Beyond Birging and Corfing Article Review

Beyond BIRGing and CORFing Article Review

Brandon Wilson

Lindsey Wilson College

Article Review

        Throughout history, sports have always been a premier form of entertainment. Fans will follow the sport every season, but will usually have one team in the sport they declare as their favorite team. Many fans are very serious about their support for a team, and will let the teams’ success of failure effect their mood or behavior. Most people choose to cheer for a team that is successful, and some will abandon their favorite team if they begin to constantly fail. This article discusses the different types of fan behavior, and possible reasons for why some fans choose to stick with their team throughout failure, and other may abandon their team despite success.

        The article begins by discussing how there has been previous research on fan behavior, and how fans bask in reflective glory (BIRG) and cut off reflected failure (CORF).  BIRG is when both team success and fan association are positive.  CORF is when both team success and fan association are negative. Basically, a winning team is more likely to attract fans than a losing team. If a team that once has a winning culture begins to constantly lose, then some fans may begin to show less support or even choose a new team to support. The main purpose of this article is to try and understand why some fans decide to continue supporting teams despite failure, or stop supporting teams who are successful. It is not as common for fans to bask in spite of reflective failure (BIRF), or to cut off reflected success (CORS).

  One possible reason discussed for BIRFing is a fans desire to remain loyal to their team. A fan may feel better about themselves for remaining loyal, because loyalty is viewed as a positive human attribute. As a sports fan I believe this to be true. I have been a major fan of the University of Kentucky football and basketball teams since I was a child. Kentucky basketball has always been a successful program, but the football program has continued to struggle for many years. Even though many UK fans choose to support only the basketball team, I feel better about myself for being loyal fan. The article also states that fans who BIRF might feel the need of individuality, and want to be unique by engaging in less common fan behaviors. Some people want to be different than others, and not only cheer for the most popular and successful teams. Another potential reason discussed in the article is the possibility of a losing team finding success. If a team known for losing begins to find success, then the fans will have the satisfaction of being loyal throughout the hard times. An example of this would be the Chicago Cubs. The cubs have always had a large fan base, despite not winning a World Series since the early 1900’s. When the Cubs finally won a title in 2016, those who were loyal fans felt a great sense of relief. They were able to say that the long wait and loyalty paid off, and believe that they are the only true fans for sticking with them through the tough times.