Traveling Abroad Internal and External Motives toward Different Sports Fan Types

Sport events are gradually showing higher potential to make significant contribution to contemporary society. Current events are being developed at local, regional and national level, having economic, commercial, political and socio-cultural implications. Different types of fans are the main target of the global sports industry. Therefore, marketers should be aware of sports fans’ needs, discern their motives and predict their buying attitude, estimate the driving forces urging fans to devote time, money and effort to be attend sport events. The scope of the present study is to develop a new sports fan classification scheme, as well as, to evolve a variety of models, like LOGIRE models, aiming at exploring the existence of specific motives, both internal and external that induces fans to attend sports events held abroad. The research was based on personal interviews using a sample 315 persons. Research results revealed six different sports fan types with concrete internal and external motives. More importantly, a new fan type emerged adopting all the behaviour characteristics of the temporary fan type, as well as, the local fan type.


Introduction
Major sports events, showing gradually higher potential to make a significant contribution to contemporary society (Emery, 2002), do not constitute a new phenomenon, but their roots can be traced back to the Olympic Games of Ancient Greece (Copenhagen Business School, 2006).However, the last decade brought about a remarkable increase in the number of sporting events held worldwide (Getz, 1998) and a growing massively interest in them as a direct effect of higher income and abundant leisure time devoted to athletic activities.
Cities are increasingly striving and competing each other in hosting high profile sporting events as a means to stimulate economic growth (Adranovich et al., 2001) and attain strategic corporate objectives (Bunce, 1995).Such events are described by researchers as a crucial catalyst of improvement and development at local, regional and national level (Essex & Chalkley, 1998;Essex & Chalkley, 1999), as well as, a key instrument by which cities can enhance their economic, commercial, political and socio-cultural status and appraise their position on the global stage (Harvey, 1989;Paddison, 1993).
Nevertheless, in order for any sporting event to be successful apart from sports participants, it should attract spectators and attendees (Gibson, 1998), since it is the support of the sports fans that underpins the global sports industry (Mason, 1999).As Taylor (1992) explains, "the crowd is the supreme authority without which the golden core of the game has no currency".Thus, it is of crucial importance for marketers to be aware of sports fans' needs, discern their motives and predict their buying attitude (Hunt et al., 1999), estimate the driving forces urging fans to devote time, money and effort to be spectators (Cassidy, 2005).
However, given the heterogeneity surrounding contemporary consumer's product preferences and purchasing behaviour in all business sectors (Green, 1977), the application of market segmentation practice, regarded as the panacea of modern marketing (Wind, 1978), in combination with the development of typologies appears rather significant in sports sector.The goal of a typology consists in "classifying diverse phenomena into meaningful and distinct subgroups" (Barnes, 2007).More concretely, the aim of a consumer typology is to describe consumers based on several characteristics and to group persons similar to each other into types (Dillon & Goldstein, 1984).
Segmenting customers with similar requirements and purchasing behaviour into segments can offer a better understanding of both customers' wishes and the competitive advantage to seek and can result in greater responsiveness in terms of the product on offer (Dibb, 1998).Only understanding the different market segments can enable marketers to develop the appropriate strategies to attract and maintain these customers (Kau et al., 2003).Therefore, a classification or typology of sports fans is of great interest and high utility to sports marketers.

Definition of sports fan
Before examining the different types of sports fans into which an individual may develop, we will briefly define the character of sports fan.The term "fan", derived from the adjective "fanatic", is routinely linked with individuals keen on sports (Gantz et al., 2006).Researchers often link fanship with abundant knowledge about teams, players and games, active and participative match attendance, concern and emotional responsiveness to the games' outcomes (Smith et al., 1981;Gantz et al., 1995).Hunt et al. (1999) describe the sports fan as the consumer of organized sports and define him as "an enthusiastic devotee of some particular sports consumptive objects".Such objects towards which followers manifest their devotion and affective attachment can be a sport in general, a team or a specific league or even an individual, such as a player, a coach or anyone strogly associated with a sport or team (Hunt et al., 1999).
Fans tend to identify with the sports consumptive object; their identification with a sport or the players can bring about identification with the team or conversely and this leads to consequent actions, such as attending sporting events, purchasing season tickets and buying licensed league products (Fisher & Wakefield, 1998).

