e fanatical in their love and devotion to their favorite sports teams and players.
By far, professional football draws the most spectators and fans of all American sports. According to ESPN, a recent poll shows that almost 1 in every 4 Americans ages 12 and up say that football is their ôfavoriteö sport, (Football, 2004, p. 3). In the same poll, fifty-four percent of all sports fans choose one of four sports as their ôfavorite,ö as demonstrated in the chart below:
The average spectator or fan is not a fanatic, someone obsessed with their sports team, favorite players or sports in general. Beyond this level of spectatorship; however, there are the avid fans who become fanatics, driven by an uncontrollable obsession that involves a number of different practices. Such practices involve painting team names or numbers of athletes on the chests of fans who stand shirtless in subzero degree temperatures or fans like fanatic Redskin fans who wear ôpigö noses and dress like women to become part of the infamous ôHawgs,ö obsessed fans who live and die for Washington Redskins football. In Philadelphia, notorious for its obnoxious, often violent and obsessed fans, Santa Clause has been booed and more than one opposing team coach has left the field to a shower or beer bottles after a close loss. In ClevelandÆs notorious ôdog poundö stadium, where fanatical fans rooted for the Browns before they relocated, more than one riot has broken out over fanatical anger and obsession with sports.
Norelco has conducted a ôSport Fanatics Surveyö that
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