For the Love of the Game, Part II: Loving a Team You've Never Seen: Sports Fandom and Identity Fusion
I live on an island. That isn't a metaphor, though some might disagree on that point. Regardless, yes, I live on Vancouver Island, the 43rd largest island on the planet (more than twice the size of Connecticut). Yet, not large enough for a major sports franchise. Yet. This presented me with a problem as I was growing up: whom do I cheer for? As I grew, I loved all sports and played a few myself (primarily hockey and baseball) for many years.
However, I lacked the proximity, and thus the community, of a major sports franchise. These were pre-internet times, kids. There were players I liked, and some I modeled my game after, such as Éric Desjardins. He was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in February of 1995, and I started watching them more intently.
This was a good time to have an eye on the resurgent Flyers. With the additions of John LeClair, Desjardins, and a young Eric Lindros, the Flyers made the Stanley Cup Finals in 1997, only to be decimated in four games straight by one of the most legendary squads in hockey history, the 1997 Detroit Red Wings.
It was one of the first instances of thorough sports heartbreak that I can remember. Moreover, what a glorious feeling it was. To put your love and intention into a team, to watch them go all the way, and come up short. I was hooked. I didn't get to experience that exact feeling again until 2010. We'll save that story for a bit later.
For the Love of the Game, Part II: Loving a Team You've Never Seen: Sports Fandom and Identity Fusion
At the end of Part I, I referenced the 1969 book, The Concept of Community: Readings With Interpretations,¹ where Professor of Political Science and Urban Affairs David W. Minar and Scott A. Greer state, "physical concentration (living and working) in one geographical territory is the key. The locale will throw up common problems and give rise to common perspectives, which lead to the development of organizations for joint action and activities, which in turn produces common attachments, feelings of interdependence, common commitment, loyalty and identity within a social group."
How Bonds Form Organically
In July 2024, a catastrophic fire at Country Oaks Apartments in Atlanta, Georgia, displaced several families. Upon hearing this, Atlanta Falcons star tight end Kyle Pitts decided to provide new furniture and other resources to those families affected by the fire. How much do you want to bet those families are going to be loyal Falcons fans because of that? I would bet more than a few.
That is the sort of situation that cements bonds organically between someone and something. It could even be something as minuscule as a smile and a handshake, right, Hall of Fame Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman? Thank you again for that; because of that moment, I will be a Dallas Cowboys fan for life. Should I be thanking you? I digress…
From Transactions to Engagement
In an interview with the Johan Cruyff Institute, Rui Biscaia, a senior lecturer at the University of Bath with a research focus on bridging the gaps between sports consumers, athletes and organizations, answered a question about the evolution of sports organizations increasingly taking fan engagement into account with this:
"Academics have devoted great attention to it over the last 10-15 years. It's still a trend in the sports industry, and I'm pretty sure we'll continue to invest in engagement for a long time. In the 1990s, most organizations, and mainly if you think in the United States, were concerned with transactions: how could they make fans purchase more tickets, more merchandise?
Then, in the early 2000s, things changed a bit, and sports organizations, especially professional ones, made an effort to develop better relationships with fans by providing better services to keep them satisfied and loyal. Mainly because of social media, fans now have the opportunity to interact with their teams 24 hours a day, seven days a week. So, it's more than just making sure the services are good; it's mainly about engaging them and making sure fans can interact with the team whenever they want. Engagement is also about that.
I would say it's almost like a consequence. It's an evolution from the idea of relationship to the idea of engagement. Now, it's not enough to have them recommend a friend to attend a game at Spotify Camp Nou, for example, and be happy. That's not enough because fans want to interact with Futbol Club (FC) Barcelona while they are at home; they want to interact with other Barcelona fans, to be part of the community."²
There's that word again.
After years of ingraining myself into Flyers fandom from a literal faraway island, I met another fan on the same level as me (shoutout Ty). When we got together for a game at the bar, it was goddamn electric fireworks. However, I'm getting ahead of myself.
The Night I Ran Out for the Tattoo
The year is 2010, and Canada is riding high off of its recent Olympic Gold Medal win for the men's ice hockey team, on home ice no less, not one ferry ride away over in Vancouver. Working at Hecklers Bar & Grill in British Columbia's beautiful capital city of Victoria during those Olympic Games was, for lack of a better word, insane. It was at that same bar, on April 11th, that the Flyers played their last game of the regular season against their division rivals, the New York Rangers.
