Major Sporting Events and National Identification

Abstract

Research suggests that major sporting events can affect identification with the nation-state. Complementing previous research, it is argued in this article that identification with the national in-group should be enhanced especially among emotionally involved spectators. Emotional involvement, however, can be induced by the sport itself but also by an emotionalized framing of the events by the media. Two studies are presented which test these claims: In Study #1, it is shown that a single, victorious Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup match suffices to increase national identification among emotionally highly involved subjects, whereas no effects are revealed for individuals with lower emotional involvement. In Study #2, participants reported higher levels of national identification and associated Germany with more positive emotions and values after watching a highly emotional and patriotic broadcast of a kayak competition from the 2016 Summer Olympic Games compared to individuals who had watched the same competition with a factual and neutral commentary. It is concluded from both studies that emotional involvement is a key mechanism through which higher levels of national identification are produced in the realm of sport.

Keywords

nationalism patriotism identification national identity collective emotions

Sport is often regarded as a tool for the construction of national identity. It is assumed that success of athletes representing the nation at international competitions may have a unifying effect on the whole nation, enhancing their national reputation, increasing citizen commitment, and generating national pride (Houlihan, 1997). Generally, research has shown that national success at international sporting events is regarded as a main source for feelings of national pride (Meier & Mutz, 2016), associated with happiness (Hallmann, Breuer, & Kühnreich, 2013), sense of belonging to the nation, and increased patriotism (Atwell Seate, Ma, Iles, McCloskey, & Parry-Giles, 2016; Elling, van Hilvoorde, & van den Dool, 2014; van Hilvoorde, Elling, & Stokvis, 2010; von Scheve, Beyer, Ismer, Kozlowska, & Morawetz, 2014). Case studies from all over the world have shown that mega sporting events are also used to create and project unifying images to the nation, as, for instance, during the 2014 Sochi Olympics in Russia (Alekseyeva, 2014; Persson & Petersson, 2014) or during the postapartheid 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa (Farquharson & Marjoribanks, 2003). Moreover, national media—through nationalistic bias in their reporting—play a crucial role in rendering the national category salient and inculcating affectivity to the concept of the nation (e.g., Billings, Angelini, & Wu, 2011; Ličen & Billings, 2012; Ličen, Lončar, Delorme, Horky, & Jakubowska, 2017).

A variety of mechanisms have been proposed which may explain how exactly sport can affect levels of national identification. Most notably, research from social psychology has provided ample evidence that athletic success is a main determinant for heightened identification with a collective (Cialdini et al., 1976; End, Dietz-Uhler, Harrick, & Jacquemotte, 2002; Jensen et al., 2016; Wann, Hamlet, Wilson, & Hodges, 1995). According to studies in this tradition, fans of sports teams exhibit “basking in reflected glory” (BIRG) whenever the team they support performs well in competitions; that is, spectators show higher levels of identification with the respective athletes. In a seminal study conducted by Cialdini et al. (1976), students expressed more identification with their college after a victory of the respective college’s football team, whereas identification dropped after the team was defeated. Applied to the nation-state, it can be assumed that the nation becomes closely linked to reputation and success and thus becomes a highly attractive reference point for identification whenever athletes from a person’s own nation are successful in international sporting contests.¹

While this theorem is both intuitive and supported by ample research, the current study proposes to elaborate on an additional mechanism that may fruitfully complement the BIRG perspective. Based on ritual theory (Collins, 2004) and concepts of emotional contagion (Hatfield, Cacioppo, & Rapson, 1993), it is claimed that identification with a group is enhanced first and foremost among emotionally entrained spectators and viewers. Drawing on research that has shown collective emotions, shared rituals in groups and symbols representing a collective to play crucial roles in collective identification in sports (Mutz, 2013; von Scheve et al., 2014), the present study shows not only how emotional involvement during sports consumption predicts levels of collective identification but also how the emotional charging of athletic competitions by the media contributes to their power to induce collective identification in the first place. One form of collective identification is put in focus, namely, identification with the nation-state that may signify as patriotic commitment to the own nation as well as exaggerative nationalistic beliefs in the own nation’s superiority.

This article presents two studies that test this line of theorizing and may thus expand our knowledge of the relationship between sport, emotions, and national identification: In Study #1, it is shown that a single broadcast of a victorious match of the own nation’s football team at the 2014 FIFA World Cup suffices to change attitudes towards the national in-group, but crucially, experienced emotions during the broadcast moderate these changes. In Study #2, it is shown that the media presentation of a sport event, particularly its degree of emotionality, influences the level of national identification among recipients. Both studies buttress the notion that not athletic success alone, but success in combination with strong and positive emotions leads to increased levels of national identification among spectators.

