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Sport
MarHetIng
Quarterly, 2004,13,151-157, © 2004 West Virginia University
Beyond BIRGing and CORFing:
Continuing the Exploration of
Fan Behavior
Richard M, Campbell, Jr., Damon Aiken, Aubrey Ketit
Abstract
While much previous research has been conducted
related to the tendencies for sports fans to bask in
reflected glory (BIRG) and cut off reflected failure
(CORF), the present work derives a model of fan
behavior inclusive of two new concepts that extend
existing theory: basking in spite of reflected failure
(BIRF) and cutting off reflected success (CORS). The
authors provide examples of image-management
behaviors associated with BIRF and CORS and suggest
multiple explanations for these relatively unusual con-
sumer actions. Further, the authors develop formal
propositions to guide future study. The authors con-
clude with a brief discussion of strategic sport market-
ing applications as well as a theoretical expansion into
additional areas of fanship.
Beyond BIRGing and CORFing: Continuing
the Exploration of Fan Behavior
The widely cited claim, "Winning isn't everything: it's
the only thing" speaks volumes about our culture's
propensity to focus on success and the objectivity of
winning. The quotation is most often attributed to the
late Vince Lombardi and raises a host of issues that are
central to the importance of winning above all else
(Simon, 1985). Indeed, a good deal of previous
Rich Campbell is an assistant professor of marketing at
California State University,
Bakersfteld.
His research
interests include fan behavior, brand extensions, and
sponsorship.
Damon Aiken is an assistant professor of marketing at
Pepperdine University. His research interests include
sport spectator consumption behavior, team preference
formation, and values.
Aubrey Kent is an assistant professor in the depart-
ment of sport management, recreation management, and
physical education at Florida State University. His inter-
ests include consumer and employee attitudes in sport.
"The phenomenon of basking in reflected glory
is well documented and reflects the psychological
nature of fanship and the premise of vicarious
achievement. On the other
hand,
when an
athlete or team fails, fans tend to distance
themselves through a process labeled cutting off
reflected failure."
research has examined the importance of a winning
record on consumers' behavior. For instance, utilizing
data from college football fans, Kahle, Kambara, and
Rose (1996) cited identification with a winning team as
a key component in their functional model of fan
attendance. Moreover, Greenstein and Marcum (1981)
found that 25% of variance in attendance could be
attributed to team performance in major league base-
ball. Pan, Gabert, McGaugh, and Branvold (1997)
noted team success as an important factor in purchas-
ing season tickets for intercollegiate basketball games.
Finally, across various sports, team success ranked as
the primary reason for currently following a team
(Wann, Tucker, & Schrader, 1996). Quite often it
seems that a sports fan's ultimate desire is simply to see
their favorite team win (Zillmann & Paulus, 1993).
In explaining consumption behaviors, winning can
relate to an internalized positive self-definition, as well
as an externalized enhanced position in the social envi-
ronment (Kahle et al., 1996). Thus, external fan behav-
iors can be linked to internal psychological factors of
self-image management as well as external sociological
factors related to perceptions from others (i.e., the
"ideal social
self"
discussed by Markus and Kitayama,
1991).
The phenomenon of basking in reflected glory
(BIRG) is well documented and reflects the psychologi-
cal nature of fanship and the premise of vicarious
achievement (Cialdini et al., 1976). On the other hand,
when an athlete or team fails, fans tend to distance
themselves through a process labeled cutting off
reflected failure (CORF) (Snyder, Lassegard,
&
Ford,
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151
1986).
Rather than lessen
an
internal self image,
or
suffer
the
consequences
of
a weakened position
in the
social environment, fans will often dissociate them-
selves from unsuccessful teams.
While these constructs
are
critical
to
understanding
fan behavior,
a
great deal
of
anecdotal evidence sug-
gests that there
is
much more
to fan
behavior than just
BIRGing
and
CORFing.