Classification of sports fans
However, the levels of attachment, as well as, the behaviour exhibited are not the same for all sports fans.The scheme proposed by Hunt et al. (1999), which our research was based on, classifies fans according to their motivation and fan-like behaviour.

The temporary fan
Although individuals tend to use objects, both tangible and intangible, to identify themselves to their own self and to others (Belk, 1990;Ball & Tasaki, 1992) and so do sports fans with consumptive objects, the first type of fan, the temporary fan does not use fanship for self-identification.His motivation to engage in fanship activity is characterized by Hunt et al. (1999) as situational and his interest in sports is time-constrained.He is a sports consumer only for a certain amount of time whose duration may fluctuate from a few hours to few years; he is a fan only for a specific time-bound event or an exciting league for a period when a favorite player is part of a team or during a team's winning seasons (Pimentel & Reynolds, 2004).
The temporary fan's commitment is calculative which means that he remains a fan as long as the benefits of fanship outweigh the costs (Hrebiniak & Alutto, 1972).He is the fair weather a fan (Mason, 1999) who exhibits loyalty to a winning team for enjoyable benefits (Pimentel & Reynolds, 2004).Cialdini et al. (1976) explains the temporary fan's attitude by invoking his basking in reflected glory (BIRG) theory which underlines individual's tendency to internalize the success of others.Sports fans relish sharing proudly with players the attribution of victory by announcing "we win", whereas they have the propensity to externalize the attribution of failure and disassociate themselves from the team that failed by complaining that "they lost" (Mann, 1974;Wann & Dolan, 1994); this is the phenomenon defined by Cialdini et al. (1976) as cutting-off reflected failure (CORF).

The local fan
Although the temporary fan is subject to time constraints, the local fan is limited geographically.His fanship, which is only peripherally used for self-identification, stems from his identification with a geographic area (Hunt et al., 1999).Normatively committed, he exhibits a particular sports-related behaviour through a sense of obligation (Pimentel & Reynolds, 2004).He supports a local team because he feels that he should show a certain degree of devotion to the local or state team of the town or city of his birth or residence (Jones, 1997).However, the local fanship, similarly to the temporary one, appears quite transitory, since moving away from the particular geographic area brings about diminution in the fan's enthusiasm and attachment to the sports consumptive object.

The devoted fan
The boundaries of time and place are broken in the case of the devoted fan.He is a prior temporary or local fan whose commitment towards the sports consumptive object intensified and became more affective in nature (Allen et al., 1991) through the sacralization process, which may include quintessence, inheritance or external sanction (Belk et al., 1989).The consumptive object acquires for the devoted fan emotional significance as Ball and Tasaki (1992) define "the associations of the object with significant people and events in a person's life" and this fact renders it highly important for the fan's self-worth and self-identification.The devoted follower views his favourite object as a part of himself (Fisher & Wakefield, 1998), while the strong attachment that he has developed to this object urges him to exhibit protective attitude towards it and prevents him emotionally from accepting its eventual deterioration or failure.This type of fan tends to ascribe the positive attributes to his favorable team and the negative ones to rivals (Branscombe & Wann, 1992) while he feels both success and loss intensely and personaly (Pimentel & Reynolds, 2004).The joy and satisfaction of attending his team winning but, also, the disappointment and pain associated with undesired results of sports contests may rival the emotions experienced by the players themselves or the coach.
Contrary to the two categories of sports consumers mentioned-above, the source of motivation for devoted followers is enduring (Hunt et al., 1999).He constitutes the "die hard" sports consumer (Mason, 1999) who maintains his avidity and unabashed loyalty to the consumptive object in both fair weather and losing seasons, even if the event that captivated his sporting interest has ended or alterations take place in the beloved local team or he moves away from the geographical area linked with his fan-like behavior.The devoted fans form this market segment that consists "the most taken-for-granted revenue source for professional sports leagues" (Mason, 1999) and buys the uncertainty of match results (Sutton & Parrett, 1992).They regularly purchase season tickets, attend matches or watch games on television and buy products endorsed by athletes and league apparel (Ozanian et al., 1995).

