It is no secret that sports have changed in 2020. While we are seeing sports slowly start to return, they are nothing as they were. Teams are playing games in “bubbles,” cardboard crowds have replaced human ones, and virtual audiences are where the main focus is.
As fans begin to trickle back into the stands, the digital landscape for sports has grown so much. Sports and technology have always been innovative and first-in-line for showcasing the newest trends. But with few to no fans in stands, sports have taken to digital platforms to create an online immersive and interactive virtual viewing experience.
While the overall goal is to get fans back in the stands, I am curious to see what technologies stay around post-pandemic to continue to provide an immersive experience for fans at home.
Personally, I think that continuing this interactive online trend in years to come with these social and digital-driven ways to connect with fans at home will be crucial to the next era of sports fans. Gen Z and millennials thrive online and in digital landscapes. Since they are the next era of sports fans it is crucial to engage them in ways that they enjoy and feel comfortable in.
This generation of fans wants more from the teams and this is a perfect way to give them that. They want to feel immersed and included in every aspect if possible. Giving fans ways to have a more interactive experience at home will create a deeper sense of loyalty to their teams.
For those thinking that making fans feel as if they are part of the game at home will be dangerous and cause fans to stay home rather than in the stadium, I disagree.
Fans want to be at the game. They want to experience it all firsthand. Nothing compares to that. Even if they get a more immersive experience at home than they did before, it still won’t be the same as being in the stands. The in-stadium experience is unmatchable. If anything, it will only enhance the loyalty of this next generation of sports fans. Giving the fans a more immersive and technological experience at home when they can’t make it to the games will instill a deeper sense of loyalty to their teams.
Sports have changed as times have changed and we need to be ready to keep adapting.