For
instance,
a
number
of
fans will often remain loyal,
or
even strengthen ties,
with unsuccessful sport franchises. Major league base-
ball's Chicago Cubs
and
Boston Red Sox have very
loyal
fan
bases despite their long-standing
and
well-
documented failures
to win
championships. Similarly,
over
the
years many sports teams (e.g.,
the
NBA's
Golden State Warriors,
the
NFL's Detroit Lions,
and the
NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs) maintain large, loyal
fan
bases despite poor winning percentages. Interestingly,
this tendency to tout association
in the
face
of
failure,
to revel
in
loyalty
to
losers, has
yet to be
systematically
investigated by sport marketing researchers.
Another observed behavior
not
fully explained
by
BIRGing
and
CORFing
is
that
of
fans cutting
off
ties
with successful teams.
An
increasing number
of
fans
have become disenchanted with seemingly greedy own-
ers,
managers,
and
players (Friedman, 2000). This sub-
set
of
fans may cite
the
notion that teams
and
owners
have
sold
out, that they have lost touch with their
fan
base,
or
that perhaps they have strayed from
the
purity
of the game
as
sport. A potential example
of
this type
of behavior
is
fans
of
the Oakland Raiders.
"In the era of free
agency
it
is conceivable
that
once-hated
rivals
might end up
on
a fan's favorite
team."
Throughout
the
1970s
the
Raiders built
a
large national
fan base outside
of
Oakland. When
the
Raiders moved
to Los Angeles
for the
1982 season,
a
segment
of
these
national fans may have been disgusted
by
ownership's
off-field decision
and
stopped rooting
for the
team.
Even
as the
Raiders went
on to win
Super Bowl XVIII
a
year later, this disgruntled group
of
fans would
not
bask
in the
Raiders' success.
In
reviewing this example,
it
is
important
to
distinguish between national Raider
fans
and
those
in the
local Oakland market,
as a
com-
ponent
of
the local fans' attachment
to the
team was
based
on the
geographic area while that was
not the
case
for the
national fans.
Similarly, major league baseball is wrought with
a
history
of
fans cutting themselves
off
from successful
franchises
due to
allegations
of
team misconduct
(the
1919 Chicago "Black" Sox), players that
do not
follow
league rules (Pete Rose with
the
Cincinnati Reds),
management/ownership that has lost touch with
the
game
as
sport
(as
illustrated by the 1997 Florida
Marlin's buy-your-way-to-a-championship strategy,
followed
by a
calculated dismantling
of
the team
for
financial considerations), league-level labor issues
(as
seen
in the
2002 season),
or
teams that are viewed
as
soulless
for
simply buying
the
best players (e.g.,
the
New York Yankees during the Steinbrenner
era and
during
the
1950s when poorer clubs such
as the
Kansas
City Athletics commonly sold their best players
to the
Yankees). Moreover,
in the era of
free agency
it is con-
ceivable that once-hated rivals might
end up on a
fan's
favorite team (e.g., perhaps
a
subset Oakland Raider
fan who despised Bill Romanowski when
he
starred
for
rivals
the
Denver Broncos
and San
Francisco 49ers,
may struggle with rooting
for the
team once this
for-
merly hated mercenary joins their team
or
L.A. Lakers
fans may have found
it
difficult
to
root
for the
team,
having rooted against Phil Jackson
for so
many years
as
head coach
of
the Chicago Bulls). So, while there
are
many reasons
to cut
ties with
a
successfiil team, this
unique area
of
fan behavior has
yet to be
studied.
While previous research
has
related
the
topics
of
team success
and fan
association
in the
forms
of
BIRGing
and
CORFing, there
are
elements
of fan
behavior that fall along these dimensions
but
have yet
to
be
investigated. We propose
an
extension
of
the
current model relating team-success factors
to fan-
associative behaviors. Thus, this paper has two main
objectives. First, new concepts will
be
introduced
and
discussed
as
extensions
of
the BIRGing
and
CORFing
phenomena. We believe these new concepts provide
the potential
for a
more complete model
of
fan behav-
ior relative
to
team performance
and fan
associations.
