brandloyalty only exists while brands project attractiveimages for consumers’ momentary experiences(Thompson, 1997).

Belk and Tumbat (2005) introduce the notionof “brand cult” to better understand the extremebrand-focused devotion. The main difference isthat in brand cults the product dominates thepersonalities of the group members, whereas insports the play and the players are typically moreimportant than club merchandise. Besides thesimilarities that may exist between tribal rela-tionships among neo-tribe members and mem-bers of brand communities, the fact is that bothare symbolically constructed and based on a sys-tem of values, norms, and codes—mental con-structs that allow group members to formulatetheir own meaning. Community members createextended social networks that provide positivesocial stimulation and ongoing emotional sup-port (Caldwell & Henry, 2005). This link mayor may not lead to a shared acceptance and con-sumption of other brands linked with the ma-jor cult brand—surfing itself and a football clubbrand in this case.

Conceptual Model Explanation

The main purpose of this study is to identifythe linkage of sport consumption association andtribal behavior. It must be stressed that the ob-jective is not to analyze the relationships thattribe members have with the sports activity butto focus on the brands that, somehow, help andsupport surfing and football.

According to the knowledge of fan behav-ior and, particularly in the case of the sportsfans, the authors hypothesize that surfer’s be-haviors are significantly impacted by the culttraces that characterize the way surf practition-ers see surfing as a way of living. Moreover, thestrength of this fandom may be able to deter-mine the strength of the link members have withbrands that are part of the surfing universe, either


because they sponsor sports competitions or pro-duce surfing equipment or just because they usesurf symbolism in their marketing strategy toapproach their targets.

Given the distinct types of surfers—rangingfrom sympathizers, with little or even no experi-ence in surf, to the most devoted fans that do notlose an opportunity to catch the waves and also inthe case of football fans—some questions can beposed: Do different levels of fandom, and theirconsequent distinct behaviors, relate in the sameway to surf brands? Is there a difference betweenpractitioners and sympathizers in regard to theknowledge and to the liking and consumption ofthese brands?

looseness-1 A conceptual model has been de-veloped and applied to the cases of surfing andfootball fans, in order to identify fan typologies,their behavioral patterns, and, as a consequence,associative behavior and its relationship with theconsumption of tribal brands. Figure 1 depictsthe constructs of the research model. The firstcomponents of our model are sports fandom andcult. Fandom experience is expressed througha formal series of public and private rituals re-quiring a symbolic language and space deemedsacred by its worshipers—a religion, accordingto Prebish (1984). Chun, Gentry, and McGinnis(2003) conceptualize fan ritualization as a pro-cess through which an individual acquires sportsfandom. Atkin (2004) argues that cult brandsneed to “telegraph” their differences, whereasBrody (1979) suggests that both practition-ers and sympathizers are seen as symbolizingsomething.

Surf and football fans develop a cultic feelingwith their sports that makes them consider somesurf and football symbols and some beaches orstadia in particular as sacred places. The inten-sity of this cultishness in surf and football relatesto the degree of commitment that the fan has withhis sport on a daily basis. Thus, the first researchproposition states:

RP 1: With their sport or club, sport fanshave a kind of cult that is similar to that ofmembers of a religious cult in its manifes-tations.

FIGURE 1. Fandom and its Relationship WithTribal Brands

Regarding the relationship between fan be-havior and demographic profile, some sociode-mographic variables (i.e., age, gender, income,and occupation) have been found to influencesport consumption (Armstrong & Peretto Stratta,2004). Boys are traditionally socialized intosports at a young age through both parental in-fluences and marketing means (Jacobson, 2003).Furthermore, sports can be perceived as a realmof masculinity (Klein, 1990). Wann and Wad-dill (2003) conclude that masculinity is the mostpowerful predictor of motivation to sport. Pi-mentel and Reynolds (2004) suggest that ulti-mate fans are those who are committed to thesport. In order to acknowledge the transcendentbehavior of their commitment, the authors usethe term devoted fans.

As explained before, many researchers haveproposed fan typologies, including Hunt et al.(1999) or Tapp and Clowes (2002). Althoughthe theories differ in some ways, the underly-ing concept is similar—they have to do withpassion and commitment. Accordingly, since


commitment appears to be the critical factor forunderstanding the distinct behavioral patterns offans, our second research proposition is:

RP 2: Among sports/club fans, it is possibleto differentiate between distinct fan typeswith distinct behavioural patterns and be-liefs that vary according to the level of fancommitment to the sport/club.