The fanatical fan
The fanatical fans could be characterized even deeper committed.Although similar with their devoted counterparts in that they are not bounded by temporal or geographic constraints and that they use sports consumptive objects to maintain their self-concept, for the fanatical sports consumers who engage in a more extreme and passionate fan-like attitude in comparison with devoted followers, fanship is a crucially important part of self-identification (Hunt et al., 1999).Their attachment to their favourite team or sport is very close to the center of self and follows immediately after their devotion to significant aspects of life, such as family, work or religion -though in some cases, devotion to sports rivals this to religion (Bale, 2003).While a devoted fan may attend a match and buy memorabilia, the fanatical sports consumer will attend the game in costume and/or body-painting after having constructed shrines dedicated to the objects of their fanaticism inside their abode (Pimentel & Reynolds, 2004).For such affectively committed sports consumers, separating themselves from their teams and the players in case of defeat proves rather intractable (Wann & Branscombe, 1993).

The dysfunctional fan
The last category of fans identified by Hunt et al. (1999) is the dysfunctional fan.This type of sports consumer, unlike the devoted follower who considers being a fan just as a significant part of maintaining his self-concept, regards fanship as the primary form of self-identification.While for a serious fan the outcomes of games matter (Smith, 1998), for the passionate dysfunctional fan they are inseparably linked with his own existence.It is not a rare phenomenon for this kind of follower to prioritize his favourite team or sport over his family, job and friends.Hunt et al. (1999) stress that what distinguishes the devoted fan from his dysfunactional counterpart is that while the former manifests a fun-like and team-support attitude, the latter engages in an anti-social, violent and deviant behaviour which offends the athletic ideal and disrupts both sporting events and the social exchanges surrounding these events.The dysfunctional fan is so strongly identified with the object of his fanaticism and thus, he experiences emotions such as anxiety, dislike, anger and pain to such an extreme degree (Wann et al., 1998) that he often loses control of himself.The most typical representatives of this category of sports followers are the English soccer fans, the notorious "hooligans" (Pimentel & Reynolds, 2004) who label their vulgar conduct as nationalistic support for their team.

Sports tourism
The remarkable increase in the number of sporting events held worldwide is accompanied by a significant augmentation of the number of sports consumers who arrange their yearly holiday in order to coincide with a sporting event (Cassidy, 2005).Sports event tourism, fruit of the interaction of activity, people and place, constitutes a rather promising global industry, expected to grow by 10% each year up to 2020 (Weed, 2006) and researchers highlight this interdependence between sport and tourism (Redmond, 1990;Standeven & De Knop 1999).However, there is lack of inquiry devoted to the factors motivating consumers to travel abroad with the aim of becoming sports event tourists (Cassidy, 2005).

Motivations for sports tourism
After reviewing the existing literature, it can be deduced that a significant stimulus to attend global sporting events is affiliation motivation.As social creatures, individuals need to develop and maintain relationships and coexist with others (Handy, 1993) and such events offer attendees the opportunity to experience social interaction with their fellow-men and to participate in the community spirit which takes place during the event (McDonnell et al., 1999).Major sporting events achieve social facilitation by bringing together individuals who enjoy the same activities (McDonald et al., 2002) and allow spectators to spend some time with peers and family (Weiss & Duncan, 1992;Jamber, 1999).In addition, through their participation in global athletic manifestations, fans strive to confirm their sense of identity as "sportspersons" (Weed, 2006) and to satisfy their need for status, prestige and recognition connected with attending such events (McDonnell et al., 1999).
Apart from the social stimuli mentioned above, McDonnell et al. (1999) indicate important physiological and personal motives drawing people to sports tourism.Individuals regard this kind of travelling not only as a great chance for relaxation, sometimes in combination with taking some exercise, but also as a marvellous opportunity to escape from daily routine (Iso-Ahola, 1982) and seek some new authentic experience, experience of "otherness" that will set them apart from their peers (MacCannell, 1996).Furthermore, for some sports consumers, participation in mega athletic events is aligned with their passion for a sport, team, and athlete or for their country and constitutes the fulfillment of an ambition pursued for years (McDonnell et al., 1999).
Finally, Sloan (1985) associates attraction to major sporting events with the aesthetic pleasure derived from players' skill demonstration and tactical complexity, as well as, with individual need for achievement through athletic competition.
However, fans' decision to travel abroad with the aim of attending global athletic manifestations can, also, be affected by factors related to the travel destination.These are the pull factors or motivations which are linked with the attributes of the place hosting each sporting event (Cha et al., 1995;Oh et al., 1995).Pull motivations are connected with external, cognitive or situational factors.They include the natural environment and resources, such as wealth of countryside, beaches and weather, the cultural attractions, such as museums and festivals (Crompton, 1979), the place ambiance and the scenic attractiveness (Weed & Bull, 2004), the tourist facilities and infrastructure and finally, the economic and political factors, such as prices, safety and political stability.