Second, directions
for
future research
are
offered.
These suggestions include methods
for
identifying
behaviors consistent with
the
two new concepts pre-
sented
in
this paper
and
propositions relating
the new
concepts
to
existing constructs that have been tested
in
the context
of
the established BIRFing
and
CORSing
literature
on fan
behavior. We conclude with
a
discus-
sion
of
strategic marketing implications.
Conceptual Background
BIRGing
and
CORFing relate two distinct notions
of
fan behavior
in
relationship
to
team success.
The
BIRG effect refers
to an
individual's inclination
to
share
in the
glory
of
a successful other with whom they
are
in
some way associated.
The
original study
(Cialdini
et
al., 1976)
has
served
as the
basis
for
dozens
of follow-up studies that consider
a
wide range
of
behaviors (see Sloan, 1989
for a
review).
In the
case
of
BIRGing, team success
is
positive
and fan
associations
are also positive. Fans tend
to
associate themselves
in a
152 Volume
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positive light with a successful team. After a team
wins,
the loyal fan will tend to wear the team's colors,
brandish team logos, and take any opportunity to build
a link to the team through their behavior. Kimble and
Cooper (1992) concur that fans attain a feeling of
vicarious achievement simply through being fans.
Additionally, amongst followers of successful teams,
perceived group performance is the dominant factor in
identification (Fisher and Wakefield, 1998). In rela-
tionship to image management tendencies, self-image
is built up through direct associations with winning
teams/athletes.
In the case of CORFing, the team is unsuccessful and
fan associations are correspondingly negative. That is,
as an indirect method of image management, fans will
tend to dissociate themselves from an unsuccessful
team. After a team loses, fans will be less likely to wear
the team's colors, attend events, or outwardly support
the team. Cialdini and Richardson (1980) clearly
observed this image-management tendency (i.e., mak-
ing those with whom we are negatively connected look
bad - utilizing the phrase "to publicly blast associative
failure"). Providing further support for the lasting
effect of negative outcomes, Hirt, Zillman, Erickson,
and Kennedy (1992) found that in accordance with
social identity theory, fans' mood and self-esteem were
impacted by the outcome of sporting events, even
when an unrelated task was performed following the
sport encounter. Wann, Tucker, and Schrader (1996)
noted that a lack of team success is the most important
reason in ceasing to follow a once-favorite team.
Accordingly, CORFing epitomizes fans' struggles to
cope at a time when associative defeat and consequent
social scorn would weaken self-image.
Extending the Conceptual Model
Two areas of fan behavior in relationship to team
success and failure have received relatively little atten-
tion. In the first case, team performance may be nega-
tive,
yet fans' associations may be positive. Thus, fans
behave in such a way as to trumpet their relationships
despite a team's failures. We describe these actions as
basking in spite of reflected failure, or
BIRF.
While the
team may be losing, fans in this case are reveling in the
loyalty, camaraderie, rebelliousness, and other alterna-
tive reasons for fanship. The BIRFing fans may be
managing self-image through other positive character-
istics of fanship. Since the team is not winning, the fan
may highlight other positive aspects in order to man-
age their image. A primary desire may be avoiding
being labeled a fair-weather fan.
In the second case, team success might be positive,
yet fans' associations may be negative. We label this
phenomenon cutting off reflected success, or CORS.
In this instance, while a team might have a winning
record, a fan may dissociate themselves from the team.
