Examining nostalgia in sport tourism: The case of US college football fans

Abstract This study shed new light on the concept of nostalgia in sport tourism by quantitatively testing how nostalgia was associated with spectator types, age, and past experience. It also examined whether nostalgia varied based on spectators' perception of the sport team's present or future status. This study found that past experience and spectator types played essential roles in explaining nostalgia. However, unlike what the existing literatures suggested, no relationship between age and nostalgia was found. In addition, spectators' perceptions of the sport team's present or future had mixed effects on their nostalgia. Theoretical and practical implications of the study were provided as well.