Research Methodology
The objective of this study is to form a classification scheme of sports fans indicated in Greece and to highlight the relationship between different sports fan types and motives that induce them to attend sports events held abroad.For the purposes of the present research the above mentioned motives are categorized into internal and external.This research aspires to answer the following research questions: 1) Which is the different sports fan types indicated in Greece?
2) Which is the probability that different sports fan types influence internal motives that induce fans to attend sports events held abroad (based on specific prediction models)?
3) Which is the probability that different sports fan types influence external motives that induce fans to attend sports events held abroad (based on specific prediction models)?
This research model asserts that sports fan types have a significant impact on the motives that induce fans to attend sports events held abroad (Figure 1).

Questionnaire design
The first set of variables is related to a number of criteria characterizing different sports fan types and measured on a five-point Likert-type scale (1=fully disagree, 5=fully agree).The second set of variables is devoted to internal motives that may induce fans to attend sports events held abroad and measured on a dichotomous scale (1=Yes, 2=No).Finally, the third set of variables focuses on external motives that may induce fans to attend sports events held abroad and measured on a dichotomous scale (1=Yes, 2=No).It should be mentioned that the questionnaire includes, also, some additional measures that were not used in this study, such as the frequency at which a fan travels abroad or the degree to which a fan is interested in specific sports.The questionnaire was pre-tested in a small sample of 30 sports fans in a way similar to that employed in the final survey.The test was carried out with the aim of evaluating the structure of the questionnaire, participants' reactions to the questions, as well as, the function and value of the questions.

Data collection
The research was carried out between September and November 2010 based on personal interviews method.
Respondents were interviewed in different places in Greece where sports events occur.The total sample is composed of 315 persons.The response rate was 95%, the confidence level was 95%, and the maximum percentage error of sample collection is e = ±2.Interviewers conducted one interview randomly every five persons.A percentage of "error due to lack of answer" was taken into account in advance.

Data analysis
The data was collected, codified and analyzed with the use of the statistic package of social sciences (SPSS, Version 16).With the use of the Principal Components Analysis, cross-correlations among variables were clarified.These correlations namely factor loadings gave positive or negative correlations but only the variables scoring more than (>0.40) were discussed.Moreover, with the aid of the Varimax matrix and Cronbach's alpha the variable's internal validity was measured in one scale.If the results are negative, there is inconsistency; in case of positive and more than 0.70 results, there are validity variables which were the majority of the research variables (Nunnally, 1978).The data were firstly analyzed with the use of descriptive statistical methods.In order to assess the validity of the questions, the associations between the relevant variables, measured by the questionnaire, were tested.The extracted factors and the interactions between them were integrated as independent variables in LOGIRE models.The dichotomous variables (Yes vs. No) corresponding to internal and external motives inducing fans to attend sports events held abroad were utilized as dependent variables in the analysis.

