Study Finds Sports Fans Would Happily Cancel Honeymoon to Travel and See Favorite Team Play Live
Rabid sports fans will cancel marriage plans and risk job security to catch a key game in another city
November 27, 2019
A recent survey conducted by Booking.com across 29 global markets revealed that among US sports fanatics 89 percent confirm they’ve completed between one to five trips in the last year alone to cheer their team on. In fact, nearly one in five (17 percent) said they would happily cancel their honeymoon or risk their job to travel and see their team play live.
o89 percent of US sports fans have completed between one and five trips in the last year to watch their team play live, with soccer fans being the most likely to travel to show their support
oAffordability (77 percent) and location (73 percent) in relation to the stadium or venue are the deciding factors for US sports fans when selecting their place to stay when traveling to see their team compete
oResearch conducted by Booking.com in 29 markets among more than 22,500 sports fans reveals that 25 percent of US soccer fans think they’ll see their team win a major international championship.
With UEFA EURO 2020™ taking place across 12 European cities, and with Super Bowl LIV right around the corner, fans are already gearing up to travel and watch their favorite teams and athletes compete on a national and global level.
US sports fans look ahead to 2020 with great expectations
One in four (25 percent) US sports fans believe that they will see their national team or player win an international tournament within the next year. The expectation level is therefore huge within fan sets as they prepare for tournament after tournament in 2020.
Baseball fans are the most optimistic fans with 84 percent stating that they think they’ll see their team win a major national tournament in 2020, followed by Soccer fans (78 percent) and Basketball fans with 74 percent declaring that they expect their team to go all the way in an upcoming tournament.
Dedicated fans will cancel anything to ensure they can travel to watch their team
* A combination of Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) and dedication to traveling and showing their support in the stadium results in unwavering commitment as nearly 1 in 5 (17 percent) of US sport fans admit they would happily cancel their honeymoon if it meant they could travel to watch their team live in a big game.
* Basketball fans (25 percent), Soccer fans (21 percent) and NFL fans (14 percent) top the rankings when admitting to being happy to cancel their romantic trip.
* Similarly, nearly 1 in 5 (17 percent) US sports fans confess that they would even quit their job if it meant they could watch their team compete in a major final.
* From the US sports fans surveyed, Basketball fans (27 percent) are more likely to quit their jobs to attend a historical sporting event versus Soccer (20 percent) and NFL (13 percent) fans.
* Baseball fans are least likely to risk it all and cut loose from their current employers in order to travel and watch their team win a major international final, with only 10 percent admitting that they would be willing to do so.
Travel planning for the big match
Traveling to see their team live in action is a clear priority for many US sports fans, with a whopping 89 percent confirming they have completed between one to five trips in the last year alone and almost half (47 percent) having traveled both internationally and domestically to watch their team or player. The sports that get most fans on the road are NLF – with 47 percent of US sports fans having traveled to watch a game live outside of where they live – baseball (46 percent) and soccer (43 percent).
Once they know which games they will be traveling to, fans start looking for the perfect place to stay. Topping the list of considerations when looking for the perfect place to stay are affordability (77 percent) and location (73 percent) in relation to the stadium or venue, while one in two (52 percent) look for accommodations that have a spa or hot tub to relax in post-match.
Yet, despite affordability being important for US sports fans, 33 percent happily admit that they would be willing to pay more for sports travel than their family vacation.
Showing support on match day
Almost one third (29 percent) of US sports fans wear lucky charms when attending a game, while 19 percent have developed a superstitious routine that they always perform before or during a game to ensure their team wins.
Aside from having rituals, 65 percent of US sport fans say they would never leave a match early, regardless of whether they thought their team was going to lose. 37 percent stay out of respect for the team or players, whereas 35 percent stay because they will not give up hope that their team or player can still come back and turn the game around.