Is being a fan a curse or a blessing? Status, identification and well-being

Sport fans often express extreme forms of group loyalty in supporting their favourite team (e.g., wearing a visible tattoo with the logo of their beloved soccer club or even being buried in a coffin in the team colours). Based on the Social Identity Approach, it can be argued that such acts of unconditional loyalty are beneficial for the fan’s personal self-esteem and well-being as long as the team is performing relatively well. However, it is inherent to sport that even the most successful team have bad seasons, leaving their fans vulnerable to derisions by outgroup rivals because of their subjective low status. Moreover, some teams suffer from a long-standing poor track record, but nevertheless continue to attract a substantial number of fans. The question then becomes how and when the chronic low status of their team affects the well-being of these fans and how they cope with this situation. In this keynote, I will present an overview of studies related to this topic and will argue for the need for more research on the psychological consequences of sport fandom, also in the face of temporary defeats. I will focus on the difference between so-called fair-weather fans and die-hard fans, to show how the level of identification with the team moderates the impact of group status on well-being.status: Unpublishe