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Tribal Sport Business: Caveman, Fan and Clan

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The Sport Business Future

Abstract

It can be argued that in our post-modern society, nothing is more tribal than sport, except perhaps warfare. It is part of human nature to seek the comfort and safety of a group of people that we feel close to. This closeness is achieved through sharing important experiences with the other group members. The higher the number, importance and intensity of joint experiences, the more likely it is that group members will ‘act as one’, as a tribe. Through shared experience and belonging tribal members build their individual identities. Sport offers a tribal arena for collective identification and community expression.

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© 2004 Aaron Smith and Hans Westerbeek

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Smith, A., Westerbeek, H. (2004). Tribal Sport Business: Caveman, Fan and Clan. In: The Sport Business Future. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230513693_5

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