It is always encouraging to see fans of certain teams band together. However, it does not end at just going to the stadium or arena. Fans gather around their television sets, at local bars, and even on social media! There are numerous ways to connect with people who share a love for the same team you do. The textbook brings up the idea of audience members acting as "free agents" when selecting media. "Audience members are regarded to be reflexive about their own media use - selecting specific media and content to fit their own needs and desires" (Sullivan, 2013, p.8). One way I personally fit into this model presented in the chapter is when I watch Buffalo Bills' football games. I purposely select the local television station to watch the game because the announcers know more about the team. Their opinions on the team are slightly more informed than the broadcasters on a separate channel. I feel as though I am more connected to the team when I am listening to the broadcasters who know about the Buffalo Bills. The idea of being a "free agent" is particularly unique and interesting when looking at the sports world considering "Free Agent Frenzy" is part of every major North American sports organization. Athletes who are not currently under contract are free to choose any new team to play for. Which is similar to how each individual is able to choose which media they want to engage with. Also, the multiple options available for individuals to watch their team(s) mean a wide range of audience members can be involved with the game.
One major research question I consider when looking at the abundance of options available for viewing sports programs is how audience member's experiences differ in different locations. For instance, how does experiencing a sporting event on a mobile device differ from someone watching that same event at a local bar? Also, you can even compare these mediums to the live stadium environment. You'll find that people experience the same media in different ways, but they may obtain the same level of enjoyment from it.
From: http://www.nybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/first-debate-pool.jpg
Professor Good referenced this picture in lecture (September 29th, 2016) and I think that it relates well to what I am talking about. The man playing pool is not as engaged with the Presidential debate as someone who is actively watching it. Is his audience experience hindered because of this? Or, is the social aspect of being with friends and occasionally listening to the debate enhancing his experience? Also we should consider whether he cares more about Monday Night Football over the debate because both appear to be on. One way to obtain a somewhat clearer idea on this issue is to interview people at different establishments (e.g, bars, stadiums, and people on the street who claim they watch most of their sports content privately) and note how they experience sporting events and what makes them choose the establishment that they go to. The textbook discusses different kinds of surveys in order to gauge public opinion. The survey that would provide the most effective information in this scenario would be person-to-person interviews because a variety of opinions can be obtained from the people that were surveyed. A person-to-person interview is when "the researcher sits down with a respondent, establishes a rapport, and asks in-depth questions." (Sullivan, 2013, p.64). Obviously a bulk of information would not be obtained because it would be too time consuming, but talking to individuals at different venues experiencing the same media would provide some insight into why they choose to experience the sports event there.
Next, I would like to refer to this unique mashup of audience experiences.
Here you can see an abundance of rather interesting ways to display support for a team (in this case the Buffalo Bills). It is quite obvious that a fair few of these fans are under the influence of alcohol or other substances. Some actions such as body slamming others into tables, jumping off an RV onto a table, (possibly drunken) sparring between fans, and the guy plowing his head into an RV can lead to moderate or even serious injury. The actions from these fans resemble early 19th century audiences when audiences were described as "crowds". "The audience as 'crowd' referred to working-class commoners who came together at specific times and places to experience some for of routinized behavior." (Sullivan, 2013, p. 13). "Drunkenness, unruliness, and a lack of deference to hereditary rulers was tolerated for brief periods of time." (Sullivan, 2013, p. 13). However, most of these fans are regular people with jobs who just like to party during their free time. It is amazing to see what people do in social gatherings when rules are (to an extent) thrown out the window. What they are doing is indeed normal for some fans. They get drunk, get wild, and then they watch football. An outsider to this subculture may characterize these fans as "unruly", and it brings up the concept of "moral panics", which was mentioned by Stanley Cohen in the text. Moral panics "describe very strong negative public reactions to the spread of new social behavior." (Sullivan, 2013, p. 29). Even though I understand why people would be relatively unnerved by these types of audience behaviours, what they have to realize is that people have engaged in these types of behaviours for centuries. At the end of the day, all they are there to do is have fun and be a part of the Buffalo Bills' audience. Of course some people go a little bit too far, but no one is perfect. Finally, I know I should not have to point this out, but I feel as though I have to anyway. These fans do not represent ALL BILLS FANS OR ALL SPORTS FANS. Some people tend to stereotype an entire group of sports fans based on the actions of a few individuals.
The final points I would like to discuss are how audiences engage in social media to enhance their audience involvement in sport, and how watching sports has evolved beyond the stadium and the home television set. Sports organizations have a huge impact on social media platforms. To put this into perspective, the NFL Facebook account has 14.7 million likes, the NHL Facebook page has 4.2 million likes, the NBA Facebook page has 31.3 million likes, and the MLB Facebook page has 6.6 million likes. Not to mention the millions of twitter followers each league has. These platforms are significant for audiences because the ability to connect with other people who care about your favourite sports team is now easier than ever. All you have to do is connect with people on social media sites that you are more than likely already apart of. Here you really see the transformation of audiences. We have moved from gathering in physical spaces, to gathering together online. Even if we are in different countries! Each subsection of the four major north american sports organizations (e.g, each team that makes up each league) carries a unique and diverse community with it. Each sports team carries with it a discourse of the day. Whether they are discussing injuries, player transactions, excitement for the upcoming game, or anything in between, the community aspect of the sports page brings in heaps of people. What social media has done to sports audiences is provide audiences with a more efficient way to interact with each other and with the sports team. Each platform represents a new way audiences can interact and communicate with each other. Ideas, information, and news about sports gain recognition from fans very quickly when the news is shared on various social media platforms.
One major example of how sports audiences have evolved with the times is the NFL recognizing that a good percentage of their market livestreams their content. The NFL conducted an experiment last year when the Buffalo Bills played the Jacksonville Jaguars in England. They partnered with Twitter and Twitter streamed the game live so people around the world could watch the game. The numbers state that "Football fans streamed over 480 million minutes of the game, with 33% of streams coming in internationally, across 185 countries worldwide." ("National Football League Announce Streaming Partnership for Thursday Night Football" From: https://nflcommunications.com/Pages/National-Football-League-and-Twitter-Announce-Streaming-Partnership-for-Thursday-Night-Football.aspx). After seeing the success of the broadcast, the NFL realized that they should provide a service for the audience members who like to stream games because there are always people who either do not have access to a certain game, or are constantly on the move. They decided this year to partner with Twitter again in order to livestream every Thursday Night Football game. This move shifts the league into the 21st century and has enabled the expansion of broadcasting content beyond the television set. Audiences can now truly be anywhere at any time when they stream content.
Before I go, please watch Ben Affleck's reaction to the BILLS BEATING THE PATRIOTS!!!! OH YEAH, GO BUFFALO!!!!!!!!!
References
National Football League Announce Streaming Partnership for Thursday Night Football" From: https://nflcommunications.com/Pages/National-Football-League-and-Twitter-Announce-Streaming-Partnership-for-Thursday-Night-Football.aspx
Sullivan, J. (2013). "Media Audiences: Effects, users, institutions and power." Sage Publications Inc., New York, NY.
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