Are you a sports fan?
Are you someone that cheers for a team, and does so with an intense passion? Do you dress for the occasion (jerseys, hats, etc.) and cheer for your team at home or at the venue? If so, you are a part of a special, (and despite rivalries) close-knit community.
Sports are a global phenomenon, and with so many sports at different levels (collegiate, minor and professional), fans have many options to choose from. Fans can cheer for their favorite NFL team or their favorite Premier League team, and in some cases both. Sports are everywhere, and when it comes to passionate fans, some of the most passionate fans are at the collegiate level.
According to the LEARFIELD Intercollegiate report, college sports fans are the largest and most affluent fan base. The report also mentions that male and female fans spend around $3.5 billion annually on college-licensed apparel and merchandise.
It also found in a study that college sports (in general) were the top major sports that people identified as fans of. Around 66 percent of fans (in this study) were fans of college sports, with around 26 percent identifying as avid fans. Around 48 percent identified as college basketball fans, with 14 percent identifying as avid fans. Those numbers from both college sports in general and basketball specifically, are significant and rival some of the results from professional leagues. And avid college basketball fans (and their “relatives” on the football side) are arguably some of the most loyal fans in the world of sports.
College basketball fans are a dedicated subgroup of sports fans that cheer on their favorite team. In some cases, it is the school that they attend that they root for the most. However, that is not always the case.
Bret David, a college student, is a Purdue Boilermakers fan, but attends a different university. His support of the Boilermakers has family ties.
“My grandpa went there back in the day, so it’s just kind of been my team being from Indiana. It’s been who I’ve been following.” David said.
Ed Sullivan, an Auburn supporter, also had family ties.
“If I was going to cheer for a team, I would have to cheer for Auburn. My daughter went there and I became an Auburn fan. So that’s number one.”
Sullivan also mentioned UConn as a team that he follows.
Like all sports, college basketball has its dedicated or avid fans and its casual fans. There are those who do not miss a game (whether it is attending a game, watching a game or following games through apps and social media). Then, there are those who tune in here and there. But the dedicated fans are the ones that get recognition, and who you may see go viral on social media or on television.
For the casual fans of college basketball, March Madness is where they are most active. Sullivan, who mentioned his support for Auburn, also mentioned that March Madness is the time he watches the most college basketball.
“The only time I really watch college basketball honestly is during March Madness.” Sullivan said.
There is something about March Madness that draws people in, and it would be nearly impossible to mention college basketball without it. When it came to speaking about March Madness, people had a few takes.
“I always cheer for the underdogs. These underdog stories are really exciting like teams you never heard of before are now in the tournament. Getting deeper into the tournament. That stuff is really exciting.” Sullivan said.
Ronyell Wilson, an entrepreneur and basketball fan, wrote about March Madness in a message.
“It’s the possibility of the impossible, being that iit is a single elimination format. It allows for the person who enjoys rooting for the underdog, to embellish that feeling but on steroids.” Wilson said,
“There is a finality to the entirety of the event. It’s the culmination of not only a season, but some player’s careers, some people’s relationships and in essence, the end of an era of their lives before they go on to the next phase of their life. And for those not in school, it’s the nostalgia of being back in that place and state of mind if only for a moment in time. Emotion is the strongest mover of people in a social environment and there are few things outside of March madness that encompasses so many emotions at that large of a scale.”
March Madness is not only synonymous with college basketball; it is also one of the most thrilling times of the year for sports fans. It started back in 1939, when eight teams competed for the national championship. And since then, it has grown to a 68-team tournament. Every year, college basketball fans fill out their brackets, and usually they are rooting for their favorite team to win it all.
This year’s March Madness was full of surprises, and a few historic moments. The Women’s NCAA tournament had spectacular performances from players like Caitlin Clark, whose 191 points were the most in a single NCAA tournament, men or women. Clark also had a historic 40-point triple-double and followed up with another 40-plus point performance before the championship game. Clark and Iowa State faced Louisiana State University, and LSU took home the championship. One thing that made this game special was the viewership. This year’s game was significant, as it reached 9.9 million viewers on the ABC commercial network. This set a viewership record for a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) women’s basketball game.
On the men’s side of things, the UConn Huskies beat San Diego State to win it all. Fans celebrated UConn’s win, and things got a little wild. After the win, UConn fans celebrated the win, but things got out of hand.
There were instances of light poles being torn down, smashed windows and people starting fires. In the end, 15 people were arrested and 16 were hospitalized with injuries.
UConn spokesperson Stephanie Reitz mentioned the arrests and hospitalizations in a statement.
