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Abstract In this study, it is the aim to find out if the level of team identification of a football fan influences their emotional well-being based on their team's performance. Participants in the lower sixth were asked, via a questionnaire, whether or not they supported a football team and how much they identified with this team (on a scale of 1-10). They were then asked, on a scale of 1-10, how happy they would be if their football team were to win, and how sad they would be if their football team were to lose. A pie chart of emotions felt was also made to show all the varying emotions. The data shows that the more identification with their team, the more emotional they would feel after their team's performance. This is shown in the two scatter graphs that were created with the data from the questionnaire.
Introduction This piece of research is to see how identifying with a football team influences personal identity and emotional well-being. Team identification is defined as the level of psychological connection an individual has with a sports team (Wann et al., 2001). Personal identity is defined as an individual's perceptions about themselves in relation to a group or affiliation. Here, it means how fan ship to a football team reflects in a person’s self-concept. Over the years there have been very few studies and research papers on this sort of topic. Only one that we have found has actually been useful in providing information about our selected topic. Nicolas Dixon (2001) made a paper called “The Ethics of Supporting Sports Teams” which clearly outlined why fans have certain motivations and the differences between partisan and purist fans. Nicolas Dixon concluded that the ideal sports fan is a "moderate partisan," someone who is loyal to their team but still values fairness, skill, and respect for others. These fans choose their support based on ethical values and avoid negative or immoral behaviour. Supporting teams that strive for excellence and act morally is seen as a good thing and even a “positive virtue”. One hypothesis can be made for the study. The experimental hypothesis (directional): “The participants' identification strength will affect how happy and unhappy they feel based on their team's performance in their most recent game.”
e. On a scale of 1-10, if your team were to win this weekend, how happy would this make you feel? f. What emotions do you feel the most when your team wins a football match? g. On a scale of 1-10, if your team were to lose this weekend, how unhappy would this make you feel? h. What emotions do you feel the most when your team loses a football match?
- The data is then gathered and the team identification and the two scales of 1-10 for emotions felt are put into a scatter graph.
- The spearman’s rho test is used for the data, because the data type is ordinal, to identify whether the data is significant or not.
Results The table above shows each individuals identification score (from 1-10). It also shows the participants happy (if their team were to win) score and sad (if their team were to lose) score, from 1-10. These results were put into a two separate scatter graphs to show the correlation between the level of identification and the emotions felt. The Spearman’s rho test shows the following results: The correlation between the identification score and the happy score is r = 0.777, with a p value of p = 4.84 x 10-6. The correlation between the identification score and the unhappy score is r = 0.897, with a p value of p = 1.30 x 10-9. These results show that higher team identification is strongly associated with greater emotional reactions. This is shown in both happiness after a win and unhappiness after a loss.
Discussion The results of this study demonstrate a clear correlation between the level of team identification and the emotional wellbeing of football fans, specifically in relation to their team's performance. Participants who demonstrated higher levels of team identification reported stronger emotional responses to their team’s outcomes, with greater happiness after a win and greater sadness after a loss. This finding supports the experimental hypothesis, suggesting that the psychological connection to a sports team increases emotional reactions to game performance. The scatter graphs highlight this trend accurately. These results align with Dixon's (2001) analysis of fandom, which emphasizes the deep emotional investment fans make in their teams. Furthermore, this study extends existing theories, such as Wann et al. (2001), by demonstrating how team identification influences emotional responses in younger populations like sixth form students. Despite these insights, the study has limitations that should be addressed in future research. The sample was relatively small and consisted only of sixth-form students, restricting the generalizability of the findings. Expanding the participant pool to include individuals of different ages, regions, and levels of football engagement would provide a broader understanding of this relationship. Additionally, dependence on self- reported data may have introduced biases, such as inaccurate self- assessments. While this study highlights the potential for strong team identification to both enhance positive emotions and intensify negative ones, it also underscores the importance of encouraging balanced fan engagement. Further research could explore how ethical team behaviour and healthy fan practices influence the emotional wellbeing of sports enthusiasts.
