Taking Extreme Measures For Extra Points, Airborne Survey Reveals Super Fans Need The Most Support Of All

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Jan 31, 2019, 13:43 ET

PARSIPPANY, N.J., Jan. 31, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- As another football season comes to a close, sports fans across America are preparing for one final weekend of celebration and excess. A 2019 survey by Airborne, the leading immune-support brand, explores the phenomenon of extreme fandom, revealing just how far the nation's Super Fans —one in five Americansⁱ— will go to support their beloved football teams, despite the toll on their daily lives, well-being and even health:

Feeling Lucky: Among the superstitious, 69 percent of fans wear a lucky item on game day. While favorite shirts or jerseys are most common (77 percent), one-third of fans put their best foot forward with lucky socks, and one in five fans admit to wearing lucky underwear to "help" their team win.
Born Super Fan: 16 percent of Super Fans have named a child after a favorite team, player or coach.
'Til Gameday Do Us Part: Are Super Fans more loyal to their favorite players than their partners? While 78 percent of fans have been loyal to one team in their lives, one in eight Super Fans agreed to trade their spouse for a team win!
Recovery Playbook: 82 percent of Super Fans take action to time-out and recover from a big game with the majority relying on sleep, hydration and food to get back on their feet.

Super fandom takes its toll on Americans every football season:

Relationship End Zone: 1.4 million Americansⁱⁱ feel the toll fandom has on their interpersonal relationships, from fighting with spouses, to ending friendships and even divorce.
Fandom Tackle: Being a Super Fan has its price, with two million Americans experiencing a fandom-related physical injuryⁱⁱⁱ or effects.
Stress Receivers: Watching a team play is stressful. In fact, 19 percent of survey respondents said being a Super Fan results in extra stress.
Postseason Fumble: Season ending blues? Thirty percent of Super Fans say they need extra recovery time after football season.

"We know that football fans are insanely passionate about the sport and give their favorite teams all they've got, regardless of the consequences," said Brian Dolan, Marketing Director, Airborne. "Whether staying up late when a game goes into overtime, losing their voices after yelling at the ref for an unfair call, or braving a stressful season—a favorite team is worth the extra mile. Airborne can help Super Fans go the distance, providing immune system support so they can go all out to support their favorite teams."

According to the survey, 53 percent of Super Fans (more than 25 million Americans^iv) admit to doing something crazy to support their team.

Confidence runs high when it comes to supporting a team, no matter the consequence of a losing bet: 23 percent would wear their team's jersey for an entire season; 12 percent would streak in public; 11 percent would sacrifice season tickets; and 7 percent would give up the keys to their car.
This group of Super Fans are willing to go to extremes to show their everlasting love for their team, including brandishing new permanent tattoos, sporting wildly-dyed hair color, or braving the elements.

Ahead of the Big Game, Airborne invites Super Fans to show off their team spirit on Instagram and Twitter using #BorneSuperFan.

Airborne is an immune-support supplement that is made of a specially-crafted blend of vitamins, minerals and herbs that help support immune functions and overall health. Products come in a variety of tablets, powder packets, lozenges and gummies for both adults and kids; an all-star lineup that supports Super Fans so they can continue to go all the way for their team. Airborne is available nationwide at major retailers, grocery, drugstores and online at www.schiffvitamins.com/pages/airborne.

Survey Methodology

Airborne commissioned this survey in January 2019 to better understand football fandom including attitudes and behaviors most-commonly associated with self-professed Super Fans. The study used an online survey methodology from Toluna QuickSurveys and gathered data from 2,078 adults (18 and older) from January 11 – 13, 2019. Please contact Liz Wolfsthal for detailed methodology and survey findings.

About Airborne

Airborne is an immune-support supplement that is specially-crafted with a blend of vitamins, minerals and herbs and designed to support your immune system so you can live life fully doing more of the things you love. The brand's beginning goes back to the 1990s in a small California kitchen where a school teacher armed with fresh herbs from the farmer's market and a deep desire to create something to support her immune system throughout the year began to tinker. A few years of small-batch herb and vitamin mixtures later, Airborne was born (or in this case, borne). Twenty years later, the brand continues to embody its founder's passion for natural ingredients and well-crafted formulations that deliver immune system support. Airborne currently offers a comprehensive range of gummies, chewable tablets and effervescent tablets widely-available at major retailers, grocery and drugstores and at www.schiffvitamins.com/pages/airborne.

About RB

RB is a global leading consumer health and hygiene company. Driven by a purpose of providing innovative solutions for healthier lives and happier homes, RB has operations in over 60 countries. From the foundations of wellness and infant nutrition, to the fundamentals of a hygienic home, its global brands help people live healthier, happier lives.

RB has world-leading Powerbrands which include household names such as Enfamil, Nutramigen, Nurofen, Strepsils, Gaviscon, Mucinex, Durex, Scholl, Clearasil, Lysol, Dettol, Veet, Harpic, Cillit Bang, Mortein, Finish, Vanish, Calgon, Woolite and Air Wick.

RB's unique culture is at the heart of its success. Its drive to achieve, passion to outperform and commitment to quality and scientific excellence are manifested in the work of more than 40,000 employees worldwide. RB is proud to lead the Save a Child a Minute campaign, which aims to eliminate child deaths from diarrhea, one of the world's largest killers of children under five. For more information, visit www.rb.com.

ⁱ Based on United Nations estimates of the U.S. population size in 2018, percentage of Americans who self-identified as Super Fans in a survey commissioned by Airborne.
ⁱⁱ Based on United Nations estimates of the U.S. population size in 2018, percentage of Americans who self-identified as Super Fans and reported fighting with a spouse/parent/child, ending a friendship and/or getting a divorce as the price of being a football fan in a survey commissioned by Airborne.
ⁱⁱⁱ Based on United Nations estimates of the U.S. population size in 2018, percentage of Americans who self-identified as Super Fans and reported suffering a physical injury as the price of being a football fan in a survey commissioned by Airborne.
^iv Based on United Nations estimates of the U.S. population size in 2018 and percentage of Americans who self-identified as Super Fans and reported that they have done something crazy to show their support for their team in survey commissioned by Airborne.

SOURCE Airborne