Fans As The Focus
Start Date
August 2024
End Date
August 2024
Location
ALT 205
Abstract
Fans have an incredible impact on sporting events and are considered to be one of the largest stakeholders in sport, yet there is little dedicated coverage in sports media centered around fans. Fans impact the outcome of sporting events themselves, seen in the concept of ‘home field advantage,’ such as home soccer teams having a 68% winning percentage. There is also the impact fans have on local economies with consumer habits. Finally, sports fans create some of the most significant cultural identifiers in the world though communities and creative expression.
This research paper looks to discover how fans are covered in sports media (if at all), argue why the coverage appears this way, and finally present how such a landscape limits our understanding and investment in sports media.
The preliminary research I will be presenting looks to tackle the question as to why that relationship is not as commonly demonstrated. Using both textual analysis of sports media coverage of fans as well as survey data of sports media consumers, this research aims to break down how sport fandom is broadly covered in the media and how it could be revolutionized in the future
Based on preliminary taxonomy of contemporary sports media with comparisons to historical accounts, coverage typically reduces these fans to easily consumable numbers. such as an attendance number, a decibel level, or even just an average ticket price. Yet considering fans as more than consumers/quantifiable data opens up the possibilities of sports media for the future.
Fans As The Focus
ALT 205
Fans have an incredible impact on sporting events and are considered to be one of the largest stakeholders in sport, yet there is little dedicated coverage in sports media centered around fans. Fans impact the outcome of sporting events themselves, seen in the concept of ‘home field advantage,’ such as home soccer teams having a 68% winning percentage. There is also the impact fans have on local economies with consumer habits. Finally, sports fans create some of the most significant cultural identifiers in the world though communities and creative expression.
This research paper looks to discover how fans are covered in sports media (if at all), argue why the coverage appears this way, and finally present how such a landscape limits our understanding and investment in sports media.
The preliminary research I will be presenting looks to tackle the question as to why that relationship is not as commonly demonstrated. Using both textual analysis of sports media coverage of fans as well as survey data of sports media consumers, this research aims to break down how sport fandom is broadly covered in the media and how it could be revolutionized in the future
Based on preliminary taxonomy of contemporary sports media with comparisons to historical accounts, coverage typically reduces these fans to easily consumable numbers. such as an attendance number, a decibel level, or even just an average ticket price. Yet considering fans as more than consumers/quantifiable data opens up the possibilities of sports media for the future.
