Sports Mania: Essays on Fandom and the Media in the 21st Century

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

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786437269
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	07/30/2008
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	293
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

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.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Preface     
Introduction     

SPORTS MEDIA CONTENT
Playing Dirty: On Reading Media Texts and Studying Sports Fans in Commercialized Settings
Lawrence A. Wenner     
Patriots and Saints: How the NFL Helped America Cope with Terrorists and Natural Disasters
Steven E. Martin and Amanda Breitenfeldt     
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     
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     
Understanding the Voice of the Fan: Apologia, Antapologia, and the 2006 World Cup Controversy
Paul D. Turman, Kevin A. Stein, and Matthew H. Barton     

FAN IDENTIFICATION
The Consequences of Sports Fan Identification
Beth Dietz-Uhler and Jason R. Lanter     
I Am Yao Ming: Identification and Internet Fan Discussion
Katherine L. Lavelle     

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     
Exploring Fandom and Motives for Viewing Televised Sports
Adam C. Earnheardt and Paul M. Haridakis     
NASCAR Fans in Their Own Words: Motivation Expressed in Narratives
Lawrence W. Hugenberg and Barbara Hugenberg     
Exploring the Motives of Fantasy Sports: A Uses-and-Gratifications Approach
John S.W. Spinda and Paul M. Haridakis     

FAN-PRODUCED CONTENT
“Let the Domination Begin”: Sports Fans’ Construction of Identity in Online Message Boards
Kelly A. Berg and Allison Harthcock     
“It’s (Not) in the Game”: The Quest for Quantitative Realism and the Madden Football
Andrew Baerg     
Virtual Sports Consumption, Authentic Brotherhood: The Reality of Fantasy Football
Michael Serazio     
The Florida Gator Nation Online
Rebecca B. Watts     

References     
About the Contributors     
Index     

Editorial Reviews

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.

From the Publisher

"a valuable reference volume for any committed scholar of sport or media"

idrottsforum.org

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

an impressive collection...likely the widest array of content available on sports and fandom...impressive...a much-needed look

Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly