Sport, Spectatorship, and Fandom

Abstract

This chapter sets out to review and deliberate upon some of the dominant and reoccurring issues, approaches, and debates within the sociology of sport as they relate to the maintenance and evolution of sport fandom cultures. The treatment encourages readers to visualize all sports fans as both products and constituents of cultures in which consumption is of paramount importance. Much evidence considered demonstrates how fans embody consumption experiences within a “fan habitus” and how they use consumption to gauge the social capital of others within sport fandom groups. Finally, this chapter addresses the fluidity of sport fandom cultures, the role of prosumption, and the potential implications of technological advancements on fan cultures into the future.