The Attention Playoffs: The Sports Moments That Make Fans Tune In

By Chris McNichols – Associate Director, Social Analytics and Growth Strategy at Material

It is a great time to be a sports fan. Every night of the year, there are countless options to watch so many different sports – and easier access than ever to tune into every game. While the fragmented sports media landscape undoubtedly remains a source of frustration, today’s fans can follow sports in ways that weren’t possible a decade ago.

2026 has been particularly special for fans. The Olympics, World Baseball Classic and World Cup all fell within the first half of the year, which added to an already packed sports calendar.

The access and abundance of so much sports content this year is a blessing for fans but a potential curse for sports brands, as fans will inevitably have to choose where to put their finite attention. In a crowded schedule, brands across the sports landscape must adapt their strategies to attract fans and have them tune into their content out of all the competing content fans have at their fingertips today.

A Dynamic Playbook to Captivate Fans

In a world of algorithms predicting our every need and desire, fans tune into sports for their unpredictability. Because sports are unpredictable, there isn’t a singular strategy that brands can use to draw in fans – the stories that grip fans in one season will likely be entirely different from the next season, or even game by game.

While sports brands can’t manufacture interest, they can react to the current dynamics of their sport. Brands with a finger on the pulse of their fans can put themselves in a position to capture interest by pulling the right levers based on what’s going on in their sport.

Material’s Online Anthropology team has put together a playbook of scenarios from past sporting events that have organically captured fans’ attention. By understanding these levers, sports brands can decide which stories to highlight throughout the season to attract fans’ attention.

The Pre-Game: Building Anticipation

Capturing fans’ attention starts well before the start of a sporting event. Here are several reasons fans circle specific games on their calendar and identify them as highly anticipated and can’t miss.

The spectacle of the game

Global events like the Olympics and World Cup certainly draw attention from both sports fans and non-sports fans. These non-annual events appeal due to their rarity, scale and the national pride of the athletes. Even annual events can assume spectacle status as the Super bowl appeal transcends just sports fans.

The stakes of the games

Obviously, a game that means something is compelling. Certainly, championship games are interesting to fans, but all finals aren’t created equal. There may be legacies at stake in addition to just the title which adds to the intrigue surrounding the game. For a decade, every time Rory McIlroy competed in the Masters, the potential for the career grand slam made the tournament much more exciting, especially when he was in contention.

Our analysis shows stakes don’t always have to be around a championship, or even the postseason. The NFL game with the second most conversation volume during the regular season was the Ravens-Steelers Sunday Night Football game because of the win-and-you’re-in nature of the game. Even games that don’t have a direct outcome can have compelling stakes, as seen by the interest in every Arsenal or Manchester City match as the two chase the Premier League title. NBC’s coverage of the Premier League throughout the season successfully raised the stakes of this match for American fans with the Tampa Bay Fan Fest coinciding with the Arsenal Manchester City game. The postgame coverage featured a larger broadcast crew with former Arsenal players to weigh in on the impact of the outcome.

The matchup of teams in the game

Rivalry games are well known for their appeal, and we’ve seen a variety of rivalry flavors capture fan interest.

Historic rivalries like the Bears and Packers are not bound to recent competitive games. Instead, the fanbases’ hatred for the other team is cultural and a key part of fans’ identity.

Performance-based rivalries, like between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal over the past twenty years and Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner more recently, hinge on repeated competitive matchups between elite athletes or teams. Attention around these rivalries relies on the players’ and team’s success. These rivalries are often bound to a specific era and can die down as the competitive landscape evolves, while new rivalries of this nature grow organically.

Similar to but distinct from solely performance-based rivalries would be rivalries driven by bad blood. A Nuggets-Timberwolves game would not have been particularly notable 10 years ago, but now they consistently spark conversation from fans online. A few hard fought, chippy series between the two teams have created a short-term rivalry between these players that organically draws in fans. Fans of the Timberwolves and Nuggets have grown to hate the players of the other team, while neutral fans gravitate toward the intensity of matchups between teams that seem to truly dislike each other.

Stories about the people involved in the games

An extremely fertile territory for sports brands lies in the players and coaches’ personal stories. Is someone chasing history? Is a player returning to their hometown? A debut? A farewell? A player returning to a franchise they left? All these human-interest stories are well-known vessels to capture interest from fans.

The San Antonio Spurs have seized on fans’ excitement since drafting Victor Wembanyama. The team has leaned into his unique experience and personality by investing in the “Spurs Jackals”, a fan group set out to mimic the ultras seen across European football.