The third component of this research modeldeals with affiliation, which entails a socialrecognition of members as sport fans. This so-cial classification defines the member within thesocial environment (Ashforth & Mael, 1989),labeling him either as having values that are co-herent with theirs or with which he can identify.Group affiliation, according to Madrigal (2002),is motivated by a desire for positive distinctive-ness from other social groups. Jacobson (2003)argues that a motivation to affiliate with thegroup may be due to the fact that this groupprovides its members with a sense of commu-nity. Identity of community members has beenrecognized as an important approach to the studyof role-related behavior, including sports behav-ior (Curry & Weaner, 1987). Bloch, Black, andLichtenstein (1989) examined the involvementmany fans have with sports equipment havingidentified several outcomes of this involvementsuch as product spending levels.

Richardson (2004) refers to this process ofsocialization as obtaining cultural capital, oth-erwise defined as the knowledge of how to con-sume sports. This author also remarks that high-identification fans display a far greater propen-sity for self-serving bias. Most committed fansalso have higher expectations (Madrigal, 2002)and strong emotional reactions during the event.In addition to socialization, individuals could be-come fans as a way of achieving group member-ship or becoming part of a collective unit.

The utilization of cult symbolism is inherentto fan groups. Surfing seems to be considered asan adventurous and elite way of living. In ad-dition, surfing is a symbol of important positivequalities: courage, stamina, and a love of nature.Football fans use the colors and logos of theirclub on a daily basis in order to express theiraffiliation and commitment.

Fans of different types do not participate infan activities with the same level of intensity.Sometimes, fans assume an extreme fanaticism,as noted by Thorne and Bruner (2006). However,as Gardner (1997) remarks, one man’s religionis another man’s fanaticism. Since affiliation im-pacts on fans’ associative behaviors because ofthe need to socialize, to be socially recognized,and also in terms of the symbolism inherent tothe sport, our third research proposition is:

RP 3: Sports fan associative behaviors areinfluenced by affiliation as expressed by:

1. affiliation through the desire for socialrecognition;

2. affiliation through the desire for socializa-tion;

3. affiliation through the impact of the club’sor sport’s symbolism.

The last element of the research model, a di-rect consequence of affiliation, is some formof tribal behavior, expressed in the awarenessand preference for tribal brands. Behavioral pat-terns constitute a kind of tribalism affecting theconsumption of brands, since neo-tribes usuallyaffirm their tribal nature through consumption.These postmodern communities can be held to-gether through shared emotions, lifestyles, andconsumption practices (Cova, 1997). As sug-gested by Venkatesh et al. (1993), postmodernindividuals do not perceive consumption andproduction as separate processes, showing in-stead a clear propensity to act like coproducers.Consumption becomes production, a point madeby Christensen et al. (2005).

On the other hand, if different types of surffans show distinct behavioral patterns, it shouldbe possible that they also have different relation-ships with the brands that are associated withsurfing and football. Under this assumption, thisstudy intends to discover any significant differ-ences between fan types and their level of spon-sorship awareness and consumption of brands.

In surfing, it is possible to identify brandsclearly associated with the sport. These aremostly brands with surfing product lines and aresomehow present in the surfer’s life, whether apractitioner or not. In football, each major club


TABLE 1. Cult and Fandom

Major Opinions From Surfing Fans Major Opinions from Football Fans

Devoted Fans Organized SummarySympathizers Practitioners Fans in Claques Assessment

Sacred places Nonexistent Special beacheswith goods waves

Club stadium Club stadium andgroupheadquarters

Only surfingsympathizersdo not havesacred places

Rituals Nonexistent Analysing the seabefore enteringthe water

DressingPreparation ofsurfing material

Team entrance tostadium andapplause

Celebrating teamgoals

Choreography ofproduction andperformance

The practice ofritualscharacterizeall groups,except surfingsympathizers

Symbolism Sport surfing brands Board The animal in thelogo

The club color Clubeclectics with awide range ofsports champions

Club symbols(animal and clubcolor)

Their own logoCollective values of

the clubClub eclectics with

passionate fansAgainst

merchandisesales

All groups havesymbols

Values Dressing style Respect natureFreedom Positivism

but these aremore deeplyrooted in thegroups with ahigher level offandom ineach sport