Theoretical Framework

Sport, Collective Emotions, and Group Cohesion

Watching sporting events has the potential to induce strong emotions on the part of spectators and particularly the experience of excitement and positive arousal is frequently considered as a key motivation for sports consumption (Wann, Grieve, Zapalac, & Pease, 2008). Excitement and emotions may be the result of the action on the field and the tension of the competition; they may arise from individual dispositions (positive, indifferent, or negative) towards the competing athletes and teams (Raney, 2006; Zillmann & Paulus, 1993) or may be triggered by the media’s style of reporting on sports events. Moreover, participation in collective rituals, hence activities such as rhythmic clapping, jumping, or chanting, can contribute to heightening the intensity of emotions experienced while watching sports (von Scheve, 2012).² Wherever emotions arise from, they may have consequences.

At the core of this article is the assumption that emotions experienced together in a group or in the presence of the symbols of a collective have the power to induce feelings of collective solidarity. The assumption is not new but can be traced to the classics of sociological theorizing, most prominently Durkheim’s (1912/1995) account of the elementary forms of religious life. Herein, Durkheim describes rituals as inducing states of “collective effervescence,” wherein members of a group experience strong emotions collectively through the performance of a collective action. The critical point Durkheim makes is that these collective emotions are not the most sociologically relevant outcome in their own right. Rather, it is the fact that emotional contagion in collective effervescence serves to foster group solidarity and cohesion: According to Durkheim, by engaging in these collective rituals and charging them emotionally, the group itself and the symbols representing the group—totems in Durkheim’s account of religious life, but as plausibly national flags in a contemporary account—enter the realm of the sacred. That is, the strong emotions experienced during the ritual are attached to the symbols representing the group or the idea of the group itself. As Collins (2004) puts it, it is the copresence of others, the collective focus of attention and the shared and mutual emotions experienced in a ritual that result in group solidarity and the charging of representations of the group with meaningful and deeply felt emotions. As a result, group members are likely to value such symbols and “defend them against the disrespect of outsiders, and even more, of renegade insiders” (Collins, 2004, p. 49). Evidence of processes of emotional contagion and their impact on collective identification has been demonstrated, for instance, by Paez, Rime, Basabe, Wlodarczyk, and Zumeta (2015). In their studies of folkloristic marches and political demonstrations, they found that collective gatherings not only resulted in stronger collective identities but that perceived emotional synchrony—a construct adjacent to Durkheim’s concept of effervescence—constituted an important mediating factor. Higher emotional communion with others was correlated with stronger emotional reactions and a stronger embracing of social beliefs and group values.

According to Collins (2004, p. 59), it is specifically sports that lend themselves as perfect sites for studying collective effervescence as a result of rituals, as the in-group constituted in sports consumption is thought to be exclusively based on the collective experience of emotional attachment to a team and the emotions experienced while watching the athletes. However, when it comes to sporting events that feature athletes representing nation-states, the question arises whether and how the collective effervescence associated with watching such a sporting event also impacts group cohesion towards the nation as a whole.

Nations have been conceptualized as “imagined communities” (Anderson, 1983), a notion that stresses the socially constructed origins of nation-states as well as any sense of belonging to a nation among citizens. However, major sporting events bear the potential to add affectivity to the concept of the nation, so that it becomes more than simply a cognitive, imagined idea, but an “embodied part of a person’s identity or even a bodily experience” (Ismer, 2011, p. 548). That is, one not only knows one is a member of a nation but feels a sense of membership and an attachment towards the social construct of the nation and its symbols and material representations. von Scheve, Beyer, Ismer, Kozlowska, and Morawetz (2014), for instance, in their longitudinal study of the 2010 FIFA World Cup’s impact on national identification and attitudes toward national symbols, found that emotional entrainment associated with watching World Cup matches predicted changes in national identification and positive attitudes towards national symbols. Similar results are put forward by Mutz (2013): He demonstrates that increases in patriotism and nationalism during the 2012 Union des Associations Européennes de Football (UEFA) European Championship (EURO) were more pronounced in individuals who watched the matches together with others at fan fests and the so-called public viewing sites in Germany. Hence, both studies give first empirical clues that mega sport events can enhance patriotic attitudes because of their potential to trigger collective emotions.

The Media’s Contribution to Emotional Involvement

So far, we have argued that national identification can be heightened in the course of major sporting events under the condition that spectators are emotionally involved in the event. Emotional involvement can occur in a ritualized group context, on the one hand, but can also be induced by emotionalized media reporting. For the second line of reasoning, the literature on media discourses surrounding sporting mega events is of high relevance.

First and foremost, media discourses render the national category salient for a number of reasons: National symbols (flags, anthems, national emblems, etc.) are omnipresent at major international sports competitions and also its media presentations. The media’s selection criteria of what is considered relevant and newsworthy are highly nationalistic. Media presentation is virtually always centred on the own nation’s athletes and favours sports and competitions in which national athletes are likely to perform well (Angelini, MacArthur, Reichart Smith, & Billings, 2015; Billings & Angelini, 2007). Thus, simply by following international sport on television, audiences are constantly reminded of their nationality. This is important, because otherwise the emotions experienced in front of the TV while watching an international sports event would likely not spill over to the concept of the nation.

