The team identification–social psychological health model outlines that fans of local sport teams are more likely to experience feelings of social connectedness compared with fans of distant teams. We tested this proposition across two sufficiently powered studies. In both studies, sport fans (Study 1: N = 291, Study 2: N = 430) completed online surveys assessing their levels of identification with a favorite sport team and social connections derived from their fandom for that team. Team localness was operationalized based on team location (Study 1) or responses to survey questions assessing team localness (Study 2). In both studies, the positive association between team identification and social connectedness was not moderated by team localness. This research contributes to the team identification–social psychological health model and our general understanding of fan behavior by showing that the social benefits of being a highly identified sport fan are not limited to fans of local teams.

团队认同-社会心理健康模型概述了与远方球队的球迷相比，当地运动队的球迷更有可能体验到社会联系感。我们在两项足够有力的研究中测试了这一命题。在这两项研究中，体育迷（研究 1：N  = 291，研究 2：N = 430) 完成了在线调查，评估他们对最喜欢的运动队的认同程度，以及他们对该队的狂热程度所产生的社会关系。团队本地化是根据团队位置（研究 1）或对评估团队本地化的调查问题的回答（研究 2）进行操作的。在这两项研究中，团队认同感与社会联系之间的正相关并未受到团队本地化的影响。这项研究有助于团队认同-社会心理健康模型和我们对球迷行为的一般理解，表明成为高度认同的体育迷的社会效益不仅限于当地球队的球迷。