Abstract
When individuals engage in social contexts such as attending a college basketball game, opportunities to enrich and broaden social connections with others often transpire. The University of Notre Dame Women’s Basketball (NDWB) program has a comparably larger and more loyal fan base than most universities in the country, of which older women comprise a big portion of season ticket holders. The purpose of this study was to investigate the motivations and meanings of being a NDWB season ticket holder among older women. Nineteen participants ages 55–85 years old completed individual interviews. The findings indicated that being season ticket holders fostered a strong sense of identification with the team, allowing them to have a sense of pride of being part of the program. Additionally, being season ticket holders enabled the older women to enhance their social contacts and friendships with other women that fostered a sense of community.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 493-511 |
Number of pages | 19 |
Journal | Journal of Leisure Research |
Volume | 54 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2023 |
Keywords
- Older women
- identification
- season ticket holders
- sense of community
- women’s basketball
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Environmental Science (miscellaneous)
- Sociology and Political Science
- Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Management