Spectator sports fan behavior is vast and represents one of society’s most universal leisure activities. While event attendance and media consumption received a great deal of attention from scholars, there is a growing understanding that sports fans interact, both physically and digitally, with their favorite teams in numerous other ways (Dwyer et al., 2018). At the same time, research also demonstrated a positive relationship between fan identification and self-esteem. Thus, the aim of this Research Topic is to explore fans behaviors in many different areas, involving sports media and the (ever changing) digital environment.
We welcome international submissions featuring case-based, opinions, conceptual analysis or empirical papers presenting new insights into the following (but not limited to) topics: 
•	Psychological insight of identity and new media spectatorship;
•	The changing face of global online sport-consuming audiences;
•	The convergence of traditional and new media and fan experiences;
•	Fans second screen multitasking;
•	E-Sports viewership and following;
•	Fan-athlete interaction in the digital environment;
•	Social media and mediated participation in online platforms;
•	Imagined communities and fantasy sports;
•	The rhetorical investigation into sport online texts;
•	Gender perspectives in online sports consumption.
Spectator sports fan behavior is vast and represents one of society’s most universal leisure activities. While event attendance and media consumption received a great deal of attention from scholars, there is a growing understanding that sports fans interact, both physically and digitally, with their favorite teams in numerous other ways (Dwyer et al., 2018). At the same time, research also demonstrated a positive relationship between fan identification and self-esteem. Thus, the aim of this Research Topic is to explore fans behaviors in many different areas, involving sports media and the (ever changing) digital environment.
We welcome international submissions featuring case-based, opinions, conceptual analysis or empirical papers presenting new insights into the following (but not limited to) topics: 
•	Psychological insight of identity and new media spectatorship;
•	The changing face of global online sport-consuming audiences;
•	The convergence of traditional and new media and fan experiences;
•	Fans second screen multitasking;
•	E-Sports viewership and following;
•	Fan-athlete interaction in the digital environment;
•	Social media and mediated participation in online platforms;
•	Imagined communities and fantasy sports;
•	The rhetorical investigation into sport online texts;
•	Gender perspectives in online sports consumption.