Loyalty to my team

In class we got on the topic of consumer loyalty to brands, and why we become and remain loyal to certain brands and products over time. My initial thought was, "how weird is it that people can be loyal to a brand in the same way they may be to actual human beings." After pondering this thought I realized it's done in the same way: people sell themselves to others (in a non-monetary way), just as brands sell their products to consumers. Both brands and people will display their best characteristics along with what traits they believe to be the most beneficial for you. People become loyal to those brands and individuals in which they deem valuable or important. Typically, there is either a product being sold, or an individual selling him or herself to gain a person's loyalty, however when it comes to teams there is a combination of the two being performed.

In order for a team to gain loyal fans and customers to purchase their fan attire or tickets to their game, not only should they produce the entertainment of a good game with their talents, but also be considered likeable. People tend to support those with similar values and overall viewed as doing more good to society than bad. Thus, it is important for sports teams to sell both what they are doing as well as who they are. Although this proves to be true with most products, when it comes to sport team loyalty, one of the most important factor was what you were born into, oddly similar to religion. In my specific scenario this would be in terms of the wonderful game of hockey.

Unfortunately I was born into a family of Toronto Maple Leafs fans, thus my fate was early on to be consistently let down by a bunch of boys in blue. Despite their lack of triumph over the years, I have stayed loyal and cheered them on even during their roughest of blows. When looking at what makes a consumer loyal, there are several check points this team has made for me with the exception of one. Beginning with what they do well in gaining my loyalty is who they are as a team. The Toronto Maple Leafs do not have much negative press associated with them, and actually do awesome things for the community! Recently the players of the Leafs took their annual visit to Sick Kids Hospital where they go to meet their youngest, ill fans, and give them a memory to last a lifetime. Not only do they go in and meet the children, they also interact with them by challenging them in games and having real conversations. This is something that makes them stand out to me, proving they're real people who really care.

Few of the players at the hospital

Now to the part of where they don't exactly meet expectations in building and gaining consumer loyalty. Their performance. Now, they may not be the worst team in the league, but for how large their fan base is the price of tickets to their games, you would typically expect a much better team. Perhaps a team that has won the cup sliiiiightly more recently than 1967? So why does this team continue to have so much loyalty? Why do we continue to purchase and wear their merchandise? Why do we still go to their games and cheer them on? It's because this is what we have known for so many years. We are loyal because we believe one day they will pull through for us. After years of cheering for a specific team it would be much more difficult to go and pick an entirely new team, who has the potential of letting us down as well, than to just keep cheering for the same we've loved for so long.

leaf game October 11th 2014

Friend and I decked out in Leaf gear (during a losing game)