Game Rivals
Game Rivals
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
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
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
people. People establish actual or imagined in-groups when they feel a connection with others
from people regarded as different (Tyler & Cobbs, 2015). Individuals’ use of group ties to
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
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
opponent.
celebrate when a rival team loses in indirect competition. Certain supporters may become
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.
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
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
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
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
Conclusion
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