The Impact of Nostalgia and Memory of Past Sports Eras on Shaping Fan Perceptions and Media Narratives

By Aanya Sharma Nov. 1, 2025

I - Introduction

In every era, sports have done more than entertain—they have helped shape culture, reflect values and build a communal identity. But more than that, they have served as emotional touchstones, connecting people to meaningful memories and collective experience. This emotional pull is a part of a general tendency to romanticize the past. Johan Norberg, a Swedish historian with the Catal Institute, reminds us that this connection to the bygone times is nothing new. Back in the 18th century, European aristocrats went so far as to build fake ruins, such as a Gothic castle at Hagley Park, just to feel closer to a past that never existed. It is a striking example of what Norberg calls our tendency to embrace “selective, artificial versions of history.” 

In the world of sports, this selective memory is alive and well. As Luke Bessire, a sports scientist writing for The Liberty Champion, points out sports have always meant more than just winning—they mirrored big ideas like national pride, social change and personal ambition, from gladiator fights in ancient Rome to the modern-day FIFA World Cup. As sports have evolved over the years, sports-related tales have evolved too. Today, we don’t just celebrate the now, but we delve into the past. We replay old games, buy retro jerseys and idolize athletes from decades ago. As Stacy Lee Kong, an editor-in-chief of 3 Magazines of Canada, explains, digital media and online fan communities have made it easier than ever to relive these nostalgic moments.

Yair Galily, a behavioral scientist at SPOT, adds that this craving for the past grew even stronger during the COVID-19 pandemic, when live sporting events disappeared and fans turned to old highlights for comfort. This was quite evident as fewer people were engaged in recent news about current players, but rather watched nostalgic highlights or full matches offered by broadcast channels. The New York Times, a renowned American newspaper for global coverage of news, further noted how media outlets often frame greatness by referencing the past—comparing today’s sports stars to icons such as Michael Jordan, Diego Maradona, or Serena Williams. At the same time, Norm O'Reilly, a Canadian academic and researcher, claims that companies have learned to capitalize on this feeling; nostalgia frequently plays a big role in marketing, shaping how we think about players, teams, and even the stuff we buy.

However, while these connections to the past can be powerful, this leads to a central question: To what extent do nostalgia and memories of past sports eras shape how fans see today’s athletes and how the media tells their stories? This paper argues that nostalgia plays a powerful role—it not only shapes perceptions and influences consumer behavior, but also how sports history is remembered and retold. To explore this, the following sections will examine two of the world’s most popular sports—soccer and basketball—where nostalgia’s impact can be seen vividly in everything from media coverage to fan rituals, marketing strategies, and athlete comparisons.  

II - Nostalgia’s Impact on Soccer

For many soccer fans, the past isn’t just history—it’s more of a feeling. There is a broad perception that the game was once more passionate, more authentic. The Guardian, a British newspaper renowned for international coverage, provides a good example of this: the rise of the “Barclaysman” trend on social media, where fans nostalgically look back at the English Premier League of the early 2000s. Edits of Wayne Rooney, Didier Drogba, and Steven Gerrard flood TikTok and YouTube, with a propensity to bring out the dirty, emotional, and physical side of the sport. These highlight reels are not just clips—they are love letters to an era many feel has been lost. The Guardian further notes that fans from the early 2000s consider that period as more ‘authentic’; they believe that it was a better time then compared to now, when it is increasingly restricted and ruled by technology like VAR (Video Assisted Referee) and soft referee calls.

In response to this feeling, nostalgia has been used as a marketing campaign for clubs and leagues—largely in advertising and branding. For instance, Major League Soccer, the U.S. professional soccer league, partnered with Adidas to release the “Archive Collection,” a line of retro jerseys based on vintage designs from the initial designs of the league. The campaign was not only profitable, but also boosted merchandising sales and generated online hype mania, driven by millennial fans who grew up watching those franchises.

It goes beyond just jerseys. A study published in the Journal of Sport Behavior, a peer-reviewed academic journal on the sociological and psychological aspects of sport, found that nostalgia significantly influences whether fans purchase team merchandise. When people feel connected to a team’s history, they’re more likely to spend more. A report by McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm known for advising businesses, backs this up, noting that brands who lean into emotional marketing—especially nostalgia—can boost customer engagement by up to 20%.  Richard Giulianotti, a UNESCO Chair in Sport, Physical Activity and Education for Development, calls this “narrative nostalgia,” where clubs tell carefully chosen stories—focusing on glory days and legendary players—to protect their image and strengthen loyalty.

You can even feel nostalgia inside the stadium. From chants celebrating past victories to flags honoring former legends, fan clubs preserve long-standing traditions. Media, Culture & Society, a peer-reviewed journal examining the media–state relationship, notes that these rituals foster a sense of community and belonging. As a result, one could argue that fans of nostalgia-rich games feel more emotional fulfillment. But nostalgia isn’t always helpful. Tom Hindle, a European football writer for Goal.com, points out how the comparison between Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal is unfair, as Messi is an 'alien' while Yamal isn't quite that good — not yet. These comparisons can be unfair, as Yamal is already under pressure at just 16 years old, being compared to the greatest soccer player in the world, setting impossible standards and casting today’s talent in a lesser light.

