29 New England Patriot Tailgaters Displaying Tribal Fandom on Twitter/X
Kevin Hatton
Tailgating is a practice typically done by diehard fans of a sporting team by setting up tents and barbeques to cook food and bring drinks to have a pre-game celebration outside of the team stadium with other diehard fans of the same team participating in the tailgate. Additionally, Tribal Fans are described as “fans who have a strong sense of community, have an immense knowledge of their team symbols and rivals… Tribal Fans come together and show their support in person” (Hedlund et al., 2019, p. 335). For this paper, I would like to argue that the New England Patriots fans who continue to tailgate throughout the 2023-24 NFL season demonstrate Tribal Fandom to the largest extent of any type of football fan due to their continued support during the team’s poor performance this season and are the only group of football fans that can be considered diehard fans. This reaction is important to analyze because the most devout fans deserve recognition for their affective relationship toward their fandom as well as the positive impact they have on their fandom. I will analyze Patriot tailgater’s active participation on the social media platform Twitter/X throughout the tumultuous 2023-24 season where Patriot fans’ continuing enthusiasm to tailgate despite their team’s bad play, highlights their devotion to the team exemplifying their nature as the most devoted and diehard concentration of tribal fans in football. I will compare Tribal Fans to Sports Consumers and define what it means to have an affective relationship with a given fandom. I will explore the background and history of the practice of tailgating, as well as the current landscape of fandom for Patriot fans and what it means to be a part of Patriots fandom, then I will explore current reactions on X by frequent New England Patriot tailgaters and how their devotion to tailgating makes tailgaters the most prominent example of tribal fans and deserve the title of diehard fans compared to fans who merely attend the game or even watch from home.
Tailgating is a practice that’s roots have been established long before the game of football was ever invented. It was intended for people to congregate, cook food, and enjoy each other’s company as a community. For some background on what tailgating is and how it started: “The modern tailgate has roots in the fall harvest celebrations of Ancient Greece and Rome. Those events were marked with music, community, and plenty of food and drink” (Klein, C. 2023). To explain tailgating in a modern football context “Tailgating involves setting up temporary parties or picnics, often centered around the back of a vehicle. It typically has food, drinks, and recreational activities. It’s a time for supporters to show their allegiance to their teams. They wear their team apparel and take part in pregame traditions.” (Kraken, J. 2023). Fandom is described as “specific social and cultural interactions, institutions and communities that have formed through the close interaction of committed groups of fans in a subcultural context.” (Sandvoss, C. 2005). Football features very close-knit fandoms amongst fans of specific teams, where people congregate and tailgate together to celebrate their shared fandom in person which is a marquee trait amongst tribal fans. The History article mentions “Football season is alongside the harvest season, so it feels natural to have tailgates with bountiful tables throughout the fall,” she says. “There is also the fandom with football that is not as prevalent with other sports” (Klein, C. 2023). Tailgating incorporates aspects of community and tradition as well as a geographical gathering amongst fans which makes frequent New England Patriot tailgaters tribal fans.
I argue that football tailgaters are motivated by an affective motivation, their love for the team and their community. Affect regarding fandom is defined as “Fandom, much like religion, involves an intensely affective experience… They alternately bring us great joy and enrage us. They comfort us or they push us toward social change. They provide us with community but also offer us food for individual contemplation.” (Zubernis, 2018, pg. 151). New England Patriots fans who are frequent tailgaters display this affective drive behind their tribal fandom of the team by the way they continuously tailgate and support their shared community. The 2023 season to this point has been the worst the Patriots have ever experienced currently having a 2-10 win/loss record, putting strain on the devotion to the team for many fans. Erin Gregory is one example of a tribal Patriots fan she is a longtime season ticket holder who attends and is experiencing the team’s bad play this year but not giving up hope which highlights the true love she has for the team and community very much indicative of a tribal fan. “It’s painful though, but I am not going to give up on them. It’s something we are not used to seeing, we just always dominate, so this is uncharted territory,” she said.” (Burton, P. 2023). The affective motivation is keeping her attachment to the fandom strong which I believe is a common theme amongst frequent Patriot tailgaters who represent a very devout part of Patriots fandom. In a CBS News article, they interview New England Patriot tailgaters to ask them why they love tailgating for games so much. When asking sports fan and writer David Ropeik what makes a real diehard fan he said “Ropeik says rooting for a team is deeply rooted. Seeking out others who think as we do is just part of the survival instinct. “This is really powerful stuff,” he said. “We do this in lots of walks of life, by the way. Gender, location, politics, values, religion. We identify with a lot of tribes, but not so obviously. Sports? Team colors, warriors, songs, history, tradition.” (CBSNews.com, 2016).