Classification of Sports Fans in Greece
An exploratory factor analysis was conducted in order to reduce similar fan characteristics to a smaller number of uncorrelated fundamental factors.Six factors were extracted from twenty eight variables with KMO measure of sampling adequacy 0.907.They explain 59.7% of the variance.The factor loadings can be interpreted clearly.
The first factor includes eight variables that measure the characteristics of the fanatical fan and is named "fanatical fan".The second factor contains seven variables which measure the devoted fan's characteristics and is labelled as "devoted fan".The third factor consists of four variables measuring the characteristics of the dysfunctional fan and is entitled as "dysfunctional fan".Moving on to the fourth factor, it contains five variables that measure the characteristics attributed to the temporary fan, as well as, the characteristics attributed to the local fan.This factor constitutes a conjunction between the temporary and the local fan type and is labelled as "temporary local fan".The fifth factor includes two variables that measure the characteristics attributed to the devoted fan, as well as, those attributed to the local fan.This factor constitutes a conjunction between the devoted and the local fan type and is named "devoted local fan".Finally, the last factor is composed of two variables measuring the characteristics of the temporary fan and is entitled as "temporary fan".
According to the factor analysis results, an empirical-based typology of sports fans in Greece is developed inspired by a conceptually-based classification proposed by Hunt et.al. (1999) contending that five different types of sports fans exist: temporary, local, devoted, fanatical, and dysfunctional.The empirical research indicates that the local fan dimension of the Hunt et al. (1999) classification scheme is incorporated into the temporary fan dimension bringing into surface a new fan type labelled as "temporary local fan".Moreover, the local fan dimension is also incorporated into the devoted fan dimension revealing another new fan type named "devoted local fan".According to the factor analysis results, the local fan type does not constitute a separated type.

Impact of Fan Types on Internal Motives (IM)
The respondents were asked to indicate a number of internal motives that induce them to attend sports events held abroad.These internal motives could be summarized to the following ones: sensing companionship and pleasantry, being part of the community spirit which characterizes every sports event, need for being part of the sports event, need for relaxation, need to escape from everyday routine, fulfillment of a desire that the fan always had, attending a specific sports event, and passion/ enthusiasm for his country and specific athletes or teams.
The extracted factors and the interactions between them were integrated as independent variables into LOGIRE models.The dichotomous variables (Yes vs. No) corresponding to internal motives inducing fans to attend sports events held abroad were utilized as dependent variables in the analysis.The findings are presented in Table 2.
Only three of the internal motives demonstrated statistically significant results.All measures indicated a good fit of the estimation models.Only the statistically significant factors are depicted in the Table .All interactions between the six factors did not have significant LOGIRE coefficients and were, therefore, excluded from the models.
The three models, named LOGIRE1, LOGIRE2, and LOGIRE3 are formulated in equations 1, 2, and 3 correspondingly: The results of the above analysis can be summarized to the following.The dysfunctional fan type, according to equation 1, constitutes an important variable in order to predict the probability of the motive labelled as the need of being part of the sports event.Equation 2 demonstrates that three significant variables useful for the prediction of the probability of the motive labelled as the fulfilment of a desire that the fan always had, attending a specific sports event, are the devoted fan type, the dysfunctional fan type, as well as, the temporary fan type.Finally, according to equation 3, the probability of the motive entitled as the fan's passion/ enthusiasm for his country, specific athletes or teams can be predicted based on the four following variables; the devoted fan type, the fanatical fan type, the temporary fan type, and the temporary local fan type.