“The vast majority of those celebrating the Husky victory last night did so safely and responsibly,” she said. “A small number chose to risk their safety and that of others by vandalizing or destroying property after the game.”
Instances like this show how dedicated college basketball fans are, and it is not the only time a riot has occurred. Back in 2012, Kentucky Wildcat fans rioted after a win over their rival Louisville. Kentucky beat Louisville 69-61 to advance to the championship game. This win sparked a riot that led to cars flipping, couch-burning, tear gas and so on. The University of Maryland rioted two years prior after a win over Duke. Maryland also had past situations. There were riots in 2001 and 2002, but for different reasons. The 2001 riot was due to a loss to Duke, and the following year was due to a win. Basically, these situations had different scenarios but with the same result.
Or in some cases, fans may have incidents like the three fans that grabbed Kentucky guard Cason Wallace as he went for a loose ball in February of this year. One fan grabbed Wallace by the waist and another had their arm across Wallace’s neck. Or, the incident where a St. Bonaventure cheerleader left the court as a St. Louis fan directed hurtful slurs at her.
Being a fan is one thing, but is there ever a time where it goes too far? And if so, why?
Answering these questions involves exploring college fandom and what it entails.
The first step to answering these questions is defining fandom. Fandom is defined as the state or altitude of being a fan. This means that a person that follows something (such as a tv show or a particular sport) is a fan of said thing.
In the book Sports Fans 2.0 (How fans are using social media to get closer to the game), author David M. Sutera discussed fandom, and when it came to sports, he chose to compare it to the Star Trek franchise.
Sutera listed qualities of Star Trek fans that included things such as their fandom being off kilter to an outsider. Those who do not watch sports at all (or at least do not follow them the way their peers do), may not understand why someone is so passionate. The same can be said about someone who does not follow the Star Trek franchise, yet knows someone who follows it passionately. Sutera also listed qualities such as being consumers who buy anything associated with what you are a fan of, devoting time to gathering worthless knowledge and placing (inappropriate) importance of devalued materials. He also included qualities like being unable to separate fantasy from reality.
When it comes to sports fandom, there are things like psychology, social media and wanting to be recognized at play.
Dr. Alfredo Rivera, a psychiatrist, discussed the psychology of sports fandom in an interview/article called “Sports Fandom: Why It’s More Than Just a Game.” He mentioned how a fan may feel a connection to a team.
“Through identification and projection, fans are able to personally feel a part of their team. There is a sense of belonging, both to the team, as well as to other fans of the team.”
Rivera also mentioned that winning can precipitate symptoms of mania as well as loss of self control, that’s why you may see people riot after a win
Allen R McConnell Ph.D. wrote an article called The Psychology of Sports Fandom, attributed things such as a sense of belonging and self-esteem as reasons people are sports fans. While this is a statement that covers sports fans in general, fits in any area (including college basketball).
There is a deep connection to sports, and sometimes it runs so deep that it impacts our lives. There were stories like the ones in the documentary called Team Spirit, where the funerals of fans were discussed. There was a Pittsburgh Steelers fan and when he died, his spouse mentioned that wanted to be dressed in his game day gear, wrapped in a blanket, in a recliner (which was a casket in front of a tv with Steelers highlights in loop rather than being on display in a casket. He wanted to look as if he fell asleep watching the game. There were professional fans and college fans who were honored and had their fandom highlighted one last time.
In another reading called Fans: How Watching Sports Makes Us Happier, Healthier and More Understanding, Larry Olmstead shared stories around fandom.
One story was how a teen was going through leukemia treatments. Their wish was to attend a UNC-Duke game and they got the chance to do so and once that happened, they didn’t need as many treatments and went back to school. There was another story about a fan named Steve Winfield. He was a Raiders fan who had colon cancer. When things became severe, he said the Raiders were going to make the Super Bowl. But he was going to make it with them. That year, the Raiders did make the super bowl. And after the game (which they lost), Winfield slipped into a coma and passed away. There were various stories and they show how deep fandom is. It makes an impact psychologically.
When it comes to the psychology aspect of sports fandom, Dr. Daniel Wann, a professor at Murray State is one of the leading voices. He has done numerous studies, and in a video on ESPN, he talked about sports fandom.
“To be a fan is to be emotional. it’s a voluntary activity for half of what happens you’re not going to like. There’s nothing that impacts fandom greater than their psychological connection to their team.” Wann said in the video.
Of course, when discussing this topic, things like coming together/belonging, benefits like higher self-esteem and self-worth were all benefits of being a sports fan.
“You may not know someone’s name, you may not know someone’s background but there’s a common bond.” Wann continued.
One thing that came up through Sutera was recognition.