The 2023-24 season for New England Patriot fans has tested the loyalty of many fans even ones who considered themselves diehard fans. The poor performance of the team is something the community of New England fans has not been used to. Since 2000 the team has enjoyed a total of six Super Bowl victories more than any other team in that span. So, for this season to be amongst the worst teams in the NFL statistically is a position many fans have never experienced. An NESN article examining fan reaction to the season so far on Twitter is extremely telling and representative of the struggles the team has had “Other Patriots die-hard faithfuls have all but given up on the team as a whole and not just Jones or Belichick.” (Troiani, G. 2023). Fans who remain enthusiastic and show up to every home game and bring all their cooking equipment to feed, entertain, and support their fellow fans is the most devoted type of fan you can get. These tailgaters can maintain a sense of community and exemplify their affective nature. Fans who merely attend the games or even show up to tailgates from time to time do not share the same devout tribal fandom that these tailgaters have, they would be categorized as sports consumers. A sports consumer is defined as “there are sports “consumers” who have no real personal connection to sport yet consume it purely as a means of social connection” (McDonald et al., 2023, p. 1). So, fans who merely attend games, or even show up to the tailgate to eat before the game do not display the same affective motivation and passion for their fandom as tailgaters, especially in New England. The tailgating community is quite close-knit, they display tribal-like tailgating traditions every Sunday which one could argue allows them to reserve the title of diehard fans exclusively for themselves.
The Patriot fans who remain hopeful and devout, have been frequently voicing their support and plan for tailgating in preparation for every Sunday despite poor results from the team on Twitter/X. Patriot fans often express their plans, excitement, enjoyment, and appreciation for the tailgating community through Twitter/X. In the article by Highfield et. al., the relationship between Twitter and how it reinforces fandoms is mentioned and is relevant to our application of Twitter and its relationship with Patriot tailgaters. “dedicated fan activities – beyond general audiencing – can be identified, they also provide us with further insight into the self-awareness and self-determination of fans as fans. They show the extent to which Twitter and other social media are used to establish and maintain communities of fandom, to exchange fan knowledge, and to plan fan activities” (Highfield et. al., 2013, pg. 336). An example of audience planning is on display by one Patriots fan planning to tailgate prior to the Giants game this past November travelling to New York to participate in his Patriot fandom “TOMORROW!!! PATRIOTS @ GIANTS TAILGATING INFO! Ramon and I are teaming up for our 6th tailgate at MetLife in Lot J22…” (@BabzOnTheMic, X, Nov 25th, 2023). This example of tribal fandom by this fan is exemplary of the diehard nature of Patriot tailgaters traveling out of state to continue fan traditions is a step above other forms of football fans and contributes to tailgaters’ status as tribal fans and the most diehard category of football fan. Patriot tailgaters use Twitter/X as a platform to not only convey an affective relationship with their fandom but to invite and motivate other fans to join as well.
Twitter/X is a platform that allows tribal New England Patriot tailgaters to broadcast their passion, love and affective relationship with the team and its fandom, to other members of the fandom and the rest of the sporting community. In the Bradford & Sherry 2018 article, the authors explore the relationship between brand communities and tailgating but one quote taken from a football fan interviewed at a tailgate offered a sort of explanation as to why tailgaters could be viewed as the most devout and affective category of fans “Football is not just guys on the field, people get emotionally involved with this when their team wins the world is beautiful, when their team loses its like they lost. And the people that tailgate, they believe this stuff, they don’t even see themselves buying into it, they already bought in. [ … ] They buy in that football is community, they buy in … into to, its community its camaraderie.” (Bradford & Sherry, 2018, pg. 208)”. A tweet that highlights the tailgating fans’ sense of culture, togetherness, and passion is a post from the New England Patriots Twitter account called ‘Tales from the Tailgate’ which features a local Massachusetts restaurant owner EJ Cubellis. EJ cooks food at his local restaurant and has a large cookout for every home game the Patriots play. EJ talks about his passionate and affective relationship with tailgating when he says, “My Daughter said to me, I know this is expensive but this is worth it, I love being here with you”. (New England Patriots, X, Nov. 28th, 2023). EJ exemplifies the strong sense of community and identification with the team that is characteristic of Tribal Fans. The strong affective relationship shows why fans like EJ and other tailgaters are the most diehard category of football fans, their extreme participation in their fandom makes them the most active audience within their fandom. The effort and preparation fuelled by a passionate desire is what separates the tribal fans from the sports consumers, which warrants the tribal fans being considered the most diehard group of football fans.
