Whether they helped bring down Jose Mourinho or took to the streets to protest their club’s owners, these fan protest stories remind us that football fans have long used their passion for sport as a tool to fight for change. The articles in this issue demonstrate how fans have continued to make a contribution to social change as they use their cultural attachments to push back on issues ranging from race to ticket prices.
Fan activism has a long history, starting with the outcry that arose when Arthur Conan Doyle killed off his wildly popular Sherlock Holmes character, inspiring black armbands and coordinated letter-writing campaigns to keep the show alive. Television offers longevity that enables deep investment, creating a sense of community that can be threatened when a favorite show is cancelled.
Fans also have a history of lending their support to the causes of popular performers and producers or engaging in charitable activities. This has ranged from slash fans marching in gay rights parades to supporters of various charities supporting the families of missing and murdered children.
The authors in this issue offer a variety of approaches to understanding the nature of fan activism, including examining how celebrity status shapes what issues fans embrace (or do not) and the ways that fan activists draw on their connections with popular culture to motivate their efforts at social change. Tom Phillips uses the example of filmmaker Kevin Smith’s failed attempt to inspire his fans to write letters to Southwest Airlines about his removal from a plane due to his weight as a case study on how celebrity status may shape what fan activism does and does not accomplish.