They’re everywhere this football season: television ads that glorify the experience of being a fan.
Bud Light drinkers turn their labels toward the field to help the kicker make a field goal, while others head to their former apartments – now inhabited by different people – to make sure they’re in their lucky seat.
“It’s only weird if it doesn’t work,” the ad proclaims across television screens, sharing what many sports fans are already telling their families, friends and co-workers who can’t understand their sports obsession.
While advertisements often exaggerate real life, when it comes to the lengths some sports fans will go to support their teams, many ads are right on.
And in today’s technological world, those lengths are only getting longer, thanks to social media, fantasy football leagues and smartphone applications that collect scores from around the country.
But what causes sports fans to so obsessively embrace such technology? Experts say there are a number of factors.
“There’s actually a lot of research in this area,” said Southern New Hampshire University sport management professor Doug Blais. “There are two things that people talk about when they don’t have anything in common: sports and the weather.![]()
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