Moreover, research suggests that TV viewers are frequently confronted with emotionalized and polarized presentations while watching international competitions (Angelini, Billings, & MacArthur, 2012; Gebauer, 1996; Ismer, 2011; Ličen & Billings, 2012). For instance, in a comparative analysis of the emotional framing of matches of the German national football team during the 1974 and 2006 FIFA World Cups in Germany, Ismer (2011, 2016) convincingly shows how the emotional frames prevalent in the media towards the German national soccer team changed significantly between 1974 and 2006 and how these frames corresponded to norms about patriotic sentiments and expressions of patriotism in German society. Whereas in 1974, the World Cup matches were presented in a distanced and rather neutral way, media presentations in 2006 aimed at transporting emotions and suspense from the stadiums to the living rooms. The commentary was more emotional, the broadcast more focussed on the German team, and in the pregame reports, the German squad was associated with values like team work, diligence, and modesty.³ Studies on media discourses on the Olympics and international soccer tournaments have consistently pointed to a nationalistic framing of such events. For instance, comparing U.S. and Chinese TV coverage of identical sporting events during the 2008 Olympic games, Billings, Angelini, and Wu (2011) found that TV broadcasts were heavily influenced in nationalistic ways not only in terms of creating “us” versus “them” narratives but also in terms of which discourses were drawn on to explain athletic success and failure in both countries, respectively. A content analysis of commentaries from American and Canadian TV broadcasts on the Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics revealed that commentators significantly more often associated victories of domestic athletes with “commitment” and “intelligence,” hence positive attributes, and less often with mere “strength” (Angelini et al., 2012; Angelini et al., 2015). In view of these findings, it seems plausible to assume that sports media can enhance emotions among viewers in two ways: First, through a polarized and emotionalized style of reporting and second, through an enhancement of identification with national athletes and national teams which then leads to greater excitement and pride when these athletes are competing and perhaps winning.

While all of these studies provide clear evidence of the ubiquity of emotionalized nationalistic frames in the messages being sent by sports broadcasting and reporting, less is known about how these messages are received and processed by media consumers. In their longitudinal study of the impact of telecasts of the 2012 Olympics, Billings et al. (2013) found, for instance, that participants who consumed a greater number of Olympic TV broadcasts scored higher on Nationalism and Patriotism Scales. However, participants did not exhibit an increase in nationalism or patriotism after the end of the Olympic Games compared with pre-Olympics levels; solely “smugness”—a concept that describes a brazen sense of superiority (Kosterman & Feshbach, 1989)—was found to increase. Cross-sectional research from the Netherlands also indicates that an individual’s sense of belonging to the nation is correlated with consumption of major international sporting events (UEFA European Championship, Olympic Games, etc.) on TV (van Hilvoorde et al., 2010). However, it has to be kept in mind that national identification may be considered an outcome but also—with equal plausibility—a predictor of media consumption of international sports (Devlin, Billings, & Brown, 2017; von Scheve et al., 2014). Cross-sectional studies are thus inapplicable to determine causality and longitudinal or experimental designs are needed.

Very few studies exist that directly investigate media impact on sports consumers in an experimental setting. In one of the few studies to investigate whether the audio commentary of a sporting event impacts viewer’s attitudes, Lee, Lim, Yeo, and Pedersen (2015) found that nationalistic sentiments and their interplay with media framing impacts viewers’ attitude towards opposing athletes: After being exposed to a broadcast of a game between their nation of origin’s soccer team and a rival team, participants who had watched a version of the broadcast that featured audio commentary partial to their national team were more likely to view the opposing team unfavourably than participants who were exposed to an objective and impartial audio commentary. Moreover, the study also found that attitudes toward the opposing team—as predicted by the exposure to partial versus impartial commentary—translated to judgements about consumer products from the opposing country. Although Lee et al. (2015) do not treat nationalism and patriotism as dependent variables, one could argue that their study does hint at an effect of media framing of sporting events on collective identification. Moreover, Atwell Seate, Ma, Iles, McCloskey, and Parry-Giles (2016) have recently analysed U.S. nationalism featured in the game promotional ad of the United States versus Ghana soccer match in World Cup 2014. In an experimental account, they were able to demonstrate that the promotional ad led to increased levels of patriotism and militarism in recipients.

Research Question

Based on the above considerations, this research generally aimed at potential effects on national identification induced by emotional involvement during a sports broadcast. In Study #1, it was investigated if emotionally highly involved individuals during a FIFA World Cup match of the German team show a greater increase in national identification after the match compared to emotionally lesser involved individuals. Hence, this study directly tested the moderating effect of emotional involvement for the relationship of sport consumption with national identification (sense of belonging to the nation, patriotism, and nationalism).

Study #2 then tested if individuals who watched an emotional sportscast of an Olympic competition from a German TV station showed more national identification compared to subjects who watched the same competition framed in a more factual and distanced way from an Austrian TV station. Study #2 thus focused on the moderating role of the media, who can trigger emotional contagion to a greater or lesser degree, depending on style of presentation.

