Sports Mania

Leading scholars in sports communication tackle a wide range of subjects in these essays, including the ways in which people root for their teams, the consumption of sports information, and the uses of technology to cultivate fan communities. Taking an interdisciplinary approach through the fields of communication, psychology and telecommunications, this collection explores modern fans, their motives and culture, and their identification with sports and individual teams. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

The late Lawrence W. Hugenberg was a communication professor at Kent State University and had published on NASCAR and its fans.

Paul M. Haridakis is an associate professor at Kent State University. He lives in Akron, Ohio.

Adam C. Earnheardt is an assistant professor of communication studies and basic course director at Youngstown State University. His research interests include sports media effects, media ethics, and new media studies.

Edited by Lawrence W. Hugenberg , Paul M. Haridakis and Adam C. Earnheardt

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 293
Bibliographic Info: bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2008
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3726-9
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5173-9
Imprint: McFarland

Preface      1
Introduction      3

SPORTS MEDIA CONTENT

Playing Dirty: On Reading Media Texts and Studying Sports Fans in Commercialized Settings
Lawrence A. Wenner      13

Patriots and Saints: How the NFL Helped America Cope with Terrorists and Natural Disasters
Steven E. Martin and Amanda Breitenfeldt      33

Two Nations, Two Networks, One Game: An Analysis of the ESPN and Univision Telecasts of the 2002 Mexico–United States World Cup Match
John P. McGuire and Greg G. Armfield      45

THE SPORTS FAN

Exploring the Roots of Sports Fanship
Walter Gantz, Brian Wilson, Hyangsun Lee, and David Fingerhut      63

The Coping Strategies of Highly Identified Sports Fans: The Importance of Team Success on Tendencies to Utilize Proactive Pessimism
Daniel L. Wann and Frederick G. Grieve      78

Understanding the Voice of the Fan: Apologia, Antapologia, and the 2006 World Cup Controversy
Paul D. Turman, Kevin A. Stein, and Matthew H. Barton      86

FAN IDENTIFICATION

The Consequences of Sports Fan Identification
Beth Dietz-Uhler and Jason R. Lanter      103

I Am Yao Ming: Identification and Internet Fan Discussion
Katherine L. Lavelle      114

FAN MOTIVES

Advances in Theories of Sports Fans’ Motives: Fan Personal Motives and the Emotional Impacts of Games and Their Outcomes
Lloyd Reynolds Sloan and Debbie Van Camp      129

Exploring Fandom and Motives for Viewing Televised Sports
Adam C. Earnheardt and Paul M. Haridakis      158

NASCAR Fans in Their Own Words: Motivation Expressed in Narratives
Lawrence W. Hugenberg and Barbara Hugenberg      172

Exploring the Motives of Fantasy Sports: A Uses-and-Gratifications Approach
John S.W. Spinda and Paul M. Haridakis      187

FAN-PRODUCED CONTENT

“Let the Domination Begin”: Sports Fans’ Construction of Identity in Online Message Boards
Kelly A. Berg and Allison Harthcock      203

“It’s (Not) in the Game”: The Quest for Quantitative Realism and the Madden Football Fan
Andrew Baerg      218

Virtual Sports Consumption, Authentic Brotherhood: The Reality of Fantasy Football
Michael Serazio      229

The Florida Gator Nation Online
Rebecca B. Watts      243

References      257

About the Contributors      279

Index      285

• “An impressive collection…likely the widest array of content available on sports and fandom…impressive…a much-needed look”—Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly

• “Sports Mania is perhaps the first monograph dedicated to showcasing research on the relationship between sports fans and the media…will be particularly useful to scholars interested in the changing face of sports media and the role of fans in that evolution”—Journal of Sport History

• “A valuable reference volume for any committed scholar of sport or media”—Nordic Sport Science Forum

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