The baseball fan who ran onto the field on Tuesday and attacked an umpire during a game between the Kansas City Royals and the Chicago White Sox is an example of extreme behavior by a "high-identifying" sports fan, according to Dr. Christian End, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Missouri-Rolla and an expert in sports fan behavior.
But sometimes, a sports organization may share some of the blame. "Sports organizations encourage the fans to become involved," says End, a member of the Sports Fan Research Group who has done extensive research on sports fan behavior. "They refer to the crowd (in football) as the 12th man, they gesture to the crowd for support, and often praise the crowd for their involvement in post-game press conferences. This encouragement reinforces fan involvement."
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