Study 1: Differential Effects of a FIFA World Cup Match on National Identification

Aims and Hypotheses

Study #1 investigated whether a single, successful FIFA World Cup match of the German national football team suffices to enhance identification with the nation-state and tested whether any effect on national identification was moderated by emotional involvement. A longitudinal research design was used with the same individuals questioned at two different points in time: about 3 weeks before the beginning of the 2014 FIFA World Cup (t1) and immediately after the opening match of the German national team, which was an undisputed 4:0 victory against Portugal (t2). A first set of hypotheses assume (a) an increased sense of belonging to Germany (Hypothesis #1), (b) more patriotism (Hypothesis #2), and (c) nationalism (Hypothesis #3) after the football match (t2) compared to t1. A second set of hypotheses address the moderating effect of emotional involvement during the sportscast. A strong increase from t1 to t2 was expected among emotionally highly entrained subjects (d) for sense of belonging to Germany (Hypothesis #4), (e) patriotism (Hypothesis #5), and (f) nationalism (Hypothesis #6). In contrast, a markedly weaker increase—if at all—was assumed in the group of individuals with low emotional involvement.

Participants and Procedures

Participants were 82 university undergraduate and graduate students. The recruited students were enrolled in social sciences (27%), economics (24%), sport science (18%), linguistics (11%), and various other study programmes (20%). They all participated voluntarily in the study. Of the 82 students originally approached, 70 completed the study (85%). All participants born in Germany were selected for the final sample (N = 66). With 33 male and 33 female students, both sexes are equally represented in the final sample. The average age of the participants was 22.7 years (min = 18, max = 44, standard deviation [SD] = 3.8).

The first assessment of values and attitudes was carried out 17–25 days prior to the beginning of the FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil (t1). In a separate room, participants completed a questionnaire about national identification. Afterwards, they were asked about their willingness to watch the live broadcast of a FIFA World Cup match of the German national team together with other participants in a university classroom. As a compensation for their time commitment, €30 were offered. With 74 of the 82 students (90%), the wide majority agreed to participate. The World Cup match selected for this study was Germany versus Portugal, which was the opening match for the German football team. The match was broadcasted on June 16, 2014, live on German TV at 6:00 p.m. local time. With exception of four students who did not appear, the majority of participants arrived at least 30 min prior to kick off and watched the broadcast from 5:45 p.m. on. The match ended with a rather undisputed 4:0 victory by the German team.⁴ About 15 min after the end of the game, the broadcast was switched off. Immediately afterwards, participants completed a questionnaire about their emotional involvement during the match. Moreover, they completed the questionnaire about national identification for a second time (t2).

Due to space restrictions, participants watched the sportscast in two different university classrooms. In both rooms, large projector screens were installed to enable participants to watch the match conveniently. It has to be noted that roughly one quarter of the participants arrived to the study wearing fan shirts of the German national soccer team. As it was not intended to create an artificial environment, participants were neither encouraged nor discouraged from bringing fan shirts and memorabilia to the study. However, consumption of alcoholic beverages during the screening was not allowed, but nonalcoholic beverages were provided. This was communicated to participants prior to the study.

Measures

Sense of belonging to Germany was measured with the item: “I see myself as part of the German nation.” This item was part of a broader measure that also included questions about a person’s sense of belonging to the local region, to Europe, and to the World as a whole. Respondents could answer on a 5-point Likert-type scale with answer categories ranging from 1= totally disagree to 5 = totally agree.

The Patriotism Scale consists of 5 items that refer to commitment and affection to the German nation, for example, “I like Germany” (see Table 1 for details). Respondents could express their (dis-)agreement with each item on a 5-point Likert-type scale. The mean value of the 5 items is used as a measure for patriotism. Similar items have been established in prior studies (e.g., Mutz, 2013; Weiss, Donat, & Latcheva, 2009b; von Scheve et al., 2014). Reliability scores for the scale are acceptable (α _t ₁ = .74; α _t ₂ = .82), and a principal components analysis (PCA) leads to a unidimensional solution with all items loading on a single factor.⁵

Table 1.

Measures for National Identification Used in Study #1 and Study #2.

