The modern-day sports fan is what we call a numbers guy (but of course, they may be a gal). No stat is too insignificant or unimportant. Their brain's data files are packed with information: situational, game-by-game, month-to-month. The modern-day sports fan is a collector of sorts. He (but of course, they may be a she) collects memories and associates them with performance. He collects batting average, yards per carry, assists.
He probably follows a number of sports news agencies on Twitter and Facebook. He's never out of the loop on this week's nastiest dunk or hardest hit. He might even subscribe to sites like Baseball Prospectus to get the inside scoop on his favorite sports. His fandom knows no bounds, and his thirst for knowledge is unending.
He perpetually surfs the Internet always looking for that next factoid or highlight to share with his equally as obsessed friend(s). He may not have a subscription to ESPN the Magazine or Sports Illustrated, but you can bet he's reading one at the dentist's office. His favorite team is probably the most important thing to him, except when fantasy season rolls around. Because, of course, he has a league or two to manage.
He wants to go to games, but unless he can get the tickets right on his phone, he may only go if they fall in his lap. He can livestream the game anyways. The modern-day sports fan has had to watch SportsCenter turn from a respected sports news show into a telecast obsessed with Tim Tebow.
He sits around most days surfing the likes of Bleacher Report and Barstool, even if it's mainly him talking crap about the writers. The modern-day sports fan, as far as he is concerned, could create better copy in his sleep.
Everyone knows better than to argue those rules or policies the modern-day sports fan feels passionate about. He can turn on some sort of hidden political gene and debate until he's blue in the face.
He annoys his non-fan friends and often gets annoyed by them. He is busy checking scores and reporting happenings to their deaf ears, and they just don't get the appeal. They may humor him, at least for a few minutes.
He likely has, or at least plays, sports-themed video games. He's come a long way from Backyard Baseball on his PC. He plays them regularly and is surely playing manager mode or season mode, pretending to control a team's fate and acting as its owner, manager and team all at once.