In terms of recognition, there are instances where a fan does something outrageous to be seen. Sutera mentioned streaking or storming the court/field being one of the ways to be seen. Or, it can be dressing a certain way or doing something unusual. While he used examples like Morganna the Kissing Bandit (who would run onto the field and kiss MLB players), Rollen Stewart, who would wear rainbow wigs and hold John 3:16 signs and Candice Sortino, who gained social media notoriety for running on the field and touching the backsides of two University of Arizona baseball players during the 2012 College World Series, he also mentioned Jack Blankenship of Alabama.
Blankenship was a freshman from Alabama and avid basketball fans, who achieved fame for his free throw distractions during the 2012 season. He first gained attention in a game between Alabama and Ole Miss. During a broadcast on ESPN 2 he caught the attention of ESPN when they saw him making an odd face. He had a cutout of his face with the same expression.
Blankenship gained notoriety and was ultimately recognized. Which can be a reason why someone is so passionate.
Sports fandom has an effect on people. A powerful effect at that. And in order to understand college basketball fans a bit more, it had to be examined. It paved the way for a discussion about college basketball fans, and that led to great, insightful responses. So, let’s explore that.
When someone typically thinks of college basketball fans, people think of clever cheers, unique free throw distractions and an electric atmosphere. Some schools even have student sections, where some of the most loyal and dedicated fans can cheer on their team. There are student sections like the Red Scare of Dayton University, the Cameron Crazies of Duke University, the Auburn Jungle, the Pittsburgh Zoo and many others that show up for their team’s games, and cheer them on. Those fans are dedicated, and time after time, they are supporting their team.
“The fans make you feel like you want to be there to watch. They’re all in. It’s a different feel.” Agenda Bonner, a teacher and huge sports fan said.
Rick Rump, a member of the Igniters Club, talked about this in regards to his team. The Igniters support the Toledo Rockets women’s basketball team, who advanced to the second round of this year’s March Madness.
“The team has had ups and downs over the years, but one thing remains a constant, the players, even if it’s different personnel every few years. No matter the wins and losses, the players are giving it their all.” Rump said.
Another Toledo fan group called the Blue Crew (who remain anonymous and use nicknames) are also extremely passionate about their teams, and one of their members talked about why they are a fan and used phrases like culture and community.
“The culture is really what drives me personally to be a fan. Everybody in Toledo truly wants to see their athletes succeed. The community support is astounding and I don’t know how you could go to an institution with such a great culture and not want to participate. Every member of Blue Crew is driven by our promise to set the example for what a Rocket should be. We strive to be spirited, virtuous citizens, students and community members who go out of our way to be engaged and active in campus and community.” #123 AP Cowboy said.
“When it comes to a student section, really the whole arena there’s a little more energy in a regular season game than you would get in an NBA arena,” An Alabama alumni known as Ceej said.
He mentioned that come playoff time there is that excitement but being in a student section, every game is like that.
“You feed off the people around you, you feed off the excitement, you feed off of the pride of your school, so it’s just an electric atmosphere.
The Brown & White team is a team of former St. Bonaventure players that participate in the TBT tournament. When reaching out to their Twitter page and asking about Bona fans, this was the response.
“Bona fans are extremely passionate about the program. For many it isn’t just a sports team, but something that represents some of the best years of our lives and a place we’ll be closely tied to forever. For a lot of my closest friends who have since moved away, the only time we see each other during the year is when we plan trips revolving around Bona games. The rich history also connects different generations of fans.”
Paul Stys, who is a sports journalist who admittedly does not follow college basketball outside of March Madness, spoke on why he feels college basketball fans are passionate.
“I think the fans who follow college basketball are so passionate because a lot of them went to college so they have close ties with a university and feel more invested than they would with a professional sports team.”
When it came to lists of best college basketball fans, the usual suspects (Duke, UNC, Kansas and more) always came up. In some cases, there are individual fans that are highlighted as well. One example is Captain Beer of St. Bonaventure. Dominic Greco became Captain Beer as a freshman. The story goes that Greco’s roommate told him to wear a beer hat (just sitting in a closet) that Greco got from a Halloween store. He put on the hat, went to a game, and as they say, the rest was history. He went viral as a tweet from Big Cat of Barstool Sports and the persona took off from there.
In an old article by the sports staff of the Bona Venture called Dominic Greco and the Wonders of his beer hat, Greco said he would keep the thing going (and he did).
“I am going to keep wearing it until I graduate. I will wear it at every home game and every away game. Any Bona game I am at. I think it’s funny. It’s a joke between me and my friends. If I can get on television, that’s great. But if not, I am still going to have a good time.”
The Captain Beer tradition kept going as he passed the torch to Jace Frazier.