	Items	M; SD
(1) Sense of belonging to Germany	“People have different views about themselves and how they relate to the world. Please tell me how much do you agree with the following statement: I see myself as part of the German nation.”	Study 1: M_t ₁ = 3.76; SD_t ₁ = 1.05; M_t ₂ = 3.81; SD_t ₂ = 0.92 and Study 2: M = 3.83; SD = 1.07
(2) Patriotism	(1) “I like Germany,” (2) “I prefer living in Germany to living in any other country,” (3) “Germany can be proud of what it represents today,” (4) “I feel Germany is my country,” and (5) “I feel great whenever I see the German flag.”	Study 1: M_t ₁ = 3.37; SD_t ₁ = 0.67; M_t ₂ = 3.42; SD_t ₂ = 0.72 and Study 2: M = 3.49; SD = 0.76
(3) Nationalism	(1) “If people in other countries were more like the Germans, the world would be a better place,” (2) “It’s an absolute duty of every German to honour national history and culture,” (3) “Other countries should take Germany as a role model,” (4) “Germany should have much more influence in the world,” and (5) “Every German should support Germany even if the country is in the wrong.”	Study1: M_t ₁ = 2.05; SD_t ₁ = 0.67; M_t ₂ = 2.11; SD_t ₂ = 0.78 and Study 2: M = 2.26; SD = 0.59

Note. Values range from 1 = totally disagree to 5 = totally agree. SD = standard deviation; M = mean.

Nationalism as a concept refers to the belief in national superiority, an idealization of national culture and history, and, at the same time, a devaluation of other nations. Nationalism was measured with 5 items, for example, “If people in other countries were more like the Germans, the world would be a better place” (Table 1). Again, (dis-)agreement could be expressed on a 5-point Likert-type scale. Similar scales have been widely used in social science research (e.g., Mutz, 2013; Weiss, Donat, & Latcheva, 2009a). The final scale, calculated as the mean value of the 5 items, has a good reliability (α _t ₁ = .79; α _t ₂ = .85). Just like the Patriotism Scale, the nationalism items also measure a single underlying factor.

Self-reported emotional involvement during the World Cup match was measured at t2, directly after the broadcast was switched off. Two items are used to capture emotional involvement, namely, the degree the respondent (a) “felt being engrossed” and (b) “felt excited” during the match. Both items are closely correlated (r = .60), so that a mean score based on these 2 items was calculated. Ratings were made on a 10-point scale. Individuals with a mean score >8 on this scale were considered as highly emotionally involved (N = 20), whereas the emotionally lesser involved ones (with scores ≤8) form the comparison group (N = 46).

Results of Study #1

Comparisons of mean values between t1 and t2 with t tests for repeated measures do not point to significant changes for sense of belonging to Germany (diff = .05, d = .06, p = .65), patriotism (diff = .05, d = .11, p = .38), and nationalism (diff = .06, d = .10, p = .42) in the sample. Hence, simply watching a live broadcast of a victorious World Cup match of the own nation’s football team did not trigger collective changes in attitudes towards the nation in this sample. Hence, the Hypotheses #1, #2, and #3 must be rejected in this case.

However, the main research question addressed emotional involvement as a moderator of changes. Therefore, the sample was grouped according to self-reported levels of emotional involvement (>8 vs. ≤8) during the broadcast. t Tests for repeated measures were run in both groups. Findings support some of the initial assumptions: Emotionally highly involved subjects reported a higher sense of belonging to Germany and more patriotism after the broadcast compared to t1 (Table 2, upper half), thus supporting Hypotheses #4 and #5. Effect sizes can be considered moderate, according to Cohen’s (1992) rule of thumb. No significant changes were found for nationalism, so that Hypothesis #6 was rejected.

Table 2.

Attitudinal Change in the Course of a FIFA World Cup Match Among Individuals With High and Low Emotional Involvement.

	Mean Changes According to Emotional Involvement
	M_t ₁	M_t ₂	Diff	SD _pool	T	d	p
High emotional involvement (n = 20)
Sense of belonging to Germany	4.07	4.43	.37	.85	1.93	.44	.035
Patriotism	3.70	3.92	.22	.52	1.90	.42	.037
Nationalism	2.46	2.49	.03	.73	0.16	.04	.437
Low emotional involvement (n = 46)
Sense of belonging to Germany	3.62	3.54	−.09	.90	−0.66	−.10	.743
Patriotism	3.23	3.21	−.03	.39	−0.46	−.08	.676
Nationalism	1.88	1.95	.07	.52	0.94	.13	.351

Note. Paired samples t tests. One-tailed tests for significance are applied. Significant effects are bolded. All scales have a value range from 1 to 5 with higher values indicating greater patriotism, nationalism, and so on. SD = standard deviation; M = mean.

None of these changes is found in subjects with a lesser degree of emotional involvement during the broadcast (Table 2, lower half). These individuals did report neither a higher sense of belonging to Germany nor increased levels of patriotism and nationalism. All scores remained rather stable from t1 to t2 or even decreased marginally, as in the case of sense of belonging to Germany. Hence, effects for less emotionally entrained individuals markedly differ from those found among emotionally highly involved subjects.

Figures 1 and 2 illustrate the moderating effect of emotional involvement on changes from t1 to t2. It can be seen that despite the higher initial levels of national identification at t1, sense of belonging to the nation and patriotism still increase to a greater extent among emotionally highly involved subjects. National identification is thus both an antecedent for emotional contagion during the match and an outcome of the experienced collective emotions.

Figure 1.

Changes in the sense of belonging to Germany, according to the level of emotional involvement during the broadcast World Cup match.

Figure 2.