Whoever won the game locked up the final playoff spot; the stakes could not have been higher. When the game went into overtime, I proclaimed that if the Flyers won, I would run out to the first tattoo shop I could find and finally get the Flyers logo I had wanted for years. Overtime turned into a shootout, which the Flyers won. I ran out screaming "I'LL BE BACK TO PAY MY TAB LATER!!" and got the tattoo I still have on my left arm.
Loving a City I've Never Seen
I have never been to Philadelphia. I love the cream cheese, Rocky and my beloved Flyers and will never say no to a cheesesteak. However, I'm not from Philadelphia and have never been there. There's a chance, though I pray against it, that I might never get to visit that great American city. To be able to stroll down Broad Street and have a silent moment of hallowed respect for where The Spectrum used to be.
Why do I feel a connection to a city I have never been to? William B. Swann, Professor of social and personality psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, might be able to shed some light on that with his Identity Fusion Theory.
"Identity fusion theory emphasizes the critical role of relational ties and collective ties in fostering a profound and enduring connection between individuals and groups. Relational ties refer to the close interpersonal bonds that individuals form within a group. In contrast, collective ties reflect the shared values, goals, and overarching identity that unify the group as a whole (Swann et al., 2012). In the context of sports fans, these dual dimensions of identity fusion manifest through deeply personal connections with other fans and a shared commitment to their team, which can drive intense loyalty and even extreme pro-group behaviors."³
I can absolutely imagine myself in my pre-marriage days being goaded into a bar fight at the height of the Claude Giroux / Sidney Crosby rivalry by some unruly chud Penguins fans. Why would that even be a possibility, a ridiculous event happening 4,809 kms (that would be 2,988 miles) from the state of Pennsylvania? An event that quite literally no one associated in any professional capacity with either franchise would even be aware of? Because fuck those Penguins fans, that's why. "Identity fusion theory!" is what I would be shouting out while standing over them (before offering a hand up and a beer; I am Canadian after all).
Continuing with the topic of identity fusion theory, "while relational ties are grounded in interpersonal connections, collective ties pertain to the shared values, goals, and collective identity of the group. Among sports fans, these ties are often rooted in the symbolic and cultural significance of their team. The shared history of the team, its iconic players, and memorable victories serve as focal points for collective identification. Fans align themselves with the team's narrative, adopting its successes and failures as their own, which fosters a collective identity that transcends individual differences (Branscombe & Wann, 1992)."³
Collective Ties and the Broad Street Bullies
Recently, my two-year-old son Ozzy has taken an interest in the Flyers. Instinctively, I thought to show him the YouTube video of the March 5th 2004 game between the Flyers and the Ottawa Senators, a bench brawl to beat all bench brawls (all set to Metallica's "Enter Sandman")⁴, a game in which each team earned a top three spot on the most penalty minutes by a team in a single game (Flyers 213, Senators 206).
It didn't even occur to me until after he lost interest why I chose that video. An indelible component of the Philadelphia Flyers ethos is the Broad Street Bullies, a nickname earned by the 1970s Stanley Cup-winning squads for being the nastiest guys on the ice. The game has evolved several times since then, but that part of the history remains ingrained. That shared history fosters a collective identity.
Coming in Part III
I'm starting to think these professors are onto something. In Part III, we will explore the relationship between sports fandom and common social systems and structures.
Citations:
¹ Greer, S. (1969). The Concept of Community: Readings with Interpretations (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315131443
² The Johan Cruyff Institute interview with Rui Biscaia (2021)
³ Koo T, Kwon HH, Shin J & Baeck J (2025). Is social identity theory enough to cover sports fans' behavior? An additional perspective from identity fusion theory. Front. Psychol. 16:1574520. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1574520
⁴ https://youtu.be/NS-39I9mzqM?si=RV60M9V1Pax7n7bj
Josh "Smokey-Hell" Nelson is a contributing writer for Optimus Fantasy. If you have any questions or general curiosity about Smokey-Hell Nelson, you can visit his BlueSky page @thesmokeshow.bsky.social