Fandom Beyond Sports

Fandom exists in many categories, but its character can vary substantially across categories. Sports fans often feel like they personally win or lose, depending on how their team performs. In contrast, a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe may be unaware of whether the latest film garners any Academy Awards. This chapter explores differences in fandom across categories and describes an organizing framework for delineating how it varies across said categories. The framework uses the acronym WILD to delineate four key fandom dimensions. The W signifies the tendency of fans to identify as “We” with the object of their fandom. The I represents the “Influences” that create fandom in a given category. The L stands for the fan “Lifecycle.” The D dimension includes how fans “Display” their fandom.