A Big, Casual Fan?

Last week I was reviewing some screening questions for a sports-industry survey that is now in the field. Several of us were debating one question: It was designed to assign a level of fandom for a specific sport, and we were providing four options: In general, do you consider yourself . . .

• A big fan of [sport];
• A casual fan;
• Only slightly interested;
• Not interested at all?

This is a standard question, but it was especially important here because of the need to fill several buckets of complicated segments for this study. So I asked myself, where would I fall? And where would my colleagues fall? We talked it through and settled on the categories, and I hadn't given it much thought since.

Until today. Last night, with the Red Sox trailing Tampa Bay 7-0 in the seventh inning, I went to sleep. It was about 11:00 and the game was pretty much over. Sure, it would be the last Red Sox game I'd watch until April, but I didn't even think twice about it. Good night.

Of course, Boston came back to win 8-7, forcing Game Six tomorrow night in Tampa.

Now I'm sure many big sports fans, and big baseball fans (I consider myself a member of both categories), did the same. But for me, this is the third time in six years that I've done something similar during a crucial Red Sox postseason game:

• I went to sleep at 5-5 in Game Seven of the 2003 ALCS (the Aaron Boone game), after Grady Little had fallen asleep in the dugout and coughed up a 5-2 lead in the seventh inning without using his bullpen.
• I went out with friends on the Sunday night of Game Four of the 2004 ALCS, with the Sox trailing the Yankees three games to none and facing elimination, only catching the end of the game by luck (Boston won in extra innings).
• And then there was last night.

If asked, I would never say I'm only a casual sports fan, a casual baseball fan, or a casual Red Sox fan. But here's the question: While I might feel like a big fan, have I reached a point where my behavior conflicts with that self-analysis?

And if so, how reliable is my self-described fandom?

Your thoughts?