Essay on Theories of Fandom and Major Fandom in Sports

Introduction

Fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy with other people whom they share a common interest with. Fans are individuals who maintain an obsessive connection to popular media, declare their identity through their engagement with and mastery over its contents, and experience social relationship by sharing tastes and preferences. People unit and their passion towards a particular interest bring them to one point where they can discuss, create and share knowledge. Fandom can affect an individual either positively or negatively depending on their response towards the results. There are theories related to the fandom that will help learn more about fandom and how it affects our lives as fans, and the lives of those in the surroundings

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Theories of Fandom

Fan culture: Fans are essential since they can work in the media and the study of culture and fit appropriately. This is because they can be taken as representatives of the dedicated and active audience. According to this theory, the state of being fun is usually linked to popular culture rather than high culture. Research by sociology experts states that fandom has been analyzed as rather more problematic: "the stereotype of 'the fan' has been one of geeky, excessive and unhealthy obsession with TV shows." Henry Jenkins highlights and opposes this negative fan stereotype arguing that such portrayals of fandom should be critiqued. He also adds that funs should be viewed as building their own culture out of media products.

Fans develop thorough knowledge and expertise about their TV shows or a sports team, feeling a sense of ownership and also seeking intimacy with their objects of fandom. (Kelly 2004:9)The intimacy could involve meeting a celebrity, getting an autograph of a sports person or even seeing an actor perform. Here, we have seen fandom being discussed about media consumption and media texts as opposed to scholars who have tended to focus on specific fandoms such as fans of science fiction teams, fans of specific TV series and radio shows and sports fans.

Participatory culture: It involves fans is acting not only as consumers but also as producers and creators of some form of creative media platform. Nevertheless, most sports fans and fans of music groups have participatory culture elements; media fandom encourages creative appearance and imaginative production by participants. Participatory culture has low barriers to artistic expressions and universal engagements. It also has strong support for creating and sharing an individual's creations with others.

A scholar, Henry Jenkins contrasts participatory culture with consumer culture suggesting that fans benefit from popular media, appropriating ideas and texts, creatively rereading them for their use. A theory of popular culture holds that corporate media producers such as TV networks and film studios prioritize on profit maximization at the expense of quality and that pop culture is used to spread dominant ideologies.

On the other hand, the theory of participatory culture suggests that rather than being cultural dupes and mindless consumers, fans can be seen as active producers and influencers of meaning. Fan interaction with media creates an opportunity for them to build their communities in which they can express themselves.

Jenkins also theorizes that participatory culture can be a type of resistance. For instance, fun videos and fiction explore themes and aspects of the source material whose majority fans are women. He suggests that 'fandom's very existence represents a critique of conservative forms of consumer culture. "While still providing" space within which fans may express their concerns about their sexuality, gender, racism, colonialism and forced conformity."(Jenkins1992:283)This clearly shows that fans don't only actively generate their creative material, but also do it in a way which critiques the media they consume.

Fan studies: it's a field of intellectual study paying attention to media fans and fan cultures. Fan cultures are the social and cultural basis which holds up fan actions and welfare. In fan studies; there have been people who center their efforts on individual fans while the others learn a larger society. Fan studies can be drawn back in the Birmingham educational studies custom on media spectators, but fan studies more and more center on groups and persons who are self-defined as fans of a detailed plan, entertainer, ground, and media sooner than audiences with more casual connections to the content of well-liked media.

Fan studies have more and more been centered on types of fan artistic creation, predominantly as new forms of digital traditions have twisted participatory culture practices extra noticeable. Fun studies are divided by pre-digital and digital time accounts although most people disagree saying that fans are early adopters of communication technology and that their social and cultural practices, were more around similarities than geographies, look forward to more modern-day forms of online communities.

A critique of this theory is that fan study focuses on issues and concerns, rather than dealing with closely related studies of display, reception, consumption, celebrity culture and audiences. Here, the focus is on works that contribute to the broader theoretical models which have come up in fan studies as a specific hypothetical and procedural tradition. Fandom should be practiced correctly, not to an extreme. It can be a healthy habit and can be something for people to take pride in.