Changes in the Patriotism Scale, according to the level of emotional involvement during the broadcast FIFA World Cup match.

Study 2: Effects of Media Presentations on Emotions and National Identification

Aims and Hypotheses

We have argued that the media’s style of presenting and framing a sport event can induce patriotic feelings and patriotic pride among recipients. Study 2 aimed at testing this assumption by using an experimental design. In this experiment, two groups of students watched the same competition—a kayaking final of the 2016 Olympic Games, which was won by the German boat. However, one group watched a highly emotional and patriotic video recorded from the German television channel ARD (“GER TV condition”), whereas the control group watched a video recorded from Austrian channel ORF2, which was framed in a matter-of-fact style (“AT TV condition”). It was hypothesized that after watching the video, individuals in the GER TV condition would report (a) a higher sense of belonging to Germany (Hypothesis #1), (b) more patriotism (Hypothesis #2), and (c) more nationalism (Hypothesis #3) compared with the AT TV condition. Moreover, it was assumed that more positive feelings, like pride and joy (Hypothesis #4), and less negative feelings like guilt and anger (Hypothesis #5) are associated with the nation-state in the GER TV condition compared to the AT TV condition. Finally, it was hypothesized that the nation-state would be more closely associated with the cultural values of achievement, diligence, dominance, and solidarity in the GER TV group compared to the AT TV condition (Hypothesis #6).

Participants and Procedures

Participants were 79 university undergraduate and graduate students who were recruited via a university wide e-mail list. Participants were enrolled in sport sciences (25%), social sciences (19%), economics (13%), veterinary medicine (13%), and various other study programmes (30%). They all participated voluntarily in the study. All participants born in Germany were selected for the final sample (N = 75). The final sample includes 49 female and 26 male students. The average age of the participants was 23.9 years (min = 19, max = 36, SD = 3.0).

Participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions, the GER TV condition and the AT TV condition. (a) In the GER TV condition, they watched a 6:32-min video of the 2016 Olympic K–2 1000 m kayak final. The framing of this sportscast by the German TV station ARD can be described as highly emotional and patriotic due to the following reasons: During the entire race, the commentary is highly focussed on the German boat, describing the whole race solely from the German perspective. The commentator grows overtly more excited the longer the race goes on. As the German boat crosses the finish line, he enthusiastically shouts “this is incredible, what an awesome finish, they win gold! Yes!” and right after the finish calls the two Germans “the coolest dudes of canoe racing.” Moreover, he refers to the two athletes by their first names (“Max” and “Marcus”) and tells viewers personal details regarding their family lives, thus creating closeness and affinity. (b) In the AT TV condition, participants watched exactly the same competition, hence also a 6:32-min video of the kayak final. Since no Austrian team was competing in this final, the ORF2 reporter commented in a rather neutral and factual way, giving equal attention to each boat in the race and providing background information about past achievements by a number of the competitors as well as about technical aspects of the sport. It has to be noted that in both TV stations the televised images were exactly the same, as the Olympic TV feed was centrally distributed by the Olympic Broadcasting Service. The differences in emotionality between ARD and ORF2 are thus solely created by the commentary.⁶

After individually watching one of the videos on a computer screen, participants completed a first questionnaire in which they judged the commentary and camera work in the video and reported on their own emotions. Then, they filled out a second questionnaire on national identification that included Patriotism and Nationalism Scales as well as emotions and values associated with the German nation. A compensation of €10 was disbursed to each participant afterwards.

Measures

Measures for sense of belonging to the nation, patriotism, and nationalism were the same as utilized in Study #1 (see Table 1 for details). Moreover, respondents rated the broadcast with regard to its emotionality on a 7-point Likert-type scale. Specifically, they were asked to which degree they felt “engrossed” and “joyful” while watching the kayak race.

Additionally, emotions and values associated with the nation-state were collected from the respondents. In this regard, respondents reported on a 7-point rating scale how closely they associate Germany as a nation with positive and negative emotions, namely, pride, joy, guilt, and anger, as well as with cultural values like achievement, diligence, dominance, and solidarity. These four values were chosen because all four are linked to the realm of sport.

Results of Study #2

First of all, it was tested whether the manipulation succeeded, hence if subjects in the GER TV condition judged the sportscast as more emotional than subjects in the AT TV group. Results buttress this assumption: Respondents in the GER TV condition rated the sportscast as more engrossing (M _GER = 5.56, M _AT = 5.08, d = .40, p = .04) and joyful (M _GER = 5.61, M _AT = 4.92, d = .55, p = .01) compared to subjects in the AT TV condition. In view of these results, it can be concluded that any differences between the two groups in national identification are likely to be caused by the heightened level of positive emotions and excitement experienced by the GER TV group.

With regard to national identification, meaningful differences were found between the two groups (Table 3): Subjects in the GER TV condition reported a significantly higher sense of belonging to Germany, more patriotism and also more nationalism compared to subjects in the AT TV condition. Hence, there is substantial support for Hypotheses #1, #2, and #3.