Patriot tailgaters remained steadfast in their love and devotion to their team fandom this season, the same cannot be said for many fans who began jumping ship due to poor team performance. One example of a Patriots fan giving up on the team and abandoning the fandom is a video of a Patriots fan burning his Mac Jones jersey, the quarterback for the Patriots “This is the state of the Patriots right now. I actually couldn’t believe it when I got sent this video…” (@BabzOnTheMic, X, Nov 12th, 2023). The article by Byon et. al., talks about the notable differences between casual fans and diehard fans, when they said, “Consider an individual who is a die-hard fan of a sport team—e.g., someone with great interest in the team in both bad and good times (Wann & Branscombe, 1993)” (Byon et. al., 2020). Not only are Patriot Tailgaters remaining as fans of the team but they are working to support and maintain the fandom through in-person congregation and event planning, notifying others of their tailgate plans and locations as well as putting in physical work to create a friendly, inclusive and community-oriented atmosphere through cooking and sharing of food and drink in person during home games at Gilette Stadium and even away games at rival teams stadiums. A sports consumer could watch these games from afar and root for the team but they are not contributing to the upkeep of the fandom or community like the diehard tribal-like tailgaters are doing.
In the article by Albinsson et. al., they analyze the generational differences between tailgaters in college football, but they find that there is a shared motivation for tailgating between all generations. While the authors have a different motivation for examining football tailgaters the reason for why the tailgate draws a parallel into the affective motivations displayed by Patriot Tailgaters. “The highest motivating factor in this study is identifying with the home team for all cohorts. Identifying with a team can provide fans with a sense of ‘we feeling’ and possibly tie into a sense of belonging” (Albinsson et. al., 2021, pg. 267). Patriot fans in 2023 have had many reasons to leave or lose hope or enjoyment within their fandom and community but tailgaters appear to be the most diehard and least likely to be swayed concentration of football fandom as made evident in a fan’s tweet following their tailgating experience after a Loss to the Giants in late November this fan still pronounced his love for the shared tailgating community “We have the best tailgates in the league. I always love our patriots’ nation and when we all get together…” (@BeantownBrandon, X, Nov 28th, 2023). The sense of togetherness and community displayed by tailgaters offers a fandom that is fuelled by community, passion, and affect which creates strong bonds within the fandom that cannot be swayed by team performance. Many fans like EJ Cubellis have a generational family tie to tailgating in New England making many tailgaters the most extreme denomination of football fans, removing themselves from categories such as sports consumers or casual fans. Tailgaters display qualities that reserve them the right to be considered diehard fans.
An important example of the affective relationship Patriot Tailgaters have with their fandom and how they prove that they are the most prominent example of diehard and tribal fans that exist in the football community. “Thanks to the fans that hung out at our Patriots Tailgate today!” (@AwayTailgate, X, Nov 26th, 2023). This tweet comes from Away Game Tailgate which is an account that coordinates tailgate activities for Patriot away games. The significance of this tweet shows the infrastructure that exists for Patriot tailgaters at games that are even away from Gilette Stadium their fandom is so strong and devout that they continue to set up community events no matter where the team is playing. There are plenty of denominations of football fans, including Sports Consumers who are not fans of the team but only actively participate in the social aspects. Casual fans are described as “characterized mainly by low perceptions of all seven dimensions, particularly regarding membership and geographical sense of community.” (Hedlund et al., 2019, p. 335). The most devout of all are Tribal Fans who have a vast interest and knowledge of their team and show up in person to celebrate their fandom. Tribal Fans is where I argue Patriot Tailgaters fit in and through their shows of community support and affective relationship displayed through their posts on X as well as captured through pictures and video posted by the official Patriots X account, it is clear that tailgaters in New England represent the most diehard denomination of Tribal Fans and the other fans that might fit into the casual or sport consumer category do not show the same affective relationship with their team fandom that tailgaters do.