Impact of Fan Types on External Motives (EM)
The respondents were asked to indicate a number of external motives that induce them to attend sports events held abroad.These external motives could be summarized to the following ones: general infrastructure (including health services, telecommunications, commercial infrastructures, private and public transport facilities, roads, airports, and ports), tourist infrastructure (including hotels, restaurants, nightlife, and tourist centres), culture, history and arts (including museums, festivals, and religion), political and economic factors (including political stability, safety, and prices), natural environment (including beauty of scenery and cleanliness), social environment (including hospitality, friendliness, quality of life, and language), place atmosphere (including exotic, relaxing, luxurious, and fashionable), famous stadium, history of the opponent team, and famous athletes.
The extracted factors and the interactions between them were integrated as independent variables into LOGIRE models.The dichotomous variables (Yes vs. No) corresponding to external motives inducing fans to attend sports events held abroad were utilized as dependent variables in the analysis.The findings are presented in Table 3.Five of the external motives demonstrated statistically significant results.All measures indicated a good fit of the estimation models.Only the statistically significant factors are depicted in the Table .All interactions between the six factors did not have significant LOGIRE coefficients and were therefore excluded from the models.
The seven models, named LOGIRE4, LOGIRE5, LOGIRE6, LOGIRE7, LOGIRE8, LOGIRE9 and LOGIRE10 are formulated in equations 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and Equation 10: Formulation of the LOGIRE10 model According to equation 4, the fanatical fan type and the devoted fan type constitute two significant variables in order to explore the probability of the famous athletes' motive.Equation 5 demonstrates that the temporary local fan type represents an important variable for predicting the probability of the general infrastructure motive.In order to predict the probability of the motive labelled as culture, history and arts, the following four variables proved significant; the fanatical fan type, the dysfunctional fan type, the temporary local fan type and the devoted fan type (equation 6).
The probability of the natural environment's motive can be predicted, according to equation 7, based on four variables which are the devoted fan type, the dysfunctional fan type, the temporary local fan type, and the devoted local fan type.Equation 8 demonstrates two significant variables useful for predicting the probability of the place atmosphere's motive; these are the temporary local fan type and the temporary fan type.The fanatical fan type, the devoted fan type, the dysfunctional fan type and the temporary fan type, constitute four important variables in order to explore the probability of the famous stadium's motive (equation 9).According to equation 10, the probability of the history of the contestant team motive can be predicted utilizing the four following variables, the fanatical fan type, the devoted fan type, the dysfunctional fan type and the temporary fan type.