Major Sports Fandom

A sports fan is an enthusiastic devotee of a particular consumptive object. Each fan has a different level of connection to their Fandom. A game has no meaning to a player whatsoever if he/she is not attached to it. Humans have an inner desire to feel connected, and sports fandom is one of the ways for people to feel part of a shared ideal or goal. For instance, if an Arsenal fan meets a person wearing an arsenal t-shirt, there's a high probability for them connecting far much easier. According to Newman (2017),"Scott Johnson, a passionate Minnesota Vikings fan, has not missed watching a game in nearly 20 years. He also says he once skipped a close friend's wedding to attend a Vikings game against the Lions and remembers watching another on his phone during a family member's funeral."

Majority of fans, even the diehard can find satisfaction and even self-esteem in creating a relationship, though admittedly one that is not reciprocated with a team for years. However, Sociological literature has primarily focused on the use of alcohol, aggression, and violence among fans. Beyond a focus on sports fans as deviant, scholars have on the other hand looked increasingly at the positive and productive aspects of Fandom. Some have explored the changing market relations between owners and fans as "customers "Despite the fact that sports fans' experience intense emotional experiences, the feeling of group solidarity for accepting fandom has received very little attention.

Sports Fandom Theory

Interaction Ritual Theory pictures emotion as a social emergent rather than socially constrained positive energy. About Cottingham's (2012) findings, attention is given to the socially new and positive emotion found in fan experiences. Also, IR theory focuses on micro-interactions which act as a society's foundation rather than historical processes. This approach helps to understand sports fans, which complements the emphasis on a macro level. The interaction ritual theory makes up every day's social encounters and brings out the significance of such encounters for the existence of both society and an individual. Interactions between sports fans give them the morale to push on and keep supporting their team even after losing continuously. The interactions when watching the game together, in a case where they are supporting the same team will help them share a common mood or emotional experience. Some factors influence our source of interests in sports over time. With the continued rise of attraction towards athletes and teams become more entangled with popular culture and stay at the front of typical media, fandom has become indistinct. Today's modern sports world is filled with the global internet allowing fans to be connected all over the world- thus bringing in options to come up with players and teams away from the local market. Shah (2016) stated that "in the recent years, we have observed an explosion in fans for winning teams such as the Seahawks, Broncos, and Warriors" (Shah, 2016). He proceeds to hold that "This is neither new nor surprising since most people want to be associated with success and there are so many presumptive individuals who only support a team that is at the top, the question always rises. Are they even true fans? Or are they simply sticking around for success and walking away at first sight of failure?"(Shah, 2016). We may doubt their sincerity. However, what if one wanted to rightfully change loyalty? Bearing this in mind, I believe there is a cycle in our lives from which we select windows of opportunities which come up over the years where we are permitted to freely change and switch allegiances.

This considers that there are other fandom factors to amaze upon us during our lifetime, including personal relationships and travel. Apart from these periods of time, a fan can be locked into his or her fandom, with unnecessary changes. The original window of fandom is open from when a child starts watching or playing sports. The origin of interest may be determined by family loyalties through a youth team or even a role model, who could be a superstar player. Children can be easily influenced, especially at a young age, so one has a chance to grab the opportunity until he/she finishes elementary school. There is plenty of time for kids to move around and find out which team they want to connect with. They move from team to team trying to fit in until l sports become more dangerous. The child now would start gaining interest, and so does his/her ability to fit into the preferred team.

Following this, the window remains closed until one graduate from high school. At such an essential section of a young adult's life, the options open up again. In most cases, fan loyalties change or adapt based on the fact that one moved to college, made new friends and is leading a new lifestyle. On their own for the first time, college students can question how truly they bond with the team they are playing for and might even quit in the mindset of being on their own and trying out new things. However, the window now closes after the first year.

After graduation, the new adults are allowed to absorb into the city that they have decided to settle in and begin their personal lives. As relationships grow, eventually leading to marriage, one has the opportunity to line up rooting interests with their partner and family. The cycle comes to an end after this, except for any other unexpected incident. Reaching this stage in life, the ability to switch teams seems unpredictable. At this age, fans understand the density and simplicity of being a sports fan.

The overpowering emotion apparently shouldn't have an impact on us. There are experiences that can still make or even break our day and mood. Sports have become a way of life for most of us, and finding a place to fit in makes it far much better. They give an individual a chance to rest their mind by forgetting all their problems by dwelling on the team's failures and rejoicing on success. They symbolize our way of life. The windows of changing one's fan hood do not open often; and if they do, the opportunity is there for one to take it. It's clear that most fans fall in love with a team, a city, a...