Passionate hockey fans: Appraisals of, coping with, and attention paid to the 2012–2013 National Hockey League lockout

• Obsessive passion was positively related with appraisals and most types of coping.
• Harmonious passion was unrelated to appraisals and most coping strategies.
• Obsessive passion was positively related with avoiding lockout information.
• Harmonious passion was positively related with monitoring lockout information.
• Threat appraisal mediated the obsessive passion – disengagement coping relationship.

ObjectivesWe examined if harmonious and obsessive passion for watching hockey were differentially related to stress experiences during the 2012–2013 National Hockey League (NHL) lockout.DesignCross-sectional data were collected from 256 undergraduate hockey fans.MethodParticipants completed questionnaires that measured passion types, stress appraisals, coping, and how they attended to lockout-related information.ResultsObsessive passion was positively associated with stress appraisals, most types of coping, and with avoiding information about the lockout. Harmonious passion was unrelated to stress appraisals, showed few relationships with coping, and was positively related with monitoring lockout-related information. Structural equation modelling supported a model whereby threat appraisal mediated the relationship between obsessive passion and disengagement-oriented coping.ConclusionsAppraising, coping with, and paying attention to the NHL lockout among hockey fans varied to the extent that their passion for hockey was more harmonious or obsessive.