Sports and Their Fans

Though Americans spend more than $25 billion a year on sports and sporting events, this book argues that the influence of sports on our lives is even more profound than this huge figure would seem to suggest. Exploring such topics as the role of sports in the creation of mass culture, cheating, the abuse of illegal drugs, the strange and fascinating role that numbers play in sporting events, and the future of spectator sport, this book surveys the outsized impact that sports have on American culture. The author draws from new work in such fields as history, economics, politics, sociology, psychology, and ethics to support his claims.
Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

Kevin G. Quinn is an associate professor of economics at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin. He lives in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Kevin G. Quinn
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 271
Bibliographic Info: 35 figures, tables, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2009
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3802-0
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5328-3
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vii

Figures and Tables      xi

Preface      1

1. Fans and Dollars      3

2. Politics, Robber Barons, and Fans      12

3. We Are Sporticus      28

4. Spectator Sports Become Big Business      37

5. Entertainment for the New Century      44

6. Depression, War, and Diaspora      56

7. Chadwick to Arledge to Patrick      76

8. Feeding the Habit and Keeping the Faith      102

9. The Community of the Opium Den      116

10. Lies, Damn Lies, and Fantasy Sports      124

11. Balance, Schmalance      144

12. Fans “Kant” Put Up with Cheating      170

13. The End of the Dinosaurs?      191

Chapter Notes      199

Bibliography      225

Index      245

• “Highly recommended”—Choice.