[Fans](https://www.sportico.com/t/fans/) are misunderstood, [Fox Sports](https://www.sportico.com/t/fox-sports/) EVP for strategy and analytics Ben Valenta said. The outraged heckler with his face painted doesn’t represent most sports-watchers. And the dejected diehard of a downtrodden franchise isn’t truly stuck in a one-sided detrimental relationship. Even being a Buffalo Bills fan comes with benefits, according to Valenta’s research.
Now, a group of Harvard University academics are on the case.
Fox Sports has begun funding the newly created Fandom & Social Connection Initiative at Harvard’s Kennedy School under Professor Todd Rogers, the network will announce on Monday. Financial terms of the arrangement have not been disclosed.
“Sports fandom is one of the most powerful forces in American life, and yet it is deeply understudied. This initiative will change that,” Rogers said in a statement. “Our goal is to understand fandom scientifically: what makes it so meaningful to so many people, how it builds and sustains relationships, and how we can expand and amplify its benefits.”
Rogers’ team is currently studying how co-fandom could combat political polarization as well as how more social viewing opportunities might increase fans’ connection to sports while also providing perks researchers have already found to be associated with fandom.
In their 2022 book, _Fans Have More Friends_, Valenta and co-author David Sikorjak used data to argue that following sports helps people build more, stronger relationships with friends, family and even strangers. Fandom can extend beyond sports, but major leagues represent the largest generators of social connectivity. Their studies also found fans to be more optimistic and generous than those who have largely tuned sports out.
“What we find is that regardless of the fan base in question, whether they’re perennial losers or in the middle of a dynastic run, there really is no measurable effect on the wellness outcomes that we see,” Valenta said. “Effectively what fandom is, is you’re going on an emotional ride with other people, and whether you’re celebrating or commiserating, it doesn’t really actually matter. What matters is the connectivity that results from the engagement.”
Now Valenta hopes the ongoing research helps clarify the exact mechanisms by which fandom leads to people having stronger social bonds.
“One thing that I’m really interested in that the Harvard folks are already working on is this idea of sports solving the social coordination issue,” he said. “What sports does is provide this reliable, recurring rhythm of opportunities to hang out, and it removes some of the friction around the process of planning.”
The results could inform how Fox produces and markets its games, focusing on sports’ connective abilities over mere entertainment value. It could also combat assumptions about how and why people become fans. “We tend to look at fandom frivolously,” Valenta said. “What we encounter when you actually go and talk to fans are stories that are completely opposite that idea … people get a little misty-eyed because they’re telling stories about the deepest, most profound relationships in their life.”