Discussion & Conclusions
A scheme proposed by Hunt et al. (1999) classifies fans according to their motivation and fan-like behavior, to temporary fan, local fan, devoted fan, fanatical fan and dysfunctional fan.According to the factor analysis results, an empirical-based typology of sports fans in Greece is developed inspired by the conceptually-based classification proposed by Hunt et al. (1999).
The empirical research indicates that the local fan dimension of the Hunt's et al. classification scheme is incorporated into the temporary fan dimension bringing into surface a new fan type labelled as "temporary local fan".This new fan type adopts all the behaviour characteristics of the temporary fan type, as well as, the local fan type.As a result, the temporary local fan does not use fanship for self-identification and his motivation to engage in fanship activity is characterized as situational (Hunt et al., 1999), he is a fan only for a specific time-bound event or an exciting league, for a period when a favorite player is part of a team or during a team's winning seasons (Pimentel & Reynolds, 2004).Although the temporary local fan is subject to time constraints, he is also limited geographically.His fanship, which is only peripherally used for self-identification, stems from his identification with a geographic area (Hunt et al., 1999).In addition, he supports a local team because he feels that he should show a certain degree of devotion to the local or state team of the town or city of his birth or residence (Jones, 1997).
Moreover, the local fan dimension is, also, incorporated into the devoted fan dimension revealing another new fan type named "devoted local fan".According to the factor analysis results, the local fan type does not constitute a separated type.His fanship, which is only peripherally used for self-identification, stems from his identification with a geographic area (Hunt et al., 1999).He constitutes the "die hard" sports consumer (Mason, 1999) who maintains his avidity and unabashed loyalty to the consumptive object in both fair weather and losing seasons, even if the event that captivated his sporting interest has ended or alterations take place in the beloved local team or he moves away from the geographical area linked with his fan-like behavior.He views his favourite object as a part of his (Fisher & Wakefield, 1998), while the strong attachment that he has developed to this object urges him to exhibit protective attitude towards it and prevents him emotionally from accepting its eventual deterioration or failure.
After reviewing the existing literature, it can be deduced that a significant stimulus to attend global sporting events is affiliation motivation.Major sporting events achieve social facilitation by bringing together individuals who enjoy the same activities (McDonald et al., 2002), and allow spectators to spend some time with peers and family (Weiss & Duncan, 1992;Jamber, 1999).
Respondents were asked to indicate a number of internal motives that induce them to attend sports events held abroad.The empirical research indicates some variables revealed important for the prediction of specific internal motives.Moreover, the dysfunctional fan type, according to equation 1, constitutes an important variable in order to predict the probability of the motive labelled as the need of being part of the sports event.Equation 2demonstrates that three significant variables useful for the prediction of the probability of the motive labelled as the fulfilment of a desire that the fan always had -attending a specific sports event-are the devoted fan type, the dysfunctional fan type, as well as, the temporary fan type.Finally, according to equation 3, the probability of the motive entitled as the fan's passion/ enthusiasm for his country, specific athletes or teams can be predicted based on the four following variables; the devoted fan type, the fanatical fan type, the temporary fan type, and the temporary local fan type.
On the other hand, respondents were asked to indicate a number of external motives that induce them to attend sports events held abroad.The empirical research, also, indicates some variables revealed important for the prediction of specific external motives.According to equation 4, the fanatical fan type and the devoted fan type, constitute two significant variables in order to explore the probability of the famous athletes' motive.Equation 5demonstrates that the temporary local fan type represents an important variable for predicting the probability of the general infrastructure motive.
In order to predict the probability of the motive labelled as culture, history, and arts, the following four variables proved significant; the fanatical fan type, the dysfunctional fan type, the temporary local fan type and the devoted fan type (equation 6).The probability of the natural environment's motive can be predicted, according to equation 7, based on four variables which are the devoted fan type, the dysfunctional fan type, the temporary local fan type, and the devoted local fan type.Equation 8 demonstrates two significant variables useful for predicting the probability of the place atmosphere's motive; these are the temporary local fan type and the temporary fan type.
The fanatical fan type, the devoted fan type, the dysfunctional fan type and the temporary fan type, constitute four important variables in order to explore the probability of the famous stadium's motive (equation 9).According to equation 10, the probability of the history of the contestant team motive can be predicted utilizing the four following variables, the fanatical fan type, the devoted fan type, the dysfunctional fan type and the temporary fan type.
In conclusion, this study forms a classification scheme of sports fans indicated in Greece based on empirical research and highlights the relationship between different sports fan types observed in Greece and motives, both internal and external, that induce them to attend sports events held abroad.In addition, this study reveals the different sports fan types indicated in Greece and predicts the probability that different sports fan types influence internal and external motives inducing fans to attend sports events held abroad.

Limitations and Future Research
Some limitations of this research should be mentioned.Firstly, this study was limited to one country, given the globalization surrounding the specific researched area; a future cross-national comparative study could be conducted in order to examine differences in sports fan types across different countries.
Secondly, the prediction model could not be expanded outside the Greek territory.In order to make a prediction of the probability that different sports fan types influence internal and external motives inducing fans to attend sports events held abroad, if of course it can happen, in different countries, new investigations should take place.
Formulation of the LOGIRE1 modelProbability of the fulfilment of a desire that the fan always had -attendind a specific sports event Formulation of the LOGIRE2 model Probability of the fan's passion/ enthusiasm for his/her country, specific athletes or teams my team loses, I lose my interest in it 0.467 4.4 My close environment believes that if I move away from the city I live, I will lose my enthusiasm for the local team 0.7 4.5 My close environment believes that if my favorite player of the local team moves away to a remote team, I will lose my enthusiasm for the specific close environment believes that I deal with my team only when it participates in sports events 0.653 Principal component analysis (Eigenvalues>1); Varimax-Rotation; n=300.KMO Measure of Sampling Adequacy = 0,907.
LOGIRE coefficient: The coefficient itself indicates the change of the Logire of the dependent variable if the independent factor changes in one unit.
LOGIRE coefficient: The coefficient itself indicates the change of the Logire of the dependent variable if the independent factor changes in one unit.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Model of relationships between internal motives, external motives and different sports fan types

Table 1 .
Factor analysis of fan characteristics

Table 2 .
LOGIRE models to determine the influence of different sports fan types on internal motives

Table 3 .
LOGIRE models to determine the influence of different sports fan types on external motives