Here, we again posit reasons of rebelliousness, loyalty
(to an earlier era, a previous style of
play,
prior coach-
ing/management, etc.), a need for individuality (infor-
mally seen as a need to stand apart from the crowd),
and possibly a fear of success (e.g., to ascend to new
heights implies a chance for a greater fall). The
CORSing fan does not want to be associated with the
new era of winning, but rather they prefer to stay
linked to the past. By CORSing the fan is managing
their self-image through an expression of individual-
ism. Figure
1
graphically displays these four elements
of fan behavior. In the sections that follow, we discuss
the concepts of
BIRF
and CORS in greater detail.
Figure
1
Association
Positive
Negative
Team Success
Positive
Basking In
Reflected Glory
(BIRG)
Cutting Off
Reflected Success
(CORS)
Negative
Basking In
Reflected Failure
(BIRF)
Cutting Off
Reflected Failure
(CORF)
Basking in Spite of Reflected Failure
The potential reasons for BIRFing can be divided
into two main areas. Internally, a number of image-
management issues arise. Loyalty is often described in
terms of a blend of attitude and behavior that can be
measured by the degree to which one favors a certain
product and/or brand (Day, 1969; Pritchard, Havitz, &
Howard, 1999). Basking in spite of reflected failure
may be deemed loyalist behavior, wherein a fan
remains loyal to the team (as a branded product)
regardless of team failures. BIRFing implies loyalty
even in the face of failure. As much as loyalty is seen as
a positive human attribute, BIRFing exists as a fan's
attempt to manage their self-concept. Loyalty likely
boosts self-esteem. The notion of a direct manage-
ment of the self-concept has received much empirical
support (Sirgy, 1982, Sirgy
&
Danes, 1982).
Simultaneously, the notion of BIRFing becomes a
direct method of retaining cognitive balance (Heider,
1958).
While the team is losing, the fan must still see
themselves as a winner due to their loyalties as a true
fan. In this sense, BIRFing fans may be dealing with a
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form of post-purchase dissonance foUow^ing a loss. If
committing to be a fan of a team is conceptualized as a
purchase,
then the potential for post-purchase remorse
when the team fails to live up to expectations appears
likely. Fans may turn to BIRFing as a means of dealing
with the cognitive incongruities that develop between
being a fan and seeing one's team lose. The incon-
gruity creates the desire to justify the fan's level of
"Loyalty is often described in terms of a blend of
attitude and behavior that can be measured by the
degree to which one favors a certain product
and/or
brand."
commitment. Additionally, BIRFing may stem from a
fan's internal need for either camaraderie or individu-
ality. BIRFing relates to camaraderie in the sense that
these fans prefer to be with people of
like
values and
opinions. It relates to individualism in the sense that
the fan that engages in BIRFing may harbor a deeply
felt need for individuality and look upon BIRFing as a
means of expressing "self-uniqueness" through con-
sumption (Lynn and Harris, 1997). BIRFing fans are
clearly engaging in less common fan behaviors. Finally,
BIRFing may be viewed as a self-perpetuating force. To
not BIRF (essentially, to CORF) may begin an internal
degradation of the self
as
nonloyal, a quitter, or a fair-
weather fan. To stop BIRFing may leave one with
internalized feelings of dissonance.
Externally, BIRFing entails an indirect method of
image management. These social techniques are char-
acterized as indirect because they influence one's image
in the eyes of social observers (Cialdini & Richardson,
1980).
Again, inasmuch as society views loyalty as a
positive trait, people will tend to BIRF as an attempt to
signal this positive attribute in the eyes of others - an
external badge of honor worn to display loyalties in the
face of hardship. As discussed above, BIRFing always
has the prospect of future
pay-off.
Believing that
"someday, my loyalties will be recognized and reward-
ed," fans are driven by the social process of image man-
agement. Moreover, not BIRFing may have some social
stigma attached. One may be seen by society as disloy-
al.