Patriot tailgaters work hard to support their fandom and uplift their community by providing food and camaraderie every Sunday in New England or otherwise, so these diehard fans deserve their recognition as the most devout tribal fans that football has to offer. After all the entire football fandom itself rests on the devotion and passion of fans. Tailgaters even work to improve the sense of community amongst their fandom through the holidays, “Sick of Thanksgiving leftovers?? So are we. Get your tailgate on at our New England Patriots Tailgate at MetLife Stadium. #patriots” (@AwayTailgate, X, Nov 24th, 2023). In Dionisio’s article about fandom affiliation in UK soccer he draws parallels to motivations shared by football tailgaters when he says “Fandom still offers such social benefits as feelings of camaraderie, community and solidarity, as well as enhanced social prestige and self-esteem (Zillmann et al., 1989). It is the support of fans that underpins the sports industry and as explained by Taylor (2004) “the crowd is the supreme authority without which the golden core of the game has no currency” (Dionisio et. al., 2008, pg. 18). The importance of recognition of these devout fans is of the utmost importance because it is what keeps the fandom and passion of these sports alive. If these devoted fans did not receive praise and recognition for their efforts to improve and uphold fandom traditions and community, fandoms would not be allowed to thrive and grow which could ruin the fan viewership experience. Working through holidays and showing up Sunday after Sunday shows a devotion to the fan base that you cannot find in any other denomination of fans for the Patriots or any other team in football, Patriot tailgaters are representative of the fact that for teams around the league, fans who prep, show up and tailgate prop football fandom up on their shoulders and are the only fans who deserve the title of diehard fans which is essentially another name for Tribal Fans since they have deep knowledge and passion for their team and show up in person to support their Patriots. In a season riddled with poor play by the usually successful New England Patriots, it served as an insightful time to investigate fan reaction, which types of fans remained as devoted as ever, to their team through thick and thin, and which fans were only onboard to ride the wave of success the Patriots enjoyed for the past twenty years. The negative reaction on social media causing fans to change allegiance or even burn their team jerseys certainly highlighted the tough times the team was experiencing. But with the presence of tailgating persevering and going strong with the same devout fans, these fans need recognition and support as diehard fans to keep tradition alive. The importance of this analysis serves to showcase and support fans who work to upkeep and improve a community such as these tailgaters do.
After reviewing the practice of tailgating, from its roots in Ancient Greece to its modern representation in parking lots outside of football stadiums, its ties to the fan community and culture are clear. Fans come equipped with barbeques, drinks, and tents to feed and support the community they love every Sunday at home in New England or otherwise. The difference between casual fans, sports consumers, and Tribal fans was explored and the conclusion that Tribal fans share the deepest affective relationship with their fandom was evident. Tailgaters displayed traits of Tribal fans through their deep knowledge of the team and showing up to support the team gathering in the same location. Posts on X highlighted the motivations behind tailgating whether it be generational traditions or just a general shared love for the team, Patriot tailgaters showed that they are the most diehard categorization of football fans because of the link between their tailgating practices and an affective relationship to their fandom and team community. The overall significance of this analysis is that some fans watch for football highlights or to watch a certain player but for tribal fans such as tailgaters football and all of its pre-game traditions carry an emotional connection that runs deeper than the score of a game or a win/loss record, and these fans deserve recognition as the most diehard and deserving fans because of how much they give back to their fandom. This topic was relevant because it highlights the positive effects that are intertwined with this fandom, Tailgaters in New England create a sense of family for all fans around them, allowing people to have an escape on Sundays filled with camaraderie and shared affection for the team and community and they deserve recognition for a positive impact toward the local community. I think the difference that was made from this fandom being as devout and as positive as it is, is that people can gain more from being a part of a fandom than just cheering for a touchdown, they can gain a true affective and passionate relationship with people of similar interests which is what fandom should aim to produce for people, not all fandoms carry the same positive emotional potential as the tailgating community in New England.
Works Cited
Academic Articles:
Albinsson, P. A., Shows, G. D., & Boya, U. O. (2021). Celebrating Together: Generational Cohort Differences in Game-Day Tailgating Rituals. Journal of Managerial Issues, 33(3), 259–273.