Table 3.

Identification With the Nation, Associated Emotions and Associated Values After Viewing an Emotional Versus Matter-of-Fact Sportscast of the 2016 Olympic K–2 Kayak Final.

	Difference in Means Between GER TV Versus AT TV group
	M _{GER TV}	M _{AT TV}	Diff	SD _pool	T	d	p
National identification^a
Sense of belonging to Germany	4.10	3.53	.57	1.04	2.36	.55	.011
Patriotism	3.68	3.28	.40	0.74	2.33	.43	.012
Nationalism	2.40	2.10	.30	0.58	2.26	.52	.014
Emotions associated with Germany^b
Pride	4.36	3.58	.78	1.64	2.05	.48	.022
Joy	5.03	4.33	.70	1.33	2.23	.53	.015
Guilt	2.97	3.22	−.25	1.76	−0.61	−.14	.272
Anger	3.13	2.83	.30	1.58	0.81	.19	.799
Values associated with Germany^b
Achievement	5.85	5.20	.65	1.12	2.47	.58	.008
Diligence	6.00	5.19	.81	1.06	3.24	.76	.001
Dominance	5.15	4.86	.29	1.19	1.06	.24	.146
Solidarity	4.05	3.94	.11	1.18	0.39	.09	.350

Note. t Tests. One-tailed tests for significance are applied. Significant effects are bolded. GER = German ARD; AT = Austrian ORF2; SD = standard deviation; M = mean.

^aThe scales have a value range from 1 to 5 with higher values indicating greater patriotism, nationalism, and so on. ^bThe items have a value range from 1 to 7 with higher values indicating a stronger association with the German nation.

Moreover, being exposed to an emotionalized and patriotic sportscast also had significant impacts on emotions associated with the German nation. Subjects in the GER TV group associated Germany more strongly with positive emotions, like pride and joy, compared to individuals in the AT TV group. However, no significant differences between the two groups were found regarding negative emotions (guilt, anger) associated with Germany. Finally, the sportscast also influenced the values associated with Germany: In particular, individuals in the GER TV condition more strongly associated Germany with achievement and diligence. With regard to dominance and solidarity, the difference between the groups pointed into the hypothesized direction, however failed to reach conventional levels of significance.

Discussion and Conclusions

Many studies have pointed to a nationalistic bias in sports reporting (e.g., Angelini et al., 2012, 2015; Billings et al., 2011; Billings et al., 2013; Ličen et al., 2017). Complementing this research, this article investigated the reception of mega sports events, particularly the role emotions play for triggering national identification among viewers. In line with classic sociological arguments about emotions and group processes (Collins, 2004; Durkheim, 1912/1995), it was argued that collective emotions experienced in the course of mega sports events foster in-group identification and add affectivity and meaning to groups and group symbols. This assumption was tested in two studies. In Study 1, it was demonstrated that a single, victorious FIFA World Cup match suffices to increase national identification among emotionally highly involved subjects, whereas the same match had no effects on national identifications among individuals with lower emotional involvement. Hence, emotional contagion during the live broadcast moderated the strength of the change from t1 to t2. In Study #2, participants watched a kayak competition from the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, won by the German boat, under different conditions: In one group, the media presentation was highly emotional and patriotic, whereas the other group watched the broadcast in a neutral, matter-of-fact style. Afterwards and in line with our assumptions, national identification was higher in the group which was exposed to the emotionalized broadcast. Moreover, it was also shown that emotionalized presentations of victories in sport add emotions and meanings to the national category. Specifically, the German nation-state was more closely associated with “pride,” “joy,” “achievement,” and “diligence” when individuals watched the sportscast with an emotionalized, instead of a factual commentary.

Both studies thus highlight that emotions play a crucial role in the relationship between sporting success and national identification. In both studies, participants were exposed to sporting events, where national athletes and teams were successful. The German national football team won their 2014 World Cup opener in a rather dominant way against Portugal and the German Olympic K–2 kayak boat was also in the lead throughout the whole race. Theoretically, research presented here implies that for any increase in national identification, sporting success is a necessary but not a sufficient condition. Only when national sporting success is experienced together with strong and positive emotions, it is likely to foster national identification. Hence, the prevalent social psychological perspective that stresses the positivity of group characteristics as a basis for group identification (“BIRG”) should be complemented with a perspective on emotions towards the collective.