That is, to cease BIRFing after having started would
lead to being looked upon as unfaithful. Lastly, the act
of basking in spite of reflected failure may lead to a
strengthening of social bonds amongst these true,
diehard fans. So, aside from the matter of loyalty,
issues of consumer rebelliousness and camaraderie
appear to relate to fan behaviors surrounding unsuc-
cessful teams (e.g., the NFL's New Orleans Saints fans
continuing to support the team while playfully wearing
bags over their heads). This example also illustrates
that fans reacting to losing by BIRFing are not pleased
with the mounting losses, so, they are not basking in
the failure, but in spite
o/the
failure.
Cutting Off Reflected Success
The reasons for cutting off reflected success can simi-
larly be divided between internal and external bases.
The primary internal element surrounding CORSing is
the desire to have things remain as they once were.
The CORSing fan may have a high preference for con-
sistency (Cialdini, Trost, and Newsom, 1995) and a low
susceptibility to interpersonal influence (Bearden,
Netemeyer and Teel, 1989). For some, the need for
consistency may be so strong that remaining true to
previously held values may supersede their relationship
with the team. The fan still wants their favorite team
to win; however, only under certain circumstances.
The fan may not want to be a part of wholesale
changes such as new management philosophies or dif-
ferent team/player personnel. Another possibility for
explaining such behavior may have to do with the
exhilaration some fans realize by associating themselves
with an underdog. Once the team begins to achieve
consistent success, the interest of such fans dissipates as
the team assumes the role of a favorite. As a result,
some fans may root for another (perhaps downtrod-
den) team. Further, the fans that engage in CORSing
may harbor a deeply felt need for individualism.
Almost certainly, the act of CORSing relates to a rela-
tively smaller group of fans that do not require social
approval and are not as susceptible to interpersonal
influence (Bearden, Netemeyer, and Teel, 1989) or ref-
erence group influence (Park and Lessig, 1977). They
do not feel the need to stay on the winners' bandwag-
on. In fact, as the suddenly successful team attracts
scores of new fans, the initial attraction for becoming a
fan of the team likely dissipates, as the
uniqueness
of
the experience is replaced by a feeling of just being part
of the crowd.
Externally, cutting off reflected success may appeal to
rebellious individuals who act against convention in
social situations. The need for individuality may also
impact a fan's decision to create distance from a suc-
cessful team. Rubenfeld (1986) describes a desire to
balance the need for community and the need for indi-
viduality. CORSing may be a manifestation of an indi-
vidual seeking that balance. A second external reason
for CORSing is that a fan may hold resentment
towards
bandwagon
jumpers - that is, other fans who
have not been loyal through the bad times and now
join the crowd as a team becomes successful. In the
1990s examples of franchises that went from the bot-
tom of their respective leagues to the top include the
Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves, and Dallas Cowboys.
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Each of these franchises garnered many new fans as
they began to achieve on-field success. It is entirely
plausible that many diehard fans felt resentment and
even diminished in their roles as fans of these franchis-
es.
While the Los Angeles Lakers recently enjoyed a
tremendously successful run of three straight NBA
championships, their fan base continued to grow (as
many sports fans long to BIRG). Our assertion is that
a subset of disenchanted fans may have been CORSing,
It is not hard to imagine this group of fans as fed up
with the team's multi-million dollar superstar athletes,
their extravagant lifestyles, or their pretentious styles of
play (e.g., many fans may be turned off by Gary
Payton's taunts while dribbling up the court). The
CORSing Laker fan perhaps longs for the
old school
values of sportsmanship ahead of showmanship, dedi-
cation to the team before dedication to the paycheck,
and the athlete as role model rather than celebrity
superstar (Sukhdial, Aiken, and Kahle, 2002).
"The more highly identified fans feel
closer
to the
team,
they
believe
that they
share
common
bonds/values, and they may be more vulnerable to
changes
in the
team's
performance."
