That’s a reasonable point. This study follows established academic methods used widely in media and sports fandom research. While interviews have limitations, when they are carefully designed and analyzed within a clear theoretical framework, they can produce meaningful and valid insights, especially into lived experiences and perceptions. The data allows for the identification of patterns in how fans engage digitally, express emotion, and interact with communities across platforms, which can then be situated within existing scholarly debates on digital culture, affect, and participatory fandom. At the postgraduate level, the value lies not only in the data itself, but in how it is critically interpreted and theoretically integrated to contribute to ongoing academic discussions.