Reverse-Engineering Fandom For A Creator-First World
A new paradigm is emerging—one that challenges traditional notions of how teams, leagues, and content are built and consumed
Last week, I had the privilege attending the Thinking Football Summit in Porto, Portugal. In one of the sessions, I shared the stage with Spencer Owen of Hashtag United, Felix Starck of Baller League and Michael Broughton of Sports Investment Partners to talk about Reinventing the Game of Football.
Our discussion revealed a common thread: the concept of reverse-engineering fandom.
What does this mean ? Instead of starting with a traditional model and trying to adapt it to the digital/social/creator age, these innovators are beginning with the end goal—engaged, passionate fans—and working backward to create the structures, content, and experiences that will cultivate that fandom.
This approach challenges us to rethink fundamental assumptions about sports engagement:
Geographic Ties: Is local support still the foundation of a successful sports franchise?
Content Creation: Should we prioritize excitement and relatability over traditional notions of authenticity?
Revenue Models: Can new ventures succeed without relying on traditional revenue streams like broadcast deals or ticket sales?
Some highlights from the discussion:
Spencer Owen (Founder of Hashtag United)
Reverse-engineered a football team, starting with a global YouTube fan base and celebrity matches before building local support and transitioning to more competitive football
For years Spencer had been created YouTube videos and building an online presence; Participated in Wembley Cup in 2015 as Spencer FC (Creator Charity Match) and realized you can make content about actually playing football not just talking about football …and it actually resonate with an audience despite it not being in a traditional league or being the best level.
Hashtag played for two years against various teams, various countries, but they made the games mean something to the audience by creating a storyline around them. Led to insight that you should treats the club as much as football team as you should a TV show, focusing on storytelling and creating compelling narratives;
“Hashtag is like a TV show as much as it is a football team. It's like how you keep keeping them interested. Everything on the pitch is sacred, just like it is any sports team. We want to win and you don't do anything that's going to affect that. But outside of that, what are the beats of the story that I can use to engage with that audience?”
Challenged traditional norms by refusing to add a geographical name to the club; Appeals to a mentality rather than a geographic location; Embraces being divisive to generate interest and engagement; Model allows prioritizing content creation over traditional metrics like gate receipts
Aims to get their own football ground and potentially raise investment to reach the next level
Felix Starck (Founder & CEO of Baller League)
Aims to become the "UFC of football" by focusing on bringing football back to its roots and making it exciting again; not about ball possession it’s about offense and scoring.
“Give me the ball, I run forward, I try to score. That's how a billion of people play this sport”
It’s about returning football to what made it the world's most popular sport - simplicity and accessibility. This echoes how the UFC stripped combat sports down to their essentials.
Excitement and Entertainment: The UFC revitalized boxing by focusing on excitement and storytelling. Felix wants to bring that same level of excitement back to football by making it more engaging for viewers. How?
Fresh Game Format: Just as the UFC introduced a new format for combat sports, Baller League has created an innovative football format with 6-vs-6 matches, shorter halves, and 'Gamechanger' rules to make the game more dynamic and exciting.
Storytelling and Star Power: The UFC excelled at creating compelling narratives around fighters and turning them into stars. Felix aims to do the same with football players, focusing on storytelling to build fan engagement.
Targeting Younger Audiences: The UFC successfully appealed to younger demographics. Baller League is targeting a core audience of 22-35 year olds, similar to how the UFC captured a younger fan base.
Democratized Distribution and Accessibility: The UFC made combat sports more accessible to a wider audience. Similarly, Baller League streams matches for free on Twitch and through various Streamers, making it easily accessible to fans.
Democratized Distribution via Twitch makes content it easily accessible. Baller League has the most watched Twitch channel in the world (averaging 1.7 - 2.5MM unique viewers every Monday) with average watch times of over 1 hour
Profitability and New Business Model: The UFC transformed the business model of combat sports. Baller League achieved profitability in its first year without relying on traditional revenue streams, indicating a new approach to sports league economics.
Global Appeal: The UFC became a global phenomenon. Envisions Baller League having similar international appeal and growth potential.
Michael Cohen (As Former CEO of Whistle; Founder Disruptive Play)
Focused on younger audiences underserved by traditional sports media
Studies social platforms and creators to understand audience preferences
Today's generation of fans are different, caring about both what happens on and off the pitch.
Highlighted the importance of creating content that intersects multiple passion points
If you can create content formats that are much more relatable and accessible than you can create something for a younger generation that that they care about.
Believes the notion that younger audiences don't watch live sports is absolutely preposterous. They don't watch the way that we used to watch or we still watch but if you bring sport to them where they are, which is on creator channels on social platform
Stressed the value of building a fan base before focusing on monetization
Would you rather have a million fans or million dollars? You’d be surprised at how many people answer that question wrong.
Sees massive opportunity to unlock fandom and monetization through the democratization of sports broadcasting distribution.
Similar to how Shopify transformed e-commerce to allow any person to become an entrepreneur; we’re at a moment where any person should be able to become their own sports network
DISRUPTIVE PLAY – If you were to create a sports property today with the sole goal of maximizing fan engagement, without any concern for traditional revenue streams, what would it look like?
Game Format: If you could change any three rules in your sport to make it more exciting for viewers, what would they be and why? Could you design a league structure that allows for global fan engagement from day one?
Community Building: How would you build a global community around your sports property if you couldn't rely on traditional geographic ties or local support?
Creator Network: How could a Creator Network approach help solve the challenge of turning casual viewers into regular fans?
Fan Participation: How would you design a sports league if fans could directly influence 25% of all team decisions, and what areas would you allow them to control?
Content Strategy: How would you design your content strategy if your primary goal was to make your sport as relatable and accessible as possible to a younger audience?
Storytelling: If you had to create a sports property that was 50% sport and 50% reality TV, what unique storytelling elements would you incorporate to maximize fan engagement?
Platform Strategy: How would you prioritize which platforms to build and grow your sports property, which would it be and why?
The answers to these questions could provide a roadmap for the future of sports engagement. As we continue to navigate this rapidly changing landscape, one thing is clear: those who are willing to reverse-engineer their approach to fandom will be best positioned to capture the hearts and minds of the next generation of sports fans.
What do you think? How would you approach it? Share your thoughts and let's continue this conversation.
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