Directions for Future Research
Certainly, BIRFing and CORSing are unusual and, to
some extent, counterintuitive fan behaviors, which is
what makes the potential for further study of these ele-
ments of fan behavior so intriguing. In an effort to set
in motion a series of investigations into BIRFing and
CORSing, it would be important to first provide
empirical evidence of the existence of fans' behavior
consistent with these concepts. In order to do so, a
starting point would be to survey or interview fans dis-
playing outward affiliation (such as clothing) after
team losses, in order to determine if such behavior is
random or a systematic attempt to affiliate with a los-
ing team, in order to bask in spite of reflected failure.
Such a procedure would follow a protocol similar to
how Cialdini and his colleagues initially provided sup-
port for BIRGing. Uncovering empirical evidence of
CORSing may be more challenging. One method for
tapping into fans that are engaged in this phenomenon
may be to monitor message boards online to detect
changes in sentiment and the causes of fans' defecting
from teams that are currently successful. Such a study
may provide evidence from a naturalistic setting to
support and offer further explanation of why fans
engage in a seemingly counterintuitive behavior.
Empirical support for the existence of the proposed
constructs could then lead to testing the relationships
between BIRFing and CORSing and more established
constructs. In order to stimulate such research, we
have arbitrarily identified three constructs (identifica-
tion, time, and individualism) that may be of interest
to sport marketing researchers and practitioners, as
examples of potential future study. For example,
research has shown that more highly identified fans are
more likely to BIRG and less likely to CORF (Wann &
Branscombe, 1990). The more highly identified fans
feel closer to the team, they believe that they share
common bonds/values, and they may be more vulnera-
ble to changes in the team's performance. Thus, it
seems logical to suggest that more highly identified
fans will engage in higher levels BIRFing and CORSing.
Through BIRFing, fans express their loyalties to the
team. By CORSing, these same highly identified fans
express their distaste for the way things have changed.
Thus,
PI:
In relation to fan identification, more highly
identified fans will engage in higher levels of BIRFing
and CORSing.
As a general extension of the identification proposi-
tion above, time may prove to be an important element
in relation to BIRFing and CORSing. Time spent
being a fan relates positively to identification (Turner,
Hogg, Turner, and Smith, 1984). Moreover, people
who have followed a team for a long time may have
more strongly held beliefs about the team. Time spent
as a fan may appear as a moderating variable to the
degree of BIRFing and CORSing. Interestingly, howev-
er, time spent as a fan could be expected to relate nega-
tively to CORSing. Those fans that have followed the
team for a longer period of time will likely stay fans
during the successful seasons for which they have wait-
ed so patiently. Therefore,
P2a: In relationship to time spent as a fan, the
longer a fan has followed a team, the more likely they
will be to BIRR
P2b:
In relationship to time spent as a fan, the
longer a fan has followed a team, the less likely they
are to CORS.
Both of the proposed consumer/fan behavioral phe-
nomena relate to felt needs for individuality. These
somewhat rebellious fans are engaging in behaviors
that would tend to be going against more popular, and
more generally accepted, fan behaviors. Here, the need
for self-monitoring would tend to be lower for fans
engaging in BIRFing and CORSing activities.
Self-
monitoring of expressive behavior has been defined as
self-observation and self-control guided by situational
cues of social appropriateness (Snyder, 1978).
Consequently, propositions can be made regarding
BIRFing, CORSing, and a host of issues surrounding
individualism.
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P3a: BIRFing and CORSing will relate positively to
measurements of individualism and/or the need for
self-uniqueness.
P3b:
BIRFing and CORSing will relate negatively to
consumers/fans' susceptibility to reference group
influence.
P3c: BIRFing and CORSing will relate negatively to
consumers/fans' propensity to self-monitor their
behavior in general.
These propositions are offered as suggestions for
conducting future research that would substantiate the
importance of BIRFing and CORSing, but certainly are
not intended to be exhaustive. Many other variables
could and should be considered and ultimately investi-
gated as research into this area of inquiry develops.
