Brand-Choice Congruence & Sports

America is crazy about our sports, and here around Indianapolis, folks are crazy about the Colts. If you were to scan the crowd in Lucas Oil Stadium on any given Sunday, you would undoubtedly see an abundance of official replica jerseys of fan-favorite Colts: Peyton, Reggie, Dwight, and maybe even a few Austin Collies. Chances are, most, if not all of these jerseys, are manufactured by Reebok, the official supplier of the NFL.

Fans just want to wear what the players are wearing; that isn't a new concept. But more than ever before, fans are buying products from the officially-licensed brands of their favorite teams: NFL fans in Reebok, NBA fans in Adidas, Oregon athletics fans in Nike, and Maryland athletics fans in Under Armour, just to name a few. Fans/consumers will spend more money just to wear what their favorite team wears and brands, leagues, and collegiate athletic programs know it.

They love consumers like me; I know what they're doing, and I still give in to it. I have countless Kentucky basketball items; are any of them not manufactured by Nike? Absolutely not. While that may be partially due to my brand loyalty to Nike, it's mostly because I just want to wear the officially licensed supplier of my favorite team.

I represent the average fan gear consumer in America. I'm getting duped because of my fandom and I just don't care.