SSRS is on a mission to understand sports fandom around the world.
Our research focuses on pathways to fandom at the international level, and understanding what fandom means in different cultures and communities.
We are celebrating Superbowl LIX by sharing insight from NFL fans we spoke to in 9 countries, covering all 6 continents and 8 different languages.
Using online bulletin boards with built-in AI translation support, participants were asked to complete a range of activities designed to understand their fan behaviors, including uploading self-reflection videos about what it means to be a sports fan, and how they became fans of the NFL. Read more about this research >>
Pathways to NFL Fandom
Outside the U.S., many sports fans are less familiar with the NFL than with other major sports leagues. American football is well-known, but it is often more distant from people’s personal experiences than sports like soccer, basketball, or tennis. Nevertheless, the NFL has built up a substantial global following. While international NFL fans love the sport for many different reasons, our research points to several key themes that define their pathways to become NFL fans.
1. American Pop Culture, Including TV, Movies, Music, Super Bowl and Half-Time Show, and Cross-overs Between American and Global Celebrities
Many NFL fans first encounter the league, or the sport of American football, through different elements of American pop culture. Football’s prominence in American culture is reflected in American movies and television, which give the league visibility in countries where football is not commonly played or where NFL game broadcasts are more difficult to watch. Many of the NFL fans we spoke to pointed to memories of seeing football in shows or movies that made a first impression on them, and later finding their way to the NFL. Others talked about how their interest in a particular celebrity with connections to the NFL, either a former player, celebrity NFL fan, or in some cases player-celebrity couples, led them to discover the NFL and become fans of the league.
The Super Bowl is also an important draw to new and potential fans, not just as a game showcasing the top teams in the league, but also as a cultural event. Fans recounted how they found the Super Bowl from wanting to watch the halftime show performance and eventually became fans of the NFL starting from that experience.
What Clinched Fandom:
Cristina | Mexico: “I think the Super Bowl is one of the moments in which many Mexicans pay attention to, and sometimes not so much because of the games, but because of who is at halftime, which is one of the key things that has been echoed by this particular game.”
Angelica | Brazil: “Regarding the NFL, I started following it under the influence of Gisele Bundchen who married Tom Brady, then I started to enjoy and understand the games.”
2. Spending Time in the U.S. or Having Personal Connections to Other NFL Fans
International fans also forge connections to the NFL through time spent in the U.S., or through friends and family who visit the U.S. and come back with an interest in the NFL. Every year, millions of people visit the U.S. for tourism, study, or work; some of the NFL fans we spoke to described how they became fans of the NFL while visiting or living in the United States.
What Clinched Fandom:
3. Direct NFL Outreach, Including Going to NFL Games/Events in International Locations, or Hosting NFL International Events
Direct NFL outreach to international markets is another prominent pathway to fandom. As the NFL expands its offering of international games and events, people in host countries gain direct exposure to the NFL. German NFL fans described how their personal interest in the NFL started with games played in Germany. Besides live games, NFL events in international localities, such as the NFL Experience, are raising awareness and cultivating NFL fandom where they occur.
Hear directly from NFL fans around the world with SSRS qualitative insights from Sports Poll.
Lwazi | South Africa | NFL Presence in South Africa
Cristina | Mexico | NFL Presence in Mexico
Mai | Japan | Spent Time in the U.S.
Julia | Germany | NFL Presence in Germany
Marnitz | South Africa | American Pop Culture
Yasuteru | Japan | American Pop Culture
