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Research on sport fandom has traditionally been restricted to traditional (e.g., physical) sport (tSports). However, in recent years, a new type of sport fandom surrounding competitive electronic video gaming (eSports) has emerged. Using MTurk, we surveyed individuals familiar with both tSports and eSports, and assessed their team identification and motivation for fandom in each category. Results indicate that eSport and tSport fans are similar on a majority of measured dimensions, including escape, self-esteem, and group affiliation motivation. These findings suggest that sport fandom is a broad, generalizable construct that applies to both tSports and eSports., Research over the last several decades has greatly expanded on our understanding of the psychology of sport fandom (Wann & James, in press). Indeed, empirical and theoretical advances have been [...]

Wikipedia is a widely used online reference work which cites hundreds of thousands of scientific articles across its entries. The quality of these citations has not been previously measured, and such measurements have a bearing on the reliability and quality of the scientific portions of this reference work. Using a novel technique, a massive database of qualitatively described citations, and machine learning algorithms, we analyzed 1 923 575 Wikipedia articles which cited a total of 824 298 scientific articles in our database and found that most scientific articles cited by Wikipedia articles are uncited or untested by subsequent studies, and the remainder show a wide variability in contradicting or supporting evidence. Additionally, we analyzed 51 804 643 scientific articles from journals indexed in the Web of Science and found that similarly most were uncited or untested by subsequent studies, while the remainder show a wide variability in contradicting or supporting evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sport fans believe they have the ability to influence the outcome of sporting events, and research suggests that they can do so. The current study examined seven methods through which fans regularly attempt to influence sporting events: positive verbalizations, positive behaviors, negative verbalizations, negative behaviors, instrumental verbal aggression, superstitious behaviors, and prayer. Participants completed a questionnaire assessing the extent to which they utilized these methods during their favorite sport team's games, as well as several measures assessing sport fan characteristics (e.g., team identification and fan dysfunction). The results indicated that the most commonly utilized methods of influence were positive verbalizations and positive behaviors, while the least commonly used was negative behaviors. Additionally, all methods of influence were positively correlated, suggesting that they tend to be complimentary rather than contradictory. Finally, a series of regression analyses indicated that team identification and fan dysfunction positively predicted each method of influence. Discussion includes motivations for attempts to influence as well as implications for sport marketing and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]