In short, soccer nostalgia is everywhere: in the kits, the anthems, the stories, and the shopping carts. It brings people together and brings history to life-but it also threatens to blind us in the way we see the present and accurately evaluate current players.

III - Nostalgia’s Impact on Basketball

In fact, basketball might be the sport most saturated in nostalgia, especially when it comes to the 1990s. Nostalgia for 1990s basketball deeply influences fan perceptions, media narratives, and the NBA’s marketing strategies today. Yagmur Karakaya and Frederick Manning, an assistant professor and a sociology researcher at Yale University, argue that the 1990s NBA is remembered as tougher, more competitive, and more masculine, with stronger team loyalty and less player movement. The argument does not just reveal that fans idealize that era as the standard of greatness—it also reveals a limitation the league may face in the future, as it may struggle to meet fans' expectations shaped by the past. 

Furthermore, a study published in the Journal of Sport Behavior found that personal, historical, and collective nostalgia all significantly shape fans’ attitudes and purchase intentions toward retro team apparel. This shows that nostalgia doesn’t just reflect emotion—it actively influences consumer behavior and strengthens long-term brand loyalty. One key example of how nostalgia influences purchase intentions is the case of the Houston Rockets. According to Core.ac.uk, a UK-based research repository, Houston Rockets fans reported that exposure to retro merchandise increases perceived value and willingness to pay a premium—but only when fans feel nostalgic. This example highlights how nostalgia doesn't just create emotional resonance—it also has measurable economic impact. When fans feel connected to a team’s history, they assign greater value to merchandise, making them more likely to pay a premium. It shows that successful sports marketing often depends on activating personal memory.

This emotional connection between fans and the past extends beyond team merchandise into broader consumer culture, where iconic figures like Michael Jordan have become symbols of basketball nostalgia and marketing power. Temple University News, a university-run media outlet reporting on academic insights and cultural analysis, explains how Michael Jordan revolutionized the sneaker industry, with Air Jordans becoming both a fashion staple and a symbol of basketball nostalgia. This illustrates the lasting impact of ‘90s icons on fashion and consumer culture, as well as  how modern-day fans perceive the current league.

Together, these findings reveal that 1990s basketball nostalgia is not just sentimental longing, but a powerful cultural and economic force shaping fan engagement, marketing, and media narratives in the NBA.

IV - A Way Forward

While nostalgia creates powerful emotional connections between fans and the heritage of sports, its unchecked influence can distort perceptions, lead to unfair comparisons, and overlook the evolution of the game. One effective solution to mitigate the distorting effects of nostalgia on fan perceptions is for media and sporting institutions to encourage context-sensitive narratives that emphasize the evolution of sport, placing past and present achievements within their own contexts rather than continually comparing them.  

As Tom Hindle mentioned, it requires an intentional effort to highlight unique challenges and opportunities of athletes from different eras. Therefore, one must acknowledge that it is unfair to place youngsters like Lamine Yamal under pressure. Comparing them to legends like Lionel Messi sets unrealistic expectations and diminishes appreciation for current talent. Acknowledging changes in training, rules, and strategies helps avoid oversimplified and unfair assessments.

Also, the New York Times states that leagues and teams can produce content that appreciates different types of play and personality over the history, illustrating how every era has added to the varied brocade of the sport. This allows each era to be enjoyed by the fans for itself, rather than through hierarchical comparison. By valuing different approaches and characteristics, such storytelling fosters a more inclusive and balanced historical perspective. 

Additionally, Deloitte, a professional service firm, highlights the tension between compelling storytelling and revenue generation in today’s competitive media landscape. To reconcile this, media outlets can integrate nostalgic elements into more context-driven reporting, maintaining audience engagement while encouraging more historically accurate and balanced narratives. 

Ultimately, it is essential for media and sports organizations to embrace and advocate for context-rich storytelling. Doing so not only enhances public understanding of the sport’s history but also cultivates a more inclusive, thoughtful, and informed fan base. 

V - Conclusion

There is no doubt that nostalgia runs strong—it binds fans across the years, ignites passion, and keeps tradition alive. Yet, as this paper has shown through the examples of soccer and basketball, it has the ability to blind us to how we view today's players and control the stories the media tell. If we overly romanticize the past, we run the risk of missing greatness right in our midst. 

Nostalgia provides access to pleasurable memory and group identity, but it is also in danger of distorting perceptions of current participants and building unrealistic impressions. Retro advertising, sentimentality towards earlier times, and biased comparisons all testify to the pervasive reach of nostalgia. What is needed is balance: appreciating sporting history while making fair and factual assessments on modern players. From a deeper appreciation of the multiple dimensions of nostalgia, we can cultivate a healthier, less disillusioned respect for sport— honoring its great history and ever-evolving present. Otherwise, this balance may become increasingly difficult for future generations to achieve. 

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