Rivalry in Sports

Rivalry is a phrase used by fans, media, marketers, administrators, and players in

sports to refer to key games and opponents in a team’s schedule. For spectators, rivalry may

add excitement to sports events, whether they like seeing their favorite team defeat a

competitor or get a rush from watching two rival teams go head-to-head. The study of rivalry

in sports is gaining traction in psychology, sports management, politics, and business.

Researchers researching group and individual behavior within the sporting arena need to

learn more about what causes rivalry and what happens when rivalry arises (Havard, 2018).

In addition, practitioners gain from rivalry research because a greater understanding of the

phenomenon may help plan competitions between rival teams and groups (Havard, 2018).

Thus, this essay seeks to discuss rivalry in sport, sports rivalry fan perception, and the future

of sports rivalry to understand its impact on how a fan follows the sport.

Foundations of Rivalry

To understand competitive group dynamics in spectator sports, one must first

comprehend what drives supporters to connect with a particular team. Humans, in particular,

have a natural need to see themselves in a good light by comparing themselves to others

while also being accepted by others (Tyler & Cobbs, 2015). These social requirements

emerge in people who have similar characteristics, establishing groupings of like-minded

people. People establish actual or imagined in-groups when they feel a connection with others

based on similarity. Simultaneously, they create mental out-groups to separate themselves

from people regarded as different (Tyler & Cobbs, 2015). Individuals’ use of group ties to

form self-identification is at the core of sports rivalry.

In-group bias is the propensity to prefer persons from one’s group while

discriminating against others. As a result, fans of the same team hold each other in more
regard than fans of an opponent, whom they frequently disparage due to inter-group prejudice

(Tyler & Cobbs, 2015). In this way, social identity fosters links between groups while also

sowing negative bias or prejudice against others. According to Tyler and Cobbs (2015), a

rivalry is “a highly visible group that threatens the ability of the in-identity group to make

favorable comparisons between their group and the out-group.” Fans sense rivalry and may

react with increased negative behavior when specific people offer a particularly acute threat

in the context of associated variables.

Some of the antecedents and characteristics of rivalry include relative supremacy of

one group and frequency of competition, where an individual’s sense of accomplishment

stemming from their group’s triumph against an opposing team is more noticeable when the

defeated out-group presented a stiff competition. Second, there is the defining moment,

which refers to occurrences that stand out as extraordinary in the collective awareness of

stakeholders (Goertz & Diehl, 1993). The third point is that the biggest bias occurs toward a

peer out-group similar to the in-group but not identical to it. Other characteristics are rivalry

for employees, location, ethnic barriers, and perceived injustice. In sports, for example, a

fan’s connection with a favorite team or star can influence rivalry. As a result, sports

managers should think about the stars in their arena when managing rivalry perceptions, such

as stressing parallels or suitable contrasts to opponent stars or defining events about an

opponent.

Glory Out of Reflected Failure

celebrate when a rival team loses in indirect competition. Certain supporters may become

more aggressive and violent as a result of their perceptions of competition. As a result,

correctly assessing supporters’ perceptions of rivalry is a financial factor for marketers and a

concern for event management in terms of fan safety. Furthermore, rivalry impacts how
people consume the sports product, and it may lead to spectators paying greater prices to

attend a game. Fans’ physiological responses are influenced by watching a game between

rival teams. When a fan’s favorite team succeeds, their bodily emotions are different from

when a rival team succeeds. According to Zillmann and Cantor’s (1976) disposition of mirth

argument, people cheer when someone they like succeeds and someone they detest fails. That

is, individuals applaud others’ failures to compare themselves favorably to the out-group.

The rivalry may exacerbate animosity between fans and teams as it can influence

whether or not someone will assist others in an emergency. Fans who identify strongly with

their favorite team are more prone to consider anonymous hostility towards rival players,

fans, and coaches than those who identify less strongly with their favorite club (Havard,

2018). Because rivalry may exacerbate sentiments of hatred, it is critical that researchers are

aware of and prepared for such occurrences. Unfortunately, reports of rival supporters getting

into physical altercations or arguing have become all too prevalent (Havard, 2018). This

should alert practitioners and motivate them to take action to assist in controlling these

harmful habits.

Sports Rivalry Fan Perception Scale

The Sports Rivalry Fan Perception Scale (SRFPS) looks at how sports supporters see

their rival teams. The SRFPS specifically inquires about fans’ willingness to support a rival

team against another, their judgments of the rival team’s prestige, their assessments of rival

team supporters’ conduct, and their sense of joy after their preferred team defeats their

competitor team. Fan views of rival teams may be influenced by factors such as how attached

a person is to a team and whether the favored team won or lost the most recent rivalry game.

As a result, by giving an operational definition of sports rivalry and the construction and
validation of the SRFPS, future researchers will be able to evaluate fan perceptions of a rival

club accurately.

Although the SRFPS should be utilized and validated further, academics and

practitioners investigating factors of fan behavior can use it in its current form to distinguish

supporters based on their opinions of a rival team. Suppose academics can accurately

evaluate fans’ perceptions of their preferred team’s opponent. In that case, they may combine

the scale with other factors and scales to better understand how the presence of a rival

impacts fan behavior. The SRFPS should also be used in conjunction with other fan

identification scales to see any variations in rival perspectives. It should also be utilized to

assess fan consumption tendencies for preferred teams. Besides, SRFPS is given as a scale to

quantify fans’ and supporters’ impressions about a rival club with care. Researchers should

do more study to see how the SRFPS may be utilized to comprehend better the antagonistic

connection between competing supporters and teams and control potentially harmful

interactions in and out of the competitive arena.

Future of Sport Rivalry

Because the study of sports rivalry is still in its early stages, it is critical to recognize

how future research might help to comprehend the phenomena better. More study on

perceived distinctions between groups of persons or followers of companies outside of sport

might be a future for rivalry research. In addition, studies on how rivalry presents itself on

media platforms such as Facebook or web forums would add to the growing collection of

sports rivalry literature. To this date, most rivalry studies have relied on fan recall, either

through interviews or survey-based data (Havard & Dalakas, 2017). An observational study

would help better understand how rivalry influences fan behavior.

consumption is dependent on fan willingness or probability (Havard & Dalakas, 2017). In the

future, researchers investigating how supporters respond to rival loss may find quantitative

methods for assessing both schadenfreude and GORFing useful in determining the

distinctions between the two occurrences (Havard & Hutchinson, 2017). Finally, further

study in experimental settings, such as lab studies or field trials, would help to grasp better

the impact rivalry has on sports fans.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, organizations and practitioners have to understand better their role in

cultivating a welcoming and safe fan environment. Beyond an enterprise’s moral duty to offer

safe entertainment for its consumers, deviant fan conduct can result in serious legal and

financial burdens. As a result, while sponsoring opposing or rival teams, businesses should

use prudence. Researchers, media members, and marketers interested in the group and

individual behavior both within and outside the athletic arena should understand the causes

and effects of rivalry, as they play an essential part in fan marketing.