Such a perspective was usually only chosen with regard to “real” groups in stadiums (Cottingham, 2012), religious gatherings (Keeney, Keeney, & Boo, 2016), or political demonstrations (Paez, Rime, Basabe, Wlodarczyk, & Zumeta, 2015), where individuals are in direct contact with each other. However, in Study 2, it was shown that similar mechanisms may be at work in sportscasts, which also have the potential to induce emotions in their recipients. Emotional contagion is then not based on the interaction of many individuals and the mutual mimicry of facial and vocational expressions but is instead induced by the style of presentation that mirrors and even fuels the viewer’s own emotions, therefore increasing suspense and joy. Particularly, the commentary may also define the “feeling rules” at play (Hochschild, 1979), hence, the socially accepted norms concerning which emotions should be felt in a given situation. Hence, it is likely that recipients perceive the feeling rules differently when they are exposed to the matter-of-fact and neutral commentary of Austrian ORF2 TV instead of the emotional commentary in the German ARD. Particularly, in the context of Germany, it can be speculated that feeling rules with regard to the national category are still ambiguous, and the emotionality of the commentary may thus relieve viewers from own insecurities about how much display of enjoyment and patriotic pride is socially accepted.

Experience of strong emotions can be considered a key factor for the explanation of changes between pre-event and postevent scores in national identification. This study buttresses findings from previous studies (Mutz, 2013; von Scheve et al., 2014). However, these studies tested for attitudinal changes in the course of whole sporting events, FIFA World Cups and UEFA EUROs, respectively. The study at hands adds to existing research as it demonstrates that a single World Cup match already suffices to cause changes in national identification (Study 1), and that mass media’s framing of sports plays a crucial role in the emotions experienced by recipients (Study 2). Finally, to our knowledge, this is the first study that has shown that single sport events also bear the potential to “charge” the national category with emotions and values, thus inculcating affectivity and morality to the concept of the nation.

However, the research presented here has also several limitations: First, both studies relied on small student samples for testing the relationship between sporting success, emotional involvement, and national identification, which clearly limits the generalizability of the results. Previous studies from Germany have found that students as well as university-educated individuals in general are less likely to express strong patriotic attitudes, fancy blind nationalism, or vote for right-wing political parties (Spier, 2016). Hence, it is plausible to assume that findings from a student-only sample would tend to underestimating the effects. Nevertheless, future studies based on representative samples would be desirable.

Second, this research has focused on the effects of emotional involvement on national identification, rather than its origins, which is why some additional determinants of emotional involvement were not empirically investigated. The media’s framing was explicitly tested as a trigger for emotional reactions in Study 2, however, other factors may also impact the emotional involvement of recipients. Zillmann, Bryant, and Sapolsky (1989), for instance, have claimed that the spectator’s dispositions towards athletes and teams are crucial for the experience of emotions. For instance, emotions are maximized if a sports team that is strongly liked by a viewer wins against a team that is strongly disliked. Empirical studies usually buttress this claim (Raney, 2012). For the results of the present study, this means that emotional experiences are possibly moderated by the dispositions towards German athletes and teams as well as their foreign competitors. For Study 1, for instance, it is plausible to assume that emotional involvement of participants was itself a function of dispositions toward the German national team: Consistent with Zillmann et al. (1989), we would expect fans of the national team—that is, individuals with strong positive dispositions toward the team—to be the ones who feel higher levels of excitement as a response to a German victory. It could be speculated, then, that it is particularly fans of the national team whose levels of national identification are elevated in response to the emotions experienced during a broadcast of a victorious national team match. In regard to Study 2, dispositions would have to be assumed to only emerge during the broadcast—and in response to its framing—rather than to exist prior to it: Kayaking is a marginal spectator sport in Germany, and viewers are unlikely to have strong dispositions towards the competing athletes as they are virtually unknown—unlike in the case of the national football team. In other words, the stronger emotional involvement by participants watching the partisan and emotionalized German TV broadcast—as opposed to the more neutral Austrian one—may result from this very framing producing strong dispositions toward the German athletes, which then in turn result in higher levels of excitement. In both studies then, dispositions towards the athletes—whether preexisting or as a function of media framing—might translate to higher levels of excitement and in turn to higher levels of patriotism and nationalism. Although we can only speculate about this precise mechanism here, it is consistent with findings of some prior studies (Bryant, Brown, Comisky, & Zillmann, 1982). Future studies should thus account for viewer’s dispositions when investigating the relationship between sports spectatorship, emotions, and collective identification.

Third, both studies did not include follow-up measures, hence the question of durability of effects needs to be addressed in future research. In this regard, it has to be noted that scholars assume that a national sport euphoria does not last for long and starts to vanish just a few days after the own national team is discarded from a major event or the event is over. Elling, van Hilvoorde, and van den Dool (2014), for instance, conclude that large-scale sporting events can contribute only to “small eruptions” of patriotic pride in a society. But even if the demonstrated increases in national identification are not sustainable over longer periods, findings are far from being irrelevant. Major sport events are staged regularly and when one event is over, the next one is just around the corner. Due to the frequency of major sport events and the immense outreach of televised sports, it seems likely that international sporting success—detached from any single event—emerges as a regularly recurring source of national identification and patriotic pride and thus permanently adds affectivity and morality to the concept of the nation.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This study received funding from the German Federal Institute of Sport Science (Grant Number: 070093/15-17). It was part of the research project “Effects of High-Performance Sport on Collective Identification in the Nation-State”.

Notes

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