Fan Behavior Survey: Zoomers are Sports' Biggest Troublemakers

Gen Z: wyd?

The caretakers of the "Most Maligned Generation" mantle have been blamed for everything, from being bad employees to not eating out enough due to "menu anxiety." And though some Zoomers might be guilty of this, it hardly seems fair to saddle an entire generation with such unflattering generalities.

That said, when it comes to behavior at sporting events, Gen Z fans are in a category all their own – and in a way that probably won't sit well with other age cohorts.

In the latest Sportsbook Review survey, we asked more than 3,000 people a variety of questions surrounding general sports fan behavior. And what we discovered is that, when it comes to causing trouble, no one does it better than the 18-27 crowd.

Fan Behavior Survey Results

Have you ever tried to move to better seats during a game?

If so, were you confronted by security?

And so begins the Gen Z deconstruction. Though in fairness, this cohort comes in with a similar rate of seat-snatching to Generation X. Zoomers, on the other hand, get approached by security at a much higher rate, which speaks to the increased scrutiny young people tend to face across the board.

Another trend you'll see pop up across most of this survey: The "Forgotten Generation" (ages 70-79) has absolutely no time for your shenanigans.

Have you ever tried to sneak alcohol into a venue?

If so, were you successful?

Let it be known that Gen Zers have the second-lowest incidence of trying to bring their beer and liquor into a stadium, a full 2% below the Millennials' attempt rate. And once again, they're the least successful at it, coming in well below the average.

(Let's talk about that average while we're on the subject. Nearly 19 out of every 20 survey respondents who have tried to sneak alcohol into a sporting venue have been successful. Maybe let's take a break from disparaging Gen Z to talk about stadium security.)

Have you ever thrown anything onto a playing surface?

Granted, sometimes it's okay to litter the playing surface with debris; after all, how else are hockey fans supposed to celebrate a hat trick? But as you can see in the image above, when we're talking about things like coins, trash, or meat (yes, meat), that's not cool.

This one played out as you might expect given the general trends of other categories, with Gen Z in front and the two oldest generations mostly steering clear of the practice.

Have you ever been involved in a physical altercation at a sporting event?

Our look at the NFL's most dangerous stadiums reveals that nearly 40% of fans have witnessed or fallen victim to a crime in the vicinity of their city's football venue. And in this survey, 20-somethings admit to being the most likely to be involved in a stadium fracas.

In terms of breakdown by sport, people who identified as basketball fans (7.2%) finished with the highest "yes" response, followed by football (6.4%) and soccer (6.1%). On the flip side, only 2.8% of baseball fans said they had been in a physical altercation.

Have you ever said anything malicious to a player/coach via social media?

If so, did the player/coach respond to you?

It should come as no surprise to see Gen Z with the most social media snipes of sports personalities, given that a much larger share of Zoomers than any other age cohort are active on social channels. Still, let's try to be a little nicer to the sports people, OK?

As for the second part, the most interesting trend is that nearly 20% of all survey participants had the aggrieved player or coach respond to the social media barbs. That number seems high, at least based on how many daily interactions these players must have.

Have you ever heckled a player/coach during a game?

Millennials win this round. They're the kings of the heckle, particularly when it comes to giving the gears to opposing teams. Zoomers are the guiltiest when it comes to berating players on their own team, while Gen X is best at yelling at pretty much anyone on the field.

On the sport-specific side, a couple of interesting trends emerged. Football fans were most likely to yell at their own team (3.5%), while hockey had the highest percentage of fans who heckled the opposition (21%). And 10.4% of soccer fans have jaw-jacked both clubs.

Have you ever broken /damaged something after a team loss?

If so, how expensive was the item?

Phones, jerseys, TVs, and other valuable possessions have never been less safe when it comes to avoiding the ire of enraged sports fans. And the Zoomers are the most culpable here, too, with more than one in nine admitting to breaking something following a loss.

When it comes to the overall value of those items, at least Gen Zers lean toward destroying less expensive personal effects. That's not the case for the two generations that precede them.

Millennials tend to wreck more things in the $50 to $100 range, while one in seven Gen X respondents has ruined something worth more than $100 in the name of sports anger.

What would it take for you to rush the field at a sporting event?

First off, mad respect to everyone who confessed that they had already stormed the field at some point. And to anyone willing to interrupt a professional sporting event for nothing but the pure satisfaction of doing so ... that's a bold statement.

Gen Z is once again in the spotlight here, dominating every category in which the perpetrator would be compensated for laying boots on the grass (or hardwood or ice surface). After all, those crippling student loans won't pay themselves off.

Have you ever illegally bought/sold merchandise or tickets at or near a sporting event?

None of the age cohorts is a clear No. 1 offender in this category, though it's interesting to note that Gen Z shares an aversion to ticket or merch chicanery with our 70-something respondents. In fact, Zoomers are the least likely of all to buy tickets from a street-side reseller.

What stands out is that the Boomer demographic has the highest incidence of indulging in both illegal buying and selling of tickets and merchandise. Who knew our parents and grandparents rolled like that? (In fairness, reselling tickets used to be exclusively an offline endeavor.)

Have you ever been kicked out of an establishment during a sporting event?

You wanna be where everybody knows your name – but if you're going to lose your cool over something sports-related, it won't matter how popular you are. You're getting the boot. And no age cohort has been thrown out of more bars or other social gatherings than Millennials.

This result might be easier to explain than most. We see the incidence rate decline steadily across the four oldest demographics, with the Forgotten Generation still on its best behavior. As for Gen Z, it's well-documented that Zoomers go out less than their predecessors.

Methodology

We polled 3,006 survey respondents from the United States and Canada on July 17-18. Here is the demographic breakdown: