The Calm Before the Score: Are Football Fans Ready to Fill the Stands?

With football season approaching and a vaccine widely available in the US, are fans ready to fill the stands? We recently obtained timely consumer insights from 1,331 football fans about the upcoming pro and college football seasons.

For those who generally attend at least one football game a season (college or pro), six-in-ten anticipate going to see at least as many games in person as pre-pandemic, including three-in-ten that anticipate attending more games than previously. The approximately one-in-four who are unsure/unlikely to attend any games chiefly identify pandemic/safety related concerns and the high price of tickets as the main deterrents on a volunteered basis.

In addition to being eager to root their favorite team on in person, three-in-four regular football watchers will be looking to purchase new merchandise ahead of the new season. Specifically, team t-shirts, jerseys, and hats emerge as the most desired football merchandise. 

With more gatherings happening than a year ago, perhaps not surprisingly those who attend games look forward to tailgating this fall: 75% of those who will attend at least one pro football game this fall plan to kickoff the game with a pre-game party, with 81% of college football game attendees also of this mindset.

Since football fans are likely to be catching some games from the comfort of their couches, what foods and drinks are they most likely to buy for watching games at home?

Learn more about recent live event attendance trends here!