Bradford, T. W., & Sherry, J. F. (2018). Dwelling dynamics in consumption encampments: Tailgating as emplaced brand community. Marketing Theory, 18(2), 203–217. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470593117732460
Byon, K. K., Salge, C. A. de L., Baker, T. A., & Jones, C. W. (2020). Team Identification and Negotiation: A Mediated-Moderation Model of Constraints, Motivation, and Sport Consumption. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 29(4), 282–295. https://doi.org/10.32731/SMQ.294.122020.04
Dionísio, P., Leal, C., & Moutinho, L. (2008). Fandom affiliation and tribal behaviour: a sports marketing application. Qualitative Market Research, 11(1), 17–39. https://doi.org/10.1108/13522750810845531
Highfield, T., Harrington, S., & Bruns, A. (2013). TWITTER AS A TECHNOLOGY FOR AUDIENCING AND FANDOM: The #Eurovision phenomenon. Information, Communication & Society, 16(3), 315–339. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2012.756053
Non-Academic Articles:
CBS News (2016, February 7). What drives die-hard sports fans? Cbsnews.com. Retrieved December 2, 2023, from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-drives-die-hard-sports-fans/
Burton, P. CBS News (2023, October 9). “They are our team”: Diehard fans not giving up on Patriots after 1-4 start. Cbsnews.com. Retrieved December 2, 2023, from https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/patriots-fans-not-losing-hope-losing-season/
Klein, C. History.com (2023, June 1). Tailgating: How the Pre-Game Tradition Can Be Traced to Ancient Times. History.com. Retrieved December 2, 2023, from https://www.history.com/news/tailgating-history-football-game-traditions-rituals
Troiani, G. NESN (2023, November 12). Patriots Fans React On Social Media To Another Stupefying New England Loss. NESN.com. Retrieved December 2, 2023, from https://nesn.com/2023/11/patriots-fans-react-on-social-media-to-another-stupefying-new-england-loss/
Kraken, J. Wolfgang Sport (2023, June 19). What drives die-hard sports fans? Wolfgangsport.com. Retrieved December 2, 2023, from https://www.wolfgangsport.com/the-nfl-fan-experience-tailgating-traditions-touchdowns-and-beyond/
Twitter/X Posts:
AwayGameTailgate [@AwayTailgate] (2023, November, 24th) “Sick of Thanksgiving leftovers?? So are we. Get your tailgate on at our New England Patriots Tailgate at MetLife Stadium. #patriots” Retrieved December 1st, 2023 from: https://twitter.com/AwayTailgate/status/1728037681269977584
AwayGameTailgate [@AwayTailgate] (2023, November, 26th) “Thanks to the fans that hung out at our Patriots Tailgate today!” Retrieved December 1st, 2023 from: https://twitter.com/AwayTailgate/status/1728854107925156233
Babz [@BabzOnTheMic] (2023, November 25). “TOMORROW!!! PATRIOTS @ GIANTS TAILGATING INFO! Ramon and I are teaming up for our 6th tailgate at MetLife in Lot J22…” Retrieved December 1, 2023, from: https://twitter.com/BabzOnTheMic/status/1728559210122584326
Babz [@BabzOnTheMic] (2023, November 12th). “This is the state of the Patriots right now. I actually couldn’t believe it when I got sent this video…” Retrieved December 4th, 2023, from: https://twitter.com/BabzOnTheMic/status/1723796496246514026
BëantøwnBrandøn [@Patriots_dude] (2023, November 28). “We have the best tailgates in the league. I always love our patriots nation and when we all get together…” Retrieved December 1, 2023, from: https://twitter.com/Patriots_Dude/status/1729589788267733464
New England Patriots [@Patriots] (2023, November 28). “Resiliency, passion and some great football food. Tales from the Tailgate takes a look at how a local restauranteur prepares for a Patriots game day.” Retrieved December 1, 2023, from: https://twitter.com/Patriots/status/1729576391052583048
Additional References From Course Readings:
Hedlund, D., Leal, M., & Biscaia, R. (2020). Classifying Sport Consumers: From Casual to Tribal Fans. In Handbook of Research on the Impact of Fandom in Society and Consumerism (pp. 335).
Henry Jenkins, Mizuko Ito and Danah Boyd, Participatory Culture in a Networked Era. (2016). European Journal of Communication, 31(4), 495–495. SAGE Publications. https://doi.org/10.1177/0267323116659010g
McDonald, H., Pallant, J., Funk, D. C., & Kunkel, T. (2023). Who doesn’t like sport? A taxonomy of non-fans. Sport Management Review, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/14413523.2023.2233342
Sandvoss, Cornel. (2005). Fans : the mirror of consumption. Polity.
Zubernis, L., & Larsen, K. (2018). Make Space for Us! Fandom in the Real World. In A Companion to Media Fandom and Fan Studies (pp. 143–159). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119237211.ch9