Sports FansPresented By:

Rielle Watson & Monet Seide

Background Information

A sports fan can be defined as an ardent devotee of a sport, or as an individual possessed frequently by an excessive enthusiasm for sports.

What Is the Purpose of Sports Fans?

To insure the long term survival of all sports. To give support to a particular team in hopes of a victory! To allow individuals to be a part of a game without

requiring any special skills. To offer social benefits such as feelings of community and

solidarity, as well as to enhance social prestige and self-esteem.

To foster bonds and help students network and forge friendships across academic programs and degree levels.

To brings activities, to more sectors of society, including the very young, the very old, the ill, men and women.

To help individual personal development by helping people learn to cope with emotions and feelings of disappointment.

To unite and provide feelings of belongingness that are beneficial to individuals and to the social setting in which they live.

To strengthen the sense of community.

What Are the Characteristics?

(How can you identify, tell apart, or describe sports fans?)

Appearance (how sports fans look):- clothing: school/team logo - school/team colors

- face/body painting - hair coloring- costumes : mascots

Attitude (how sports fans feel):- positive: happy when their team is winning - negative: upset when their team is losing

Behaviors (how sports fans act):- yelling - clapping - fighting - singing- throwing objects - cheering

Internal Involvement: Fans usually have a strong enough interest that small to

major changes in their lifestyles are made to accommodate devotion to the sport.

External Involvement: Fans demonstrate their involvement through their

appearance, attitude and behavior.

Wish to Acquire: Fans tend to express a strong desire to possess material

objects related to the area of interest.

Desire for Social Interactions: Fans use sporting events as an opportunity to form,

maintain and strengthen social bonds.

Where Are Sports Fans Located?

At a stadium or arena, the key feature of an arena or stadium is that the event space is the lowest point, allowing for maximum visibility. Usually, an arena or stadium is designed to accommodate a fairly large number of sports fans. If given the opportunity, many sports fans favor watching the event at a stadium or arena.

At schools, athletics is a cornerstone of student spirit, bringing together students from all programs. DePaul University charges all students a $25 athletic fee. The intent of the fee is to encourage as many students as possible to attend games and spirit-building activities. The primary goal is to strengthen the sense of community among all DePaul students. Blue Crew is a student-run organization at DePaul University. The club works to promote school spirit among members of the DePaul Community - Students, Faculty, Staff, Alumni, Fans, Neighbors and more

At home, sports fans will invite other fans over to their house to experience a sporting event together so that all involved can voice pleasure or displeasure and increase shared bonds in the process. Sports fans at home may have the smallest amount of shared company but also the greatest degree of freedom. This is sometimes where the most intense cheering will take place.

At sports bars, sports fans will gather together, often while consuming food and alcoholic beverages, to follow a particular sporting event on television as a group. Sports bars often advertise in hopes of drawing fans of a particular player or team to watch together to increase bonds between fans and prevent fights. This can create the sense of unity in a sports bar as all cheers and boos will appear to be synchronized. Behaviors that are unacceptable outside of a sports bar are generally allowed.

How Are Sports Fans Related to “Other”

Communities in Terms of Interactions?

Sports fans are unique in that the group already possesses commonalities and loyalties to a particular team even before becoming a collective unit.

Sports fans unite diverse groups of individuals and provide them with feelings of belongingness and solidarity.

Sports fans enrich their social lives through quasi-intimate relationships. (People who normally wouldn’t associate come together, regardless of age, status, race, etc.)

Sports fans do more than attend sporting events.

Sports fans have loyally stood by and endured work stoppages, player strikes, drug scandals, brawls, blackout policies, franchise moves and much more.

Sports Fans Bill of Rights: The “rules” sports fans abide by not only affect their community, but all communities with sporting events.

*Article 1: Sports fans have the right to organize and to formalize their own

associations at the local, regional, national, and international levels.