All groups havevalues,

Note. Associated RP 1: With their sport or club, sport fans have a kind of cult that is similar to that of members of a religious cult in itsmanifestationsPhenomenological outcome: RP1 was confirmed, except for the group with the lowest level of fandom, mostly nonpractitioners

+Commitment −Commitment

SurfingPractitioner SympathizerFans that are highly involved with the sport

and practice on a daily basis or at least twicea week)

Fans attracted by the surf life style andsymbolism but not practicing the sport or thatonly practice occasionally

FootballClaque members Devoted fansFans organized in supportive groups that

usually accompany the club to every match(home and away)

Fans associated with a club that attend gameson a regular basis. They normally use visualsigns of club loyalty like scarves and t-shirts


is sponsored by a sport brand that supplies theirteam’s equipment. However, many other brandsadvertise in the stadium and in other club media.

The fourth research proposition is therefore:

RP 4: There is a relationship betweenthe fan typology and the relationship theymaintain with surf sponsors’ brands, par-ticularly at the following levels:

1. sponsorship awareness;2. preference for these brands.

METHODOLOGY

In the context of this article the followingterminology will be used:

Although it may seem unusual to comparefans of a club with fans of a sport modality, thisis due to the following:

� In Portugal, surf is not associated withclubs;

� Football fans, on the contrary, are inti-mately linked to one club and this connec-tion is mostly grounded on football, evenif the club includes other modalities.

In order to test the research model, the contextof this study is centered on surfing and football.The concept model was applied through fourfocus-group meetings with people of differentlevels of commitment. Given the purpose of thestudy to analyze the behaviors of the distinctcommunities linked by the sport and the sportpractice and also because it was necessary tocapture their motivations and attitudes, the focusgroup methodology was chosen.

Focus groups have enjoyed increasing pop-ularity in social sciences research during thepast three decades (Duggleby, 2005; Sim, 1998;Webb & Kevern, 2001) as a means to exploregroup dynamics, meanings, and perceptions; ob-tain better understandings; and develop hypothe-ses for future study (Dicicco-Bloom & Grabtree,2006; Powell & Single, 1996).

For the study of surfing, there was a group ofpractitioners—the devoted fans referred to byHunt et al. (1999) as highly committed fans—and another group of nonpractitioners called

sympathizers. Fans were approached with a fil-ter question relating to their practice level. Inthe case of football, two focus-group meetingswere conducted with fans with different levelsof commitment to the club, namely, a group ofactive associated members (here called devotedvans) and another group of fanatical fans orga-nized in a support group (a claque, to use theoriginal Portuguese term) called torcida verde,known as the most supportive but also the leastaggressive group of claques. Members of thesegroups displayed club symbols like scarves at ahome match where they were recruited for thefocus groups. Fans were also approached with afilter question relating to their club attachment.More particularly, the fans were asked whetherthey belonged to an organized supportive group.

The Focus Groups, Metrics, and DataAnalysis

Due to the phenomenological nature of thestudy, the analysis protocol was developed to re-flect the research objectives. A wide range ofsubjects was approached in the meetings, rang-ing from motivation and fandom to behavioralgroup patterns, as well as intra and intergrouprelationships. These constructs were selected inline with notions of the conceptual model.

The surfing practitioner group was comprisedof 6 male and 1 female participant, with agesranging from 21 to 27, and the 10 members ofthe surfing sympathizers included 1 female and9 male elements, with ages between 16 and 26.The dominance of the male gender is justified bythe greater involvement of men in this sport. Theage range of these groups is coherent with thereality of practitioners and sympathizers sincesurf is a “young” sport. The devoted football fangroup comprised 7 male and 3 female partici-pants, with ages raging from 26 to 56, and the10 members of the fans organized in the claquetorcida verde included 8 male and 2 female ele-ments, with ages between 17 and 48. Once again,men were prevalent in these groups, reflectingthe general distribution of males/females foundin the universe of football fans.

Given the fact that football is an old sportand also transversal to various age groups, theage range of football focus groups reflect this.


Focus-group meetings took place during April2006. All participants were offered a t-shirt froma well-known sports brand. In order to ensurethe spontaneity of answers and to avoid restrict-ing the participants’ statements, meetings wererecorded with audio equipment and videotaped,but no one other than the participants and thegroup moderator was present in the room—otherresearchers stayed in an adjacent room oversee-ing the meeting and evaluating fan reactions ona plasma monitor. During the focus meetings,the moderator used several techniques in orderto obtain a high level of participation. The ques-tions were followed by a set of computerizedprojective techniques.

