Enveloped in the American Flag: Contrasting National Identity within Olympic and National Football League Media Consumption

This study explored causal relationships and moderation effects in the context of the National Football League (NFL; American football), employing 732 respondents from a pair of nationally representative samples to determine the degree of similarity or difference between feelings about the United States as it relates to American consumption of the 2018 Winter Olympics and the 2018 NFL season. Media consumption¡¯s influence on one¡¯s feelings of nationalism was stronger for Winter Olympic fans compared to NFL fans, yet no differences were detected on patriotism and internationalism factors. Academicians and sport marketers should regard these findings as a warrant for considering exploring cause-related sports marketing (CRSM) techniques. Differences in nationalism findings suggest that the comparisons between nations are exclusively an Olympics-based phenomena while the National Football League seems to be much more insular in that regard.