Last Updated on October 25, 2023
In the digital age, with smartphones and technological advantages making it easier than ever to follow what your favorite sports star is up to, there are multiple ways to stay updated and show your support. Today, we will explore the top five ways people follow their favorite sporting icons and how you can keep up their morale by delivering goodwill messages and providing positive energy to help them maximize their performance.
1. Check out the brands they endorse
Crossover sporting stars often make just as much money away from their chosen sport as they do when they’re playing it. Given that the world’s top athletes will throw their image rights behind several brands and endorse everything from food to beverages, fashion, gaming and gambling, this should be no surprise. One way that fans will support their favorite stars is to seek out the brands they endorse and purchase them, especially if there are limited-edition branded items, such as sneakers or hoodies.
You should only check out the brands you can afford, and you don’t need to buy dozens of items just because your favorite sports star has put their name behind it. However, it can be a good way of showing support and getting behind whatever product or company they represent. For those sports stars who advertise cryptocurrency investments or gambling products, you need to exercise more caution than usual. Some sports stars might have a promotional code and bonuses you can use to obtain free bets. Although bonuses are usually cost-effective for placing a wager, you must ensure you’re betting within your means. As long as you can do this, you can sign up for casino or sports betting apps using the code and place a few bets to show your support.
2. Social media support
If you want to get behind your sporting heroes and icons online, following their social media page is a far more cost-effective way of doing so than backing the brands they endorse. Instagram, Twitter (X) and TikTok are all excellent ways to support your favorite sports star, whether through supportive comments or messages or just by following them so they know they have your support. You can use hashtags to match the algorithms and connect with communities that revolve around your favorite sports star.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are two stars who have amassed over a billion followers on Instagram combined. Ronaldo has over 600 million and is the most followed person on the social media site, while Messi is just shy of 500 million. They are genuinely astonishing figures and show how many people support these two pillars of modern soccer and how much of a void they will leave in the sport when they retire.
3. Fan mail and e-mail
Despite the closer connection many sports stars have with their fans on social media, it can be difficult to distinguish which players run their accounts and which ones have account managers. Fan mail and e-mails have long been an effective way for supporters to interact with their favorite sports stars. Although writing a letter might seem old-fashioned, most big sports names will have addresses you can write to so that you can show your support.
If we take the example from our previous section, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have hundreds of millions of followers. As Ronaldo continues to find the back of the net and maintain his popularity as one of the world’s most recognizable athletes, it would be ridiculous to think that he wouldn’t have social media managers who post for him and respond to comments and replies. This means that although they appreciate your support, they will rarely ever see it and physically respond themselves. Perhaps if your sporting star is more active on social media, then contacting them that way would work, but generally, designated fan mail and e-mail can be the most direct way to get some sort of response.
4. Personalized merchandise
Many sports stars will advertise big sporting brands such as Nike, Adidas and Reebok, but some icons will have clothing that displays their name or picture. If you’re purchasing items designed with the image rights or name of your favorite sports stars, you can often find them on the “store” section of their website or on official partner websites that they endorse.
You could purchase many clothing types or accessories, including hats, shirts, hoodies, sneakers or scarves. However, it’s not just fashion where sports stars will brand their name and image rights. You can also buy posters, badges, films or TV shows about them, or biographies and autobiographies. Anything with their name that states that they’ll be getting a percentage of sales provides another way that sports stars build a connection with their fans. If these products sell well, they know they have the support of many people.
5. Buy tickets or watch live on TV
It doesn’t matter if your favorite sports star is a soccer player, boxer, tennis player, NBA or NFL star. One of the most effective ways to show your support is to buy a ticket for a game they’re playing in. Some fans will have season tickets, meaning they purchase a bulk ticket membership and attend every home game that season.
Players’ wages depend on ticket sales, how full the stadium gets and how many people watch the games at home. If you can show consistent support by either spending time going to the stadium or paying for subscription services to watch the games on television, you won’t just be supporting your favorite star but also helping the team they play for.
Designing your own placards and banners to take to the game can be a direct way a player can see you’re supporting them. TV cameras will often pan to notable placards during the game, so if you make one for your favorite sports star, and it is well-designed and gets on TV, it’s highly likely they’ll either see it or hear about it at some stage and appreciate your support.
