Hartford Whalers Fans

Most sport marketing research on sport fans is based §on pre-conceived conceptualizations congruent with §the mindset of team management. It is unknown if §fans view their experiences in this way. This book §examines the experiences of fans of the National §Hockey League s Hartford Whalers from the insider s §perspective. Twenty-four fans were interviewed in-§depth to learn of their lives as Whalers fans. By §analyzing the stories, existing marketing concepts §such as relationship marketing are questioned, and §new insights emerge. Whalers fans felt humiliated §being outnumbered locally by New York Rangers and §Boston Bruins fans, felt a strong attachment to the §team s theme song and logo, appreciated the amount §of player interaction in the community, felt the §pain of relocation even more so after the team moved §to a small city in a region unfamiliar with hockey, §developed a kinship with fans of teams similar to §the Whalers, and saw themselves as sophisticated §hockey fans who have mostly failed to recapture what §they once had with the Whalers. This book will §engage sport managers and others interested in the §thoughts, actions, and feelings of sport fans.