Computerized Projective Techniques(CPT)

Lilienfeld, Wood, and Garb (2000) stressthe scientific status of projective techniques,whereas Bornstein (1999) explains the criteriafor the validity of objective and projective de-pendency tests and Cramer (1999) studied thethen-future directions of thematic apperceptiontests. In both groups, projective techniques wereused with the aid of a computer and a projector,which allowed the moderator to project four dif-ferent PowerPoint presentations—one for eachgroup—with the questions related to the mainconstructs of the research model being analyzed.This allowed participants to visualize the de-scribed situations and questions. The objectivewas to clarify every aspect of the consideredthemes (Appendix 1). Balloon tests were alsoused to identify the main characteristics of surf-ing sympathizers and practitioners, as well as theprofile of devoted and claque fans (Appendix 2).

Program-Assisted Designed (PAD)Techniques

During the focus groups, each participant hada computer in front of him and all computerswere linked to a central server. This infrastruc-ture allowed the development of PAD techniquesthat were used to identify certain constructs suchas commitment to surfing or to the club. Partici-pants were required to express their level of pref-erence for various images representing a numberof preference contexts including surfing, football

match attendance and other leisure activities in acontinuum ranging from 1 to 10. In the computerapplication, each person expressed his opinionabout his commitment to the sport (Appendix 3).

The focus group content was fully transcribedfrom videotape to paper. The data analysis fol-lowed the sequence of research questions andtheir constructs and the data results were codedaccording to the articulation of these constructs.A comparative analysis of the data for the twogroups of surfers and the two groups of footballfans was conducted, along with a summary as-sessment. Lastly, the data relating to each sportwrea also analyzed comparatively (see Tables2–4).

Findings

The main constructs linked with the cult andfandom concepts in the research reviews are rit-uals, symbols, meeting places, and values (Ta-ble 2). Surfing practitioners, as well as footballclaques and devoted fans manifest certain ritu-als, symbols, sacred places, and values related tothe sport or club. Only surfing sympathizers failto exhibit a close relationship to these concepts.For them, the only relevant issue is surfing style,which allows them to at least pretend that theyare part of the surfing universe. The members ofthis group are, in fact, an out-group, since theywould like to be seen as surfers but are not gen-uine surfers. Their preference therefore relates toexternal appearance and that is why they insiston using surfing-sport clothing brands. Thesefindings are consistent with Prebish (1984) andMcGillivray et al.’s (2005) proposals that sportcan be considered as a religion in its manifes-tations. Therefore, RP 1, which referred to theexistence of a kind of cult among surfing andfootball fans, is confirmed, except in the case ofsurfing sympathizers.

RP 2 was meant to explain the possibility ofidentifying fan typologies that could trigger thelevel of affiliation. The commitment concept wasevaluated through open questions about the fre-quency with which surfing fans surf, whereasfootball fans were evaluated on the numberof games attended. In addition, a PAD tech-nique tested the alternative preferences betweensurfing and football and other activities (Table

TAB

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243


TABLE 3. (S3)—Social Recognition, Symbolism, and Socialization

Key Opinions From Surfing Fans Key Opinions From Football Fans

SummarySympathizers Practitioners Devoted Fans Claques Assessment

Social recognition Surfing fashionattractssympathizers (notwith a negativeperspective)

They recognizethemselves by theclothing andbrands they use

Practitioners thinkthat surfingfashion attractssympathizers butin a negative way

They recognizethemselves by thesun-tanned neck,hands, and faceand through thefeelingsexpressed bytheir calmdisposition andsmiling faces

Other clubs’ fansconsider them alittle aristocratic

They considerthemselvesdifferent from thefans of organizedsupport groups,because of theirmore civicbehavior

Other clubs’ fansmembersconsider them“angels”

They considerthemselves ashaving a morecivic andmulti-sportapproach

Each individualbelieves to besociallyrecognized as agroup member

Symbolism Their externalsymbols are thesurfing-relatedbrands

Their board is theirmain symbol

Scarves and clubshirts on the dayof the match

The main symbol istheir own logo,T-shirts, andsweatshirts

The Centenariumclub t-shirt,because it reflectsthe club history

All groups havetheir symbolswhich are moreexclusive in morededicated fansgroups

Socialization They have somecommon activities(parties, cinema,beach. . . )