Conclusions
Marketing researchers should continue to study sport
consumption, as the processes of fan behavior are
dynamic, complex, and contain many socio-psycholog-
ical interactions. The purpose of this paper was to
introduce and discuss two extensions to existing theory
on the subject of fan behavior in an effort to shed new
light on what are still relatively unstudied phenomena.
Using Cialdini et al, (1976) as a theoretical base, the
concepts of basking in spite of reflected failure (BIRF)
and cutting off reflected success (CORS) were intro-
duced. Recommendations for systematically substanti-
ating the existence of BIRFing and CORSing were also
suggested. In addition, a set of research propositions
was put forth in an initial effort to guide future study.
The complexity of fan behavior lends itself to many
(often opposing) interpretations. Constructs such as
loyalty, individualism, self-esteem, image management,
cognitive balance, dissonance, and association with
underdogs were among those discussed in this first
attempt to introduce BIRGing and CORSing to the
sport marketing conversation. Undoubtedly, extensive
future research will be needed to test the relationships
between BIRFing and CORSing and a host of other
constructs.
Ideally, sport marketers would be able to utilize
strategic applications relative to BIRFing and
CORSing. For instance, marketers may be able to tai-
lor specific promotions and advertising messages
aimed at the subsets of BIRFing and CORSing fans.
The marketing of tickets (especially during sub-par
seasons) seems to directly relate to loyalist behaviors
and BIRFing. On the other hand, in an effort to lessen
any effects of CORSing, marketers may want to stress
loyalty factors, the consistency of the organization's
management philosophy, or the social rewards of
remaining true to the team.
In addition, the identification and activation of
sponsors could relate to these concepts as BIRFing fans
may tend to seek out and reward loyal sponsors, just as
CORSing fans would likely tend to shun sponsors who
do not make a
strategic
flt
with what these fans view as
the traditional mission and philosophy of the team.
Also,
the subsets of both BIRFing and CORSing fans
may carry unique strategic market segmentation issues
relative to their behaviors. V^ile BIRFing fans would
be expected to rate highly on variables such as loyalty,
collectivism, and needs for belonging, CORSing fans
may be measured more by independence, rebellious-
ness,
and old schoolness.
Interestingly, to the extent that sport is just one form
of the product that is entertainment, the notions of
BIRFing and CORSing can be applied to a broader
range of fan behaviors. The concepts can quite easily
be related to fans consuming the fine arts, dramatic
arts,
and performing arts. For instance, many people
brag about an artist, actor, or musical group by stating,
"Well, I knew them when," or, "I was a fan before they
made it big," The very phrase, starving
artist,
holds a
great deal of appeal to the common fans rooting for
their favorite artists to achieve commercial success.
These fans are seemingly BIRFing, Of course, if their
favorite artists do succeed they may proceed to BIRG.
However, anecdotal evidence suggests that another dis-
tinct subset of fans of artists, actors, and musical
groups become disenfranchised when the artist/band
they follow becomes too popular,
sells
out, or becomes
too commercialized. In such an instance this subset of
fans may begin to CORS. Of course, it may be more
likely that a fan would dissociate from failure (CORF)
rather than success (CORS), but it is not difficult to
imagine (e.g., "I really admired Thomas Kincaide, Tom
Hanks, or Bruce Springsteen before they became so
popular. I really prefer their earlier works. Now, I just
see them as commercial sell-outs."). In an internation-
al sporting context, a CORSing explanation may in
part explain the double-edged sword of popularity
enjoyed by soccer superstar David Beckham. His
celebrity status endears him to many fans, but many
highly involved soccer fans describe him as overrated
and are turned off by his mainstream (i.e., off-field)
celebrity.
Regardless, we believe that consumer behavior
researchers studying the complex and intriguing world
of fan behavior will certainly benefit from further
investigations as well as more scientific examinations
of the BIRF and CORS concepts.
156 Volume
13 •
Number
3 •
2004
•
Sport
MarHeting Quarterly
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3 •
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Quarterly
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