Fan response to the identity threat of potential team relocation

•Fans change their team identity meaning and importance in the face of threat.•Fans also resist changes to their team identity in the face of threat.•A strong place identity has positive and negative implications for threatened fans.•Team identification does not always imply team and fan as part of the same in-group.Group identities do not remain stable over time and team identity is no exception. As researchers have acknowledged team identity formation and maintenance as ongoing processes, it is equally important to explore how fans navigate threats to team identity. The purpose of this study is to understand how fans’ team identity was impacted by identity threat. The authors used digital ethnography to investigate how fans of the National Football League (NFL) Rams processed the identity threat presented by the team’s potential cross-country relocation from St. Louis, Missouri to Los Angeles, California. Based on analysis of fans’ real-time responses (via online discussion board), the authors found that fans’ team identity changed in meaning and importance as a result of the threat. The findings have theoretical implications for the study of team identification, particularly concerning the evaluative nature of identity, the relationship between team and place identity, and the inclusiveness of the group in team identity.