Beyond the Scoreboard: Verbal Behavior and Identity Construction for American Football Fans in Daily Life

Social media platforms have emerged as significant arenas for individuals to express various facets of their identities, related to their political beliefs, regional identities, and connections to their favorite sports teams. The current study examines the relationship between language patterns and social identity among NFL sports fans on Reddit. Drawing data from 32 team-specific subreddits, a comprehensive dataset of approximately 4 million social interactions was analyzed using automated psychological text analysis methods. Findings revealed that on game days, fans consistently employed more collective pronouns, exemplified by the frequent use of "we," underscoring their affiliation with their respective teams. Counter to predictions, the increased use of we-words was higher among those whose teams lost than won, even though losing was associated with drops in positive emotions following the loss. Emotion words on the day following defeat reflected the emotional impact of unfavorable outcomes on fan discourse. These results align with social identity theories, highlighting the role of group membership in shaping linguistic expressions and providing empirical evidence for how sports fans navigate their identities through language on social media platforms. By anchoring the investigation in psychological theories of identity, this study advances our understanding of the interplay between social identity and language use, offering valuable insights into the emotional responses and communication behaviors of sports enthusiasts in the digital age.