Sports Fandom Becomes a Matchmaker (or Breaker) for 45% of Gen Z Daters

Can rival sports teams really put a relationship in jeopardy? For more than a quarter of the 2,000 sports fans surveyed by Hard Rock Bet, the answer is yes.

Although more than half of the respondents (55.4%) said it wouldn’t be a dealbreaker, a not insignificant 17% admitted that they’d prefer it if their partner supported the same team.

And 27.6% of respondents said that an S.O. who supports a rival team would, in fact, be a dealbreaker, highlighting the sheer power sports fandoms hold over modern daters. 

Age seems to play a part, too: Baby boomers are far less likely (4%) to end a relationship because their partner supports a rival team than Gen Z sports fans (44.5%). Gen X and millennials care more about it than baby boomers, but not quite as much as Gen Zers (26.55% and 43%, respectively). 

Sports fandoms are not something dating platforms or professionals should take lightly. Some singles go so far as to define themselves by their passion for a certain team — to make their love for the Patriots a personality trait, for example.  

Everything from someone’s relationship with their family to how they spend their time and money can be tied up in sports fandoms. It’s a vital piece of information for matchmakers and dating platforms to include in a dater’s profile. 

Hard Rock Bet found that the way young couples express their sports passions can not only bring them closer together, but drive them apart — especially if the sports obsession interferes with the relationship. 

Identities Are Rooted In Passion — Including for Sports

Supporting a sports team can be a bonding experience for young couples, with watch parties, tailgates, and fantasy games helping couples socialize, explore their sports passions, and learn more about each other. But then there’s the dark side to fandoms, when passion becomes obsession, and friendly rivalries turn into all-out wars. 

“When we root for a team, we form a social identity—our team’s success feels like our success, and their struggles feel like our struggles,” Dr. Patrick McElwaine wrote for Psychology Today.

“The sense of belonging that comes with being a fan is psychologically powerful, fostering community, reducing feelings of loneliness, and even boosting self-esteem.” 

So when your S.O. ends up supporting a rival team, it can feel less like a mere difference of opinion and more like a genuine betrayal. 

This is partly due to the role family plays in sports fandoms. Hard Rock Bet found that more than half of Gen Z sports fans choose their favorite teams based on who their family supports. When sports loyalty runs in the family, it can spell trouble for new couples — especially if they root for rival teams, and can’t tolerate having an “enemy” in their midst. 

Just like in any relationship, the opinion of one’s family can play a huge role in which traits are considered to be “dealbreakers.” Can you handle being the odd man out at football games? Should one person in a relationship sacrifice their passion for a certain team simply because it appeases their partner’s family? 

The answers to questions like this can have a seismic impact on a relationship, even if the questions themselves are based on seemingly frivolous topics like football and basketball. 

And even if a couple doesn’t end a relationship over rival teams, some sports fans allow their passion to interfere with their love lives: 27% of Gen Z respondents said they would watch a game during a date, and 12% said they would watch a game during a wedding. 

Sports Fandoms Can Be A Useful Matchmaking Device 

There’s room in the industry for a dating platform that not only takes niche sports fandoms into account, but prioritizes sports fandoms as a major matchmaking factor. After all, sports fandoms can provide insight into one’s passions, values, family connections, and even one’s sense of community. 

How does one react to disappointment or frustration? What is a potential partner’s sense of loyalty? How much credence do they give to their family’s opinions, and how tied are they to their region or community? Even niche sports fandoms can tell you a lot more about someone than the team they root for. 

How one feels about sports can facilitate matches, but it can also interfere with otherwise compatible couples. Georgia-based matchmaker Jenni Escalante told DatingNews that sports fandoms, even at the collegiate level, have interfered with her matchmaking process in the past. 

“I have clients that are perfect for each other — conservative, Christian — they even live in the same area but won’t meet each other because they went to rival colleges,” she told us. “Mind you, these people are in their late 50s!” 

Clearly, sports loyalties run deep, and can therefore be a surprisingly useful tool during the matchmaking process. And yet, dating platforms for sports fans — think SportzSingles and Sports Mates — haven’t achieved mainstream success.

Writing “Looking for someone to root for the Chiefs with me” on one’s dating profile is a far more common way for sports fans to express their passions on apps like Bumble and Hinge. These apps help convey passion without making the user’s profile one-note. 

But there’s room in the industry for a platform that caters to the sports fans whose passions run especially deep — who base most of their socializing and downtime in their favorite sport. 

Sure, sports are often seen as the kind of surface-level trait that doesn’t reveal much about one’s actual personality or values. But as fandoms deepen, so, too, does the way these sports fandoms affect our identities. Fandoms are an increasingly relevant basis on which apps or matchmakers can facilitate connections.