Making Sense of Sport Fan Identification and Loyalty: Differentiating First and Second Favorite Teams of Mexico’s NFL Fans

In this empirical study, we examined the impact of NFL fanship on team identification and team loyalty. While sport spectators have various motives for watching a game, even when their favorite team is not playing, little to no known research has illuminated how NFL fanship translates to identification with and loyalty for a second favorite team—especially amongst “satellite fans.” Acknowledging ongoing internationalization efforts of the National Football League (NFL), we surveyed 571 Mexico-based NFL fans to better understand this market. Drawing upon literature from identity theory, fanship, and spectatorship, we utilized partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to examine how Mexico-based NFL fans manifest identification and loyalty to their first and second favorite teams. We found that NFL fanship strongly affects identification for first and second favorite teams, which strongly impacts team loyalty. Our findings demonstrate that Mexico-based NFL fans can be highly identified like local fans, providing expanded insights for scholars and practitioners focused on NFL fanship beyond core domestic markets. Additionally, we found that NFL fanship alone does not significantly influence loyalty to one’s first favorite team; team identification must also be present. However, fanship influences loyalty to one’s second favorite team, offering new perspectives on satellite supporters.