They like eatingtogether aftersurfing

Some practitionersused to haveothers activitiestogether, likegoing to thecinema

Usually begin assympathizersbetween 4 and 9years of age,since at least oneparent is also aclub sympathizer

Begin in childhoodas sympathizers(between 4 and 7)and becamemembers of theclaque between15 and 20

All groups sharemoments oftogetherness,which arestronger in theyoungest groupsof each sport—sympathizers andclaques

They join the club atdifferent ages,depending ontheir personalincome

Together, theysometimes shoutduring matchesand sing. Theclub needs easierchants tosocialize better

Regret not havingother socializingbesides thematch meetings

Clearly assumehaving had astrong influenceto becomeSportingsympathizers andmembers oftorcida verde

Are organized intown nucleonsand socialize agreat deal whenproducingchoreographiesand whenfollowing the team

Note. Associated RP 3: Sport fans’ associative behaviors are influenced by affiliation as expressed by:1. affiliation through the desire for socialrecognition.2. affiliation through the desire for socialisation.c)3. affiliation through the impact of club or sport symbolism.Phenomenological outcome: RP 3 was totally confirmed.


TABLE 4. Associative Behavior and Tribal Brands

Major Opinions from Surfing Fans Major Opinions from Football Fans

SummarySympathizers Practitioners Devoted Fans Claques Assessment

Knowledge ofsurfing/clubassociation withrelated brands

Some are awareof surfingsponsorshipsbut not ofathletes’sponsors

Are aware of bothsurfing andathletes’sponsorships

Are aware of the fact that somebrands sponsor their club

All groups makeassociationsbetween theclub/sport andrelated brands,but surfingsympathizersare the groupwith lowestawareness

Effectivepreference fortribe relatedbrands

Tend not todifferentiatebetween surfingsponsors’brands andbrands that usesurfing style intheir advertising

Both situationspositivelyinfluence brandpreference

They prefer towear clothing ofsurfing-relatedbrands

They preferbrands thatsponsor surfingbut distinguishthese brandsfrom those thatonly use surfingin theiradvertising.They do notprefer thesebrands

Tend to disliket-shirts orsweatshirts withlargesponsor-brandlogos

Do not have asignificantpreference forthese sponsorbrands

Mostly rejectt-shirts withsponsor logos

Think that therelativeimportance ofthe club can belost near a verylarge sponsorlogo

Manifest somedoubts aboutthe use ofsponsorshiprevenues Wouldlike to use thismoney tosupport otherclub sports

Tribe-relatedbrandspreference isassumed bysurfing fans andnot by footballfans

Note. Associated RP 4: There is a relationship between the fan typology and the relationship they maintain with surf sponsors’ brands,particularly at the following levels:1. sponsorship awareness.2. preference for these brands.Phenomenological outcome:RP4a was fully confirmed.RP4b was confirmed only for surfing fans.

2). Most of the fan groups (except surfing sym-pathizers) are willing to forfeit other activitiesbecause of their favorite sport. However, eventhe most committed fans in both cases wouldnot give up their girlfriend to attend a footballgame or for a day of surfing. As expected, themajority of fan groups in both sports are male.Whereas for football, claque members (the mostcommitted fans) are younger than devoted fans,in surfing it is the opposite, with mere nonprac-titioner sympathizers being the youngest groupof all.

With respect to fan typologies, all the fangroups in question acknowledge the existence

of different fan types. Interestingly, in the caseof surfing, the most committed fans (the prac-titioners) assume only two extreme typificationgroups: either practitioners or nothing at all, amore radical position than that of sympathizers,who tend to segment fans by the frequency oftheir surfing. In the case of football, the findingsreveal the existence of distinct fan types, vary-ing with the level of commitment. While thedevoted fans suggest the existence of three fantypes, the claque members identify four groupsranging from occasional fans to highly fanatical,destructive organized groups Therefore, RP2 isfully confirmed.


TABLE 5. Major Differences Between Surfing and Football

Major Differences Surfing Football

General vision of sport/club There is a kind of selectivedichotomy—a genuine in-group andan out-group of sympathizers

Fandom level is seen as acontinuum—no one is out of thegame

Fans typologies Either genuine surfer or “just pretendingto be one”

A fan is a fan—the real difference isthe intensity of their support

Cult For genuine surfers, surfing is a real cult.For mere sympathizers, not really . . .