Article 2: Sports fans have the right to representation and to have a voice in

appropriate forums where sports related issues and matters affecting sports at

any level are being debated and decisions are being made. True fan

representation should always be invited and included in such forms.

*Article 3: Sports fans have the right to self-expression; to voice their own

operations on any and all aspects of sports in a respectful and deliberate

manner.

Article 4: Sports fans have the right to vote in all national sports ranking

Systems and honors awarded to franchises, coaches and players.

Article 5: Sports fans have the right to fast, accurate, and complete publicinformation about players, coaches, owners, league members, games, andperformance.

*Article 6: Sports fans have the right to demand good sportsmanship and theexhibition of positive moral character from all who engage in or representorganized sports at all levels including athletes and non athletes.

Article 7: Sports fans have the right to a wholesome environment for athletic events; free of violence, profane gestures and language or rude and invasive behavior that could in any way interfere with a positive exemplary entertainment experience.

*Article 8: Sports fans have the right to expect a best effort on a consistent basis.This includes every play on the field, every action in the stands, every call in the front office, and every team involvement in the community.

Components of Good Community Life

Safety: There are specific rules and regulations that spectators of sports games are expected to follow. Security and at times police officers are also present.

Education: This may not be an integral part, but it is encouraged through incentives such as discounts

Environment: Most facilities are stadiums where the seating is circular. This allows people to feel enclosed and fosters a sense of community.

Components of Good Community Life

Population Density/Overcrowding: The large amount of people confined to one area creates enormous energy that can be both good and bad. This may create conflicts at times through “mob mentality”.

Interaction Within the Community

This community thrives on interaction between its members.

Without interaction it would be similar to watching/listening to the sporting event via broadcasting.

These people may or may not know each other, but very quickly become acquainted and connected through their passion for the sport.

Sense of Belonging

There is a strong sense of belonging within the community because there is a common goal at hand.

All members of the community are cheering for their particular team to succeed; this causes a strong community bond.

Diversity vs Homogeneity

In this community, diversity does exist, but does not seem to pose a problem for the overall cohesiveness of the community.

It has been overcome in order to reach the communal goal of success.

Micro vs Macro

The smaller, micro communities of acquaintances extend to the larger community of fans within the stadium.

This larger community can also be seen as a micro division of the group of fans who may not be in attendance, but can watch the game and become incorporated through broadcasting.

These are horizontal relationships. The macro division of all sports, for example, all

collegiate basketball teams, draws away from the local community of the individual team.

Assimilation vs Pluralism

Although the people within the community may have numerous differences, these do not seem to cause a problem when the they come together within the sporting arena.

There is no room for a pluralistic mentality when a common goal is at hand.

People join together in unison with cheers in the belief that they are helping the team of their choice and hindering their opponent.

Conflicts

This community is based on conflict: Two opposing teams and only one winner

The fans inhabiting the stadium are allowing the conflict to continue because they are cheering for separate teams.

Unlike watching the sporting event by yourself, conflict and animosity are fostered because of the presence of people with opposing views and goals.

They become the enemy.

Modern Sports Fans

Now fans can watch past games and highlights on television stations such as ESPN

They can participate on a deeper level on websites such as Fantasy Sports.

Technology has enabled fans to follow the sport of their choice without actually being in attendance.

Sporting events have always been captivating, expanding and becoming more popular over time. The involvement of sporting events havegradually become a part of everyday life.

From this particular interest emerged a community of sports fans. These are individuals who have an extreme passion for sports.

Sports fans experience a game, or event while living vicariously through players or teams whom the fan favors. Sports fans play a crucial role in the existence of sports; they strive for the long term survival of all sports.

However, sport fans have not generally been portrayed positively. Fans are criticized for their apparent lack of physical fitness as well as for being passive or lazy, and extremely violent; but as in every community conflict exists.

Because of this shared passion for sports, sports fans unite and provide feelings of belonging that are beneficial to individuals and to the setting in which they live, as a result sports fans are a community.

History