On a plane from South Florida to Baltimore before Christmas, I sat in the row in front of a guy who was a hard-core Ravens fan. He struck up a conversation with his seat-mate, another Ravens fan, and bemoaned the fact that he had left in a rush that morning and forgot to pack his Ravens jersey.
Sure, he could wear another one that Saturday when the Ravens played the Cleveland Browns. But the one left behind, he said, was the lucky jersey because every time he’d worn it, the Ravens won. When we landed, he got on his cell phone and told the other party: “Unfortunately I forgot to bring my jersey ….”
I understood because I’m an NFL fan — although with a few reservations. Growing up in Wisconsin in the ’60s, Green Bay Packers worship was mandatory. (There was a rough 20-year run from 1970 to 1990.)
I have to admit however, watching all the hoopla over the last weekend of the NFL season, wondering exactly why people get so fired up about a bunch of multi-millionaire hot-shots who have precious little loyalty to their franchise and can’t wait for free agency.
It’s showbiz, I know. Strictly entertainment, but much harder on the budget than going to the movies to see the latest Tom Cruise flick.
Try taking a family to a football game and you’re apt to run up a bill that comes to hundreds of dollars just for tickets alone, plus a hefty parking fee and wildly inflated prices on snacks and drinks. Still, even with the hobbled economy the stands are filled for almost every game, no matter what day of the week.
Researchers have studied this stuff. They found that loyalty to a sports team is much stronger than consumer brand loyalty and that many people will stick with a team that loses season after season. That’s not terribly surprising although Florida fans are notorious for only hopping on to the bandwagon for winning teams. (This doesn’t apply to college sports.)
What I did find interesting though is that baseball apparently inspires far more blind loyalty than football. And football isn’t even in second place — basketball is.
A “Fan Loyalty Index” was developed in 1997 based on a survey of major league baseball fans. The mean index was 100, meaning that fan support was average. That applied to the Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates, for example.
At the top of the scale were the Chicago Cubs at 132. And ironically, the White Sox staked out the bottom of the list at 73. This, even though the White Sox have put together some World Series teams and the Cubs haven’t mustered a championship run since 1945.
I was stunned a few years ago, when I visited Boston for a convention, at the level of enthusiasm for the Red Sox. They are as serious about their baseball in Boston as they are on the North Side of Chicago.
After an early season losing streak, the Boston Globe looked at this issue last spring. They quoted Kevin Quinn, a professor at St. Norbert College, who pointed out: “Humans are inherently tribal creatures, and this is a way to have a tribe.”
Also, people are looking for drama, something sporting events tend to offer over the course of a season. Broadcasting teams are focused on storylines, constantly reminding viewers what’s at stake with every play. And a big part of that is the role of the underdog.
“For a team to be lovable, it helps not to be great or too great, but rather to have a chance to win or get lucky,” Lawrence Wenner, of Loyola Marymount University, told The Globe.
So. Don’t expect to see a lot of general fan passion for a Green Bay return to the Super Bowl. If the Broncos and the Lions can make it past the first round of the playoffs, watch for sales of Detroit and Denver team jerseys to spike.
Even in professional sports, everybody loves a Cinderella story.
Photo: Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, site of the Feb. 5 Super Bowl. Via Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicballphotography/3065261493/
