An investigation of highly identified fans who bet against their favorite teams

Highlights

•	Some highly identified fans Bet Against their Favorite Teams (BAFT).
•	These non-normative behaviors are explored, described, and explained.
•	For some fans, financial gains offset a perceived impending emotional loss.
•	These fans Hedge Against Future Failure (HAFF) as a self-image management strategy.
•	Unlike BIRGing and CORFing, HAFFing is transactional, proactive, and private.

Abstract

Using a mixed-method exploratory approach we describe and explain the seemingly non-normative behaviors of highly identified fans who Bet Against their Favorite Teams (BAFT). Axial coding of qualitative data from 190 survey respondents and two focus groups indicates the emergence of common themes allowing a typology to unfold that explains the motives for and against BAFTing. Results reveal that Gamblers BAFT for reasons un-related to fandom. Hedgers, on the other hand, BAFT precisely because they are fans; they offset a perceived impending emotional loss with a financial gain, a behavior we identify as Hedging Against Future Failure (HAFFing). This research expands the theoretical knowledge of indirect tactics of image management and introduces HAFFing as a transactional, proactive, and private coping mechanism utilized by highly identified fans to regulate their psychological health. Beyond the implications for researchers of self-image management, these results are applicable to global sport managers adapting to the rising prominence and societal acceptance of sport gambling.

Keywords:

• Social identity theory
• Self-image management
• Self-concept
• Emotional hedging
• Gambling
• Consumer behavior

Notes

1 Fax: [phone].

1 A reviewer pointed out that these gambling motives are also known motives for fandom (Wann et al., 1995). Despite this interesting overlap, we focus on already highly identified fans (regardless of their initial motive for fandom). Although it is possible that some were initially drawn to sports for economic or gambling motives, there is no a priori evidence that these fans would be more likely to BAFT. Future research on BAFTing could also integrate the Sport Fan Motivation Scale to further investigate this link.

2 Throughout the paper we refer to survey respondents as SR and focus group members as FGM.

3 We identified one other BAFTer who did not fit neatly into the above classifications. This bettor used BAFTing as a form of social justice to “punish” teams for making decisions with which the individual disagreed. This BAFTer aligns in some ways with Pons, Giroux, Maltese, and Mourali’s (2014) view of dysfunctional fans who have a love–hate relationship with their favorite team, yet we only observed one respondent who fit this description. Further investigation will need to be conducted to better understand such individuals.