There are large differences in the budgets devoted to those items. While some supporters declare to have no specific budget for it, others spend considerable amounts of money on it. However, fans usually refuse to bypass some limits. One major observation emerging from this study is that football items are not only consumed during the matches. They are also displayed in other footbal-related activities which have been observed. Moreover, the consumption of those items does not always end once football activities are over but sometimes extends in profane everyday life and in more sacred moments: "Even on my wedding day I was wearing the braces and the tie of my favourite football club" Jodl, Charleroi.
Merchandising seems to take this evolution into account since more fashionable items such as skirts, ties, pullovers or suits are now displayed in the fan shops we have visited. One of the major reasons of wearing colors and scarves is to allow the personal and social identification with the beloved team and to stand out against the other teams.
The identification function of the material possessions of football fans is central in the understanding of fan behavior. Emerging from the data, there is a kind of automatic identification process based on the dyad colors-team which involves both a pronounced preference for the colors of the own team and an obvious rejection of the colors of rival teams:.
We are the "mauves " and the others are dressed in another color. It enables us to recognize each other" Albert, Anderlecht. The emblematic function of colors may lead to some abuses. On one hand, fans tend to classify other supporters of the same team as rivals when they incidently wear colors of the opponents.
On the other hand, some fans use to burn the colors of hatred teams and to wear " anti " items T-shirts, scarves or embroidered badges such as illustrated in Figure 1. Fortunately, this behavior is not the rule and is even denounced by most of our informants as not being typical at all of a "good" supporter.
However, the observation data show that those " anti " items are widespread in the visited stadiums and around. They are usually worn by younger and more exuberant fans. An adhesion or affiliation process is going on in spectator sports through symbols such as the team, the stadium and the players. Those symbols lead to the creation of collective identities involving the supporters of each team. Following this concept, consumers may use products in order to communicate the group to which they belong.
So, an analogy could be made between the armorial bearings of noble medieval families and the contemporary emblems of football clubs which are often paraded by fans. Finally, according to King , the love of the team and rivalry with other clubs are typical traits of football fans, which stem from the sense of pride and the masculine competition for honor. Pride both serves as a way of self-expression see later and of assertion in social relations.
That is why there is such an emphasis on the rivalry with other clubs and on the superiority of the own team. In line with this focus on pride, our observations indicate that supporters of more important and more successful teams tend to show external signs of membership more frequently.
Football fans of less famous teams, which are not performing very well, such as Charleroi in this case, are not that encouraged to wear the colors of their team. The social environment has a considerable influence on the consumption of football-related material items. Colors and scarves are conspicuously displayed not only to show others the identification with one team but also to be recognized as the member of a group i.
If you do not have anything mauve, people stare at you strangely" Morgan, Anderlecht. The importance of the social environment is confirmed by the observation data from the stadiums. Some supporters seem to exhibit those football-related items in order to be accepted by the other supporters. This is even more obvious for the stands which are saved for the most enthusiastic supporters where wearing a scarf is considered as a minimum.
Those " hard core " members know perfectly the names and forenames of all the players, of the coach, the assistant coach and even of the medical staff! Based on this, it should be concluded that adhesion to the group is based on specific behavior such as screaming, whistling and singing as well as on the possession and the exhibition of material items such as scarves, shirts and hats.
In those instances, consumption clearly plays a role of integration Holt, One could even go one step further in the interpretation: the paraphernalia of football fans gives them a sense of communion or "communitas" Turner, This interpretation introduces another major phenomenon emerging from our analyses: the communion between supporters during matches.
Collective joy or disillusion scenes are often observed when attending a football game. Fans are raising their arms, clapping their hands, singing hymns, waiving their flags, whirling their scarves, firing Bengal lights or flares, throwing rolls of toilet paper. This communion may produce ecstatic behavior in extraordinary match circumstances. Those activities may be interpreted both as devotion to the team see later and fun. The proposition of the consumption of football as play see Holt, sounds logical since football basically is a play.
The playing dimension of fan behavior is even more obvious when supporters are seen in "ola" movements ["Ola" is the Spanish term for wave, which is used all over the world to describe such moves. The mass effect is put into light: the stadium erupts and fans are transcended by the atmosphere. Everyone moves, people kiss one another. Sometimes you fall flat on your face. And Sclessin [the name of the stadium] goes crazy " Joseph, Standard.
By the communion, ecstasy, and socialization observed during matches, social norms and barriers are lowered: people who otherwise do not have anything in common interact and share experiences.
This phenomenon has already been mentioned by Holt about baseball matches. We can conclude this theme of integration by suggesting that the fan community or club acts as a surrogate family, such as acknowledged by the informants themselves: " this creates friendly relationships" or "this is like a family". Two major dimensions of expression emerge from the analysis of our material: the expression of feelings and the expression of the self. The possession and consumption of football-related items make existing links with other people, events or important experiences stronger.
It often appears in our data that informants pay a particular attention for not saying a deotion to some items which have been worn or touched by their idols e. Other informants are very proud to show pictures where they are standing next to their favorite player. A more extreme illustration of this is the obituary that has been written and handed out by Anderlecht supporters after the memorable victory i. T-shirts with the score were printed on this occasion.
The affective nature of those links is responsible for the expression of positive feelings such as pride or happiness or negative ones such as anger: "Once I did trample on my scarf because Standard [the opponent that day] and Anderlecht [the beloved team] drew one all" Morgan, Anderlecht.
In addition to the expression of feelings and emotions, the material possessions of football fans serve to affirm their identity. While sharing the same colors and the same devotion to their team, fans also try to outdo the other supporters of their community by their external appearance and paraphernalia. It is now widely accepted that a consumer often wants to differentiate himself and to express his personality through his clothes.
Some collectors keep scarves from single matches known as a half and half scarf for display. Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from.
By choosing I Accept , you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Open Cup. Sons of Ben Transfers Features. With the continuous growth of soccer in the U. National team and club games are attended by quite a lot of scarf-wearing fans who inherited the European traditions. MLS has adopted the scarf as part of the annual SuperDraft handing draft picks a scarf of their new club similar to how the NBA uses draft caps.
The warm weather has not deterred fans. They want to take their scarves to the stadium because of what they represent. Not only do they look cool, they are also cheaper than jerseys and have an equal or higher meaning.
And there is a divine intervention on the sporting culture of scarves. Pope Francis is a known fan of Argentine football team San Lorenzo and not surprisingly has been seen showing pride in the club with a scarf.
This past week, when Juventus and Porto where playing in the UEFA Champions League, a Porto fan jumped the security fence to exchange scarves with a Juve fan, receiving a standing ovation from both sides. Brad Homeyer talktous the Trending On The By David Moore. By Connor Fleming. By Travis Yoesting.
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