Videographic Analysis of "Weird Guys": What Do Relationships Mean to Football Fans?

Abstract

This book chapter is intended to add to the existing literature by taking a closer look at the social relationships of football fans. Social relationships are the culture that evolves between two or more people (McCall, 1970; Wood, 1982). They build on strong bonds that emerge from the interaction between individuals as they act according to common accepted norms and rules. We contribute to a better understanding of how these relationships provide meaning to football fans and, thus, affect their behavior and loyalty to a team. Because of the explorative nature of the research, an ethnographic approach using data from filmed observations of and depth interviews with football fans in Germany was applied. Fans, who follow their teams to away games were chosen for the analysis, because it was assumed they are the most loyal and engaged fans. The remainder of the chapter is organized as follows. We will start with an overview on the related literature. This is followed by an illumination on the research framework and the research setting. We will explain the research methodology used whereby the focus will be on videography as a research method because it has not yet been widely used in sport marketing. Afterwards, the most important themes drawn from interviews and observation are presented and discussed in light of the existing literature. Finally, the concluding sections point out the implications of this study for understanding the social relationships of football fans and the consequences for their relationship to a team. A complementary video which illustrates some interviews and observations can be made available by the authors upon email request.