College basketball fans are passionate (collectively and individually), and they express themselves in creative ways. But again, does it ever go too far?
On top of the incidents mentioned previously, there are incidents like Marcus Smart’s altercation with a fan. During his time with Oklahoma State, Smart shoved a fan after the fan allegedly used a racial slur towards him. The fan denied it but apologized for calling him a “piece of crap.”
Smart was suspended three games after the incident, but if the fan did use a racial slur, was the suspension fair? Was Smart in the wrong? Of course, but the use of a racial slur makes it hard to defend the fan.
In a more recent incident, Colorado State fans chanted “Russia” to a Ukrainian player playing for Utah State. Max Schluga is a native of Kyiv, Ukraine, was at the free throw line when it happened. Colorado State apologized for the incident. However, they mentioned that it came from a “small group of individuals.”
Times like these can make one question where do you draw the line. The question of whether fans (in this case college basketball fans in particular), ever go too far?
“I have seen it firsthand. People looking up player’s relatives and talking about them behind them because they’re sitting close to them. Like they’ll look on Google, look up relatives and try to get in people’s heads. Like one guy found out his (a player’s) sister played the oboe and he was talking about that.” Ryan R. aka Rydogg, a University of Miami fan said.
However, they did mention that they think going too far and altercations happen more in pro sports.
“There’s money on the line and things like that, and that just brings out the aggression in people really.”
“Unfortunately it’s the minority. It’s like a plane crash because they happen so rarely, when it does happen it gets blown out. And it almost paints the fan in a negative light just because a couple of bad eggs have decided to take their shot at someone.” Marshall Hasting said.
When asked about this, Ms. Bonner brought up a good point with social media. It was also around the time of the Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark and the social media situation around that.
“Anytime you have people behind a screen they can do or say whatever they want. It can bring momentum and do things to get people riled up. I think social media does have a huge impact and will always have a huge impact with how people use their platforms.” Bonner said,
“It’s easy for people to do things without even being known or seen. They can say things without being accountable.”
“I think a lot of the college sports fans that are passionate are students. The students could be more passionate because it is a part of them because it is the school they are going to or they went to. So a lot of times, you see the guys shirtless that paint themselves and things like that. Most of the time they are current students.” Rydogg said.
“I think it’s really school spirit. When I went to Morehouse, they drove school spirit.” Jason Moore, a Michigan fan (that actually got a chance to play against Jalen Rose and Chris Webber in a pickup game years back).
Hallie Heidemann, a member of the 2022-23 Ashland Eagles (who won the national championship) was asked why college basketball fans are so passionate and credited it to how the game is played.
“College Basketball is for the most part played well. It’s played in a way that’s highly competitive, and players bring different talent and things to the table. It just makes it really interesting and engaging to watch all the different talents that are on display and how they come together, and the amount of passion and fight that players play with.”
“College basketball fans are so passionate because of pride. From the families that are decades entrenched in a particular university to the students who are the first of their family to graduate from a university. It’s all about pride.” Rick B, who is a musician and basketball fan wrote in a message.
“There’s a lot more emotional investment when it comes to college sports. A lot of people go to college but not a lot of people play in the NBA or NFL.So when you invest four years, five years, you’ve invested a lot of time and you want to be proud of where you went to school.” Robert Bolig, a Penn State fan and alum, said.
“College hoops fans are passionate because the teams and players embody or represent the schools and communities we went to, and being successful in the sport often leads to more success due to money, exposure, and recruiting.” A member of the Brown & White said.
“I believe it is because the ties to these teams are more personal than professional sports. Fans may have gone to this school. Their friends may have gone to this school. Their nostalgic memories may be stored there. Their families and their family’s lineage may lie there. People have true and innate bonds with these schools that are much deeper than just sports. They’re not just rooting for a team. They are rooting for a piece of themselves. Furthermore, they may be rooting for someone that they shared classrooms, hallways and parties with, knowing that this may be the last time that they get to cheer them on with tens of thousands of other people sharing that joy for the exact same reasons.” Wilson wrote in another message.
When it comes to college basketball, there is a sense of being home. It is a more intimate environment than professional sports, and there is a connection beyond sports. Some fans are students and are on campus through their day-to-day lives. When they graduate, that pride and passion may remain with them. But it is something special about those years of being on campus and cheering on the team that is right there with you (in your classes and on campus). College basketball fans bring an energy unlike any other fan group. And through hours and hours of research, I found a bit more clarity as to why. Can over the line situations happen? Of course. But for the most part, college basketball fandom is about being in the moment and having a good time. And knowing that you are a part of something bigger. College basketball fans are the heartbeat of a team, and it will remain that way for years to come.
