An autoethnographic analysis of sports identity change

AbstractIn this article, I present an authoethnography of my experience as a sports fan as a method to understand identity change. I use my personal experience as a method to understand general identity processes. Specifically, I apply identity theory and use my experience of identity change to illustrate the operation of four general themes: the source of identity change as a broken identity verification loop; the impact of identity change on authenticity; thresholds of tolerance for fluctuations in identity meanings; and the effect of changes in highly salient identities on other identities in the self-concept.