There is a kind of cult whose intensityand externalization level vary withthe level of commitment

Socialisation propensity andsocial image

Surfing is a high-profile sport associatedwith a lifestyle and positive image

Sympathizers tend to compensate for theabsence of real linkage to the groupthrough other forms of externalidentification such as t-shirts

Depending on the club, the intensityof club love determines thepropensity to socialize together

External signs Real surfers do not care much aboutclothing. They do not want to beconfused with pretenders

External signs acquire a value,because fans are proud of theirclub, but symbols are notnecessarily the same for all fans

Preference for tribal brands Yes, but surfers identify a differencebetween real surf brands and othersthat just capitalize on surfing

Yes but, the link between fans andsponsor brands is weaker than forsurfing

RP 3 stated that distinct associative behav-iors are impacted by the level of affiliation ex-pressed through the desire for social recognition,socializing, and symbolism. From the relation-ships between beliefs, behavioral patterns, andaffiliation, three relevant outputs emerge: socialrecognition, socialization, and symbolism (S3).The main findings indicate that for both sports,the four groups have an associative behavior trig-gered by the social recognition of the group theybelong to. This fact cannot be isolated from thesymbolism of sports, since fan groups have theirfavorite symbology, consistent with the cult theymanifest toward the club or sport. The desire tosocialize seems to be evident in the affiliation offan groups, with all of them manifesting the plea-sure of being together, either in social settingsafter surfing or in game attendance in the case offootball. In surfing, the sympathizer group tendsto prefer being together for activities other thansurfing, which is understandable since they donot actually surf and their interest in surfing isdemonstrated through external symbolism suchas clothing and accessories. Given the abovefindings (Table 3), RP 3 was fully confirmed.

According to RP 4, sport tribalism shouldconfer fans with a propensity to be aware and

prefer commonly accepted brands according tothe degree of passion manifested toward thesport or the club. As expected, less commit-ted fan groups are less aware of tribe-relatedbrands, but only in the case of surfing. In thecontext of football, both fan groups (claques anddevoted fans) seem to be fully aware of clubsponsor brands (Table 4). Not surprisingly, interms of preferences, sympathizers clearly de-velop a preference for surfing brand clothing,since it allows them to pretend to be part of the in-group of the surfers’ universe. As regular surfers,practitioners have a tendency to prefer surfing-related brands; however, they distinguish spon-sor brands from those brands that only use surf-ing motives in their advertising. These brandsare considered non-genuine (brands that do notserve the tribe but make use of the tribe; Cova,1997), as having a deeply commercial intent andused mostly by sympathizers. Therefore, theyare not preferred by practitioners.

The findings with respect to football fans arequite revealing, since they show a clear defenceof the club interest. However, although consid-ered necessary, sponsorship is seen as some-how risking the club image. Therefore, both fangroups have some doubts about the appropriate


dimensions of the sponsor’s logo and prefer t-shirts and other merchandise only with the clublogo and no logos of commercial brands. RP4awas, therefore, again fully confirmed, but RP4bwas only confirmed for surfing fans.

CONCLUSIONS AND MANAGERIALIMPLICATIONS

The conceptual model was globally accepted;however, it was possible to identify some rele-vant exceptions. In the case of sympathizers thenotion of surf as a cult differs from that of prac-titioners. In the case of football fans there was adifference in the preference for sponsor brands.

Sympathizers exhibit group behavior distinctfrom that of practitioners. This difference is no-torious in the way that they feel about surfingas a sport. Although appealing, surfing is notseen as a cult (as is the case for practitioners),which may be due to the fact that sympathizersvalue most the visible part of the tribe—clothesand accessories—and not particularly the sportliving.

Regarding football, the fact that fans do notprefer sponsor brands is understandable for tworeasons: on one hand, sponsor brands are com-panies with large marketing budgets and forwhich the brand shifting process has substan-tial obstacles. Since we are talking about thefinancial and telecommunication sectors and notfast moving consumer goods, it is not easy tochange consumer preference. On the other hand,it is possible that the majority of individualsunder analysis tend to express that their fa-vorite brand is in fact that one that they reallypossess in order to avoid cognitive dissonance.Table 5 summarizes the major differences be-tween surf and football fandom as expressedby fans.