The Game: Playing Up the Drama

Fans love watching their heroes battle it out and enjoy sports for the drama. Here are some moments that brands can amplify to get fans thinking, “What’s going to happen next?” and tune in.

Close game, overtime, extra innings

With sports appeal rooted largely in their unpredictability, the ultimate manifestation of that is a game hanging in the balance. 2025’s World Series featured an epic Game 7 battle, but the most discussed individual game in the series was Game 3. The back-and-forth battle that took 18 innings to decide, captured enormous interest and conversation from fans.

Upsets and underdogs

An upset, or even the potential for an upset, has consistently drawn attention from fans. During the first round of 2026’s NCAA tournament, there was a statistical relationship between an underdog’s performance and fan conversation online.  The real possibility of Siena upsetting Duke made that matchup the most discussed game of the first round.

Dramatic comebacks

Seeing a win probability going from 99% to 0% is excitement only sports can provide. The 2025 second leg of the Inter-Barcelona Champions League semi-final saw more conversation than the Final because of the multiple comebacks and last-second goals to finish the match. Fans speak proudly about sticking around for a comeback, which creates an atmosphere that fans won’t want to miss a potentially historic comeback in the making.

High-scoring games

 The success and cult-like following of NFL Redzone highlights how sports brands can leverage the excitement around high scoring games. CBS has introduced the Golazo Show for the Champions and Europa League coverage to capitalize on the attraction of high-scoring affairs. Games that turn into shootouts draw attention from fans who find the matchups to be particularly exciting, but individual performances can also draw attention. The Heat’s Bam Adebayo’s unexpected outburst for 83 points sparked conversation from fans and compelled many people to tune in during the game when they realized he had a chance to pass Kobe Bryant’s 81-point mark.

Individual accomplishments

Across sports, fans are drawn to notable individual achievements. This can include a pitcher going for a perfect game or an NFL player setting a record for rushing or receiving yards in a game. These accomplishments can pick up momentum if they are setting a season-long record. For example, the Los Angeles Dodger’s Shohei Ohtani saw a surge in conversation as he approached the 50 home run/ 50 steal mark in 2024. The potential to reach this feat in Miami on the last game of the season (and the performance he delivered) made it so fans had to tune into an otherwise inconsequential game.

The Epic History: Putting Stories in Context

The power of fandom for many comes from how the current moment connects to the broader stories and narratives of their fandom. Here are some ways sports brands can help fans feel the historical weight of the moment and tune in to be part of the next chapter.

City, team or player finally breaking through

The Chicago Cubs breaking a 108-year drought in 2016 is an extreme example of a team and city breaking through, though the stakes don’t always have to be that high. Even a team that hasn’t been good for a while having the potential for success can draw interest from fans. The Detroit Lions have become one of the most discussed teams in the NFL in recent years, and the Charlotte Hornets saw a spike in attention from fans with their competitive play to end this season. The potential for breaking through can be effective in drawing attention.

Bucking a long-term trend

The Scottish Premiership hasn’t had a champion outside of Celtic and Rangers for over 40 years, which has made Hearts’ pursuit of the title in 2026 so compelling to fans. Whether they win the title or not, the potential to break such a longstanding trend is compelling. Another example would be Big 10 teams going more than 25 years without a national championship in basketball, a trend that was finally broken in 2026 by Michigan.

Family ties

Bronny James was the most discussed rookie in his NBA draft class, despite spending much of the season in the G League. His intrigue to fans lies in the novelty of a father and son playing together, and 2026’s playoffs with them sharing the court and throwing lobs to each other adds to the interest. Another recent example would be the Fitzpatrick brothers winning as a team in the PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic. While these family dynamics are rare, they provide rich human-interest stories.

Unique style of play

Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors introduced a new style of play with their spacing, reliance on three-point shooting and free flowing offense. This style of play was compelling at the time, and we’ve seen these broader shifts in style capture interest from fans. More recently, we’ve seen tennis fans and casual sports fans be drawn to Carlos Alcaraz because of his unique combination of agility, endurance and power.

Stay Dynamic and Hold Fans’ Attention

In a crowded competitive landscape where fans have endless options and finite attention, sports brands that stay dynamic and emphasize the right moments at the right time will see their fans continue to tune in and will see their fan bases grow.

Want to know what specific levers can capture and hold the attention of your brand’s fans? Start the conversation today to get your dynamic playbook.