Davis
Ms. Gonzalez
ENC-1102
27 February 2024
1. Project Title: Fan Identification: The Patriots fandoms growth.
2. Research Questions: Why are sports fans placing so much value into their sports teams
and why are they emotionally affected so much?
3. Statement of Significance: The research contains value because it can dive into the mind
of sports watchers and view how they interact with their sports team as well as interact
with other sports fans. It has ties to psychology with social identity and a term called Fan
identification. I will be specifically looking at the New England Patriots fandom and see
how they have changed from the Brady era to where they are at now. Obviously, they saw
decades of success with the Tom Brady Era but since his leaving they have regressed so I
will be able to see if/how their levels of loyalty and care for their chosen franchise have
fluctuated.
4. Research Design: I will gather the data for my research by following the New England
Patriots Instagram, as well as the New England barstool and other nonaffiliated fan
accounts. I will then observe the comments under the posts these accounts create and
look at the fan interaction among each other. I will also listen to podcasts hosted by NFL
players and listen to their opinion about playing at Gillette stadium and their interactions
with the fans. After, I will analyze these comments and fan interactions and compare
them. The sources I have listed I will use to add credibility to my research as well as use
the information from said sources to better understand sports fans.
Stieg, Cory. “Sports Fans Have Higher Self-Esteem and Are More Satisfied with Their Lives
(Whether Their Teams Win or Lose).” CNBC, CNBC, 23 July 2020,
www.cnbc.com/2020/07/23/why-being-a-sports-fan-and-rooting-for-a-team-is-good-for-
you.html.
StudyFinds. “Hearing ‘I Love You’ Doesn’t Bring as Much Happiness -- as Watching Your
Favorite Team Win?” Study Finds, 12 Sept. 2022, studyfinds.org/i-love-you-happiness-
sports/.
Cleveland Clinic. (2023a, November 27). How rooting for your team can hurt your heart.
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/is-watching-sports-stressing-out-your-hear
Thomas, N. (2023, April 18). On Parasocial Relationships with Professional Athletes — Pop
Junctions. Henry Jenkins. http://henryjenkins.org/blog/2023/4/18/on-parasocial-
relationships-with-professional-athletes