As found by Malhotra and Galletta (2003),football lovers tend to see fandom as a contin-uum ranging from partial to absolute commit-ment. The level of fandom determines the levelof support, the likeliness to exhibit club sym-bols, and the propensity to join with others intheir activities.

With respect to the propensity toward sponsorbrands, football fans reveal a weaker link with

those brands, which could be due to the tradition-ally low level of constancy of sponsorships andtheir nonexclusive status, as well as the loweraffinity brands have with the sport they sponsor.

Surfers, in contrast, assume a more extremistvision: either a surfer or not—mere sympathizersare not part of the “surf universe.” Consequently,surfers tend to lean toward extreme positions—they have a kind a “religious” cult with surfingand its symbols and rituals. Others are just con-sumers of surf wear. As a result, genuine surferscare about the legitimate surf brands and rejectother “intrusive” brands.

All in all, this point of view confirms the gen-eral proposition underlying our research. Thatis, ultimate fans do have a different brand atti-tude and a greater inclination toward brands thatserve the sport and reinforce the links betweentheir group members.

The research findings have some managerialimplications for the different organizations in-volved. Surfing seems to represent a good op-portunity for consumer goods brands, since theyhave a low involvement level and it is there-fore easy to promote them among young people.Most popular surfing brands are increasing theirsales to sympathizers but risk losing the prac-titioner market, since the latter do not want tobe confused with or mistaken for non-surfers.Therefore, sport-surfing brands should considercreating special new clothing lines and specificchannels for practitioners and developing spe-cial activities like events and contests to fulfillpractitioners’ needs. This could be a challengefor sponsor brand managers.

In the case of football, the research revealeda degree of resistance to sponsor brands in boththe claque community and in the devoted fansfootball groups, because they do not considerthese companies as having a real emotional linkwith the club. On the contrary, fans think thesemay obscure the exposure of the club brand. Thiskind of reaction may be linked to the fact thatsponsor brands usually only have a short-termsponsorship strategy and simultaneously spon-sor the three big football clubs, because they donot want to develop a strong association withjust one club.

Companies do not wish to risk being re-garded as favoring a particular club. However,


supporting more than one club can somehow beseen as opportunistic. In order to change thisperception by fans, football clubs must developan educational strategy to explain to their fansthe benefits of club sponsorship, namely, the factthat they help the club to contract better playersfor the team, thereby increasing the competitive-ness of the club. Furthermore, sponsor brandscan also develop a “soft” approach to club fans.For instance, equipment producers can developproduct lines with club signs but ensure that theyare more discrete and low-key, so that club fanswill use these clothes in their daily life. On theother hand, sponsor companies are willing to in-vest in clubs that might offer a significant returnon their investment. This return can be evaluatedat various different levels, ranging from mediaexposure to sponsorship awareness and brandpreference.

Another kind of sponsorship approach couldbe to consolidate a long-term relationship withfans and the club in order to express their emo-tional link with them; for example, by supportingthe club in their non-football activities.

LIMITATIONS AND FURTHERRESEARCH

The main limitations are related to the re-stricted research scope: one country, two sports,and two fan levels. In addition, because of thequalitative character and sample dimension ofthis research, the findings can hardly be general-ized. Further research is already planned, usinga quantitative approach to generalize the mainqualitative conclusion. More research on surfingfans could be conducted in other places, partic-ularly Australia or Hawaii, where surfing maybe perceived differently by fans and probably bypeople in general.

In reference to football, it would be useful togain a greater understanding of the relationshipbetween fans and sponsor brands for countriesin which football support has a tradition of be-ing rather more emotionally charged, like Brazil.This would enable a comparison of higher lev-els of fandom and the associated preferences fortribe-related brands.

NOTES

1. According to the Cambridge Dictionary.Retrieved from Cambridge Dictionary Online, fromhttp://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp? key=18874&dict=CALD

2. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, to com-mit is “to promise or give your loyalty, time or moneyto a particular principle, person or plan of action.”

3. According to the Cambridge Dictionary. Re-trieved from Cambridge Dictionary Online, fromhttp://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp? key=18874&dict=CALD

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APPENDIX 3. Example of PAD Test

Dionisio Leal e Moutinho a Comparative Study of Surfing and Football

Documents

Transcript of Dionisio Leal e Moutinho a Comparative Study of Surfing and Football