Ethnography of Basketball Fan Culture

The book “Last Shot” shows what a basketball game is really about. It doesn't just show you the game and who wins; It shows you how all the competitors need to prepare immensely to attempt to win. It shows you how the players could throw everything away with their grades or selling team merchandise for a maximum profit. During the read of this book, you are Stevie Thomas, teen writing contest winner. You get to experience the time of your life (at least from his perspective), which is going and reporting at the Men’s Basketball NCAA Tournament Final Four. You discover what the reporters have to go through and maybe what the players are told to do. Basketball is much more than just the game, it’s life.

Being six foot four means I get a lot of stares and attention when I walk down the street. Most people will look at me in astonishment and say things like “wow you’re tall!” or “how tall are you?” when they see me. But the question I get asked the most from random strangers is “Do you play basketball?” Depending on what kind of mood I’m in, I answer in one of two ways. In both ways I tell the person asking “no,” but my attitude while doing so differs. Most of the time I find this question rather annoying. Just because I’m tall doesn’t mean that I play basketball, nor have I ever. It’s a question that I’ve gotten practically my whole life, but anymore I tend to spend more time thinking about the bigger picture behind it.

Basketball is one of the most popular which is beloved sports that is played today. Michael Jordan, who played for the Washington Wizards and the Chicago Bulls once said, “Just play, have fun, and enjoy the game” (BrainyQuote 2016). Whether playing with friends for fun or by professionals for entertainment or simply watching from home, basketball is very enjoyed all over the world. Beginning with a unique history, basketball has evolved over time from a simple idea into a professional career choice for those with the unique skill set.

“Rejected by Rose,” screamed, TNT broadcaster, Kevin Harlan. Derrick Rose’s block on Rajon Rondo’s shot was the play that forced game 7 and kept the Bull’s season alive. The 2009 first round series between the Chicago Bulls and the reigning NBA champions, Boston Celtics was the best playoff series I ever watched. What does Rose’s late-game heroics have to do with anything? The excitement of the sport of basketball. My paper will be about my favorite sport to watch and play I will also mention about my favorite sport to participate in ancillary. Afterward, I will relate my favorite sport to Michael Mandelbaum’s The Meaning of Sports and offer my opinion on the book.

Social media has made a massive impact on our culture. One of the areas that has not been affected is professional sports. In today’s world, professional sports teams and players from around the world use social media to connect with their global fan bases. Sports teams attempt to build a larger, stronger fan base by engaging fans through social media sites. Additionally, social media sites allow professional athletes to increase their marketability. However, they can also severely damage their career, personal life, and their ‘brand’ if they do not handle their social media interactions with care (Van Schaik). Twitter and Facebook allow teams and

In 1999, when this essay was published, something as simple as a cellphone was a revolution to the American people. Conversations anywhere with no wires involved! Wow! Looking back now, American seemed pretty simple in 1999. This is the same for Michael Jordan – once upon a time, Jordan was JUST a basketball player. LaFeber’s essay illustrates for us the rise of the young Jordan from his middle-class family in racist North Carolina through his college years and eventually into the NBA where he became an international sports icon. LaFeber tells the story of how Jordan caught the eye of Nike CEO Phil Knight and goes on to explain how Knight transformed Jordan into the face of a multi-billion dollar international corporation. LaFeber also fills us in on race and sports issues surrounding Jordan and how that played a part in Nike’s growth. LaFeber shows us how race effected middle-class Michael Jordan at a young age and how he was able to overcome this and grow into the star he is today.

In this analysis I will cover the different aspects of sport subculture and what it means to be a recognizable member within a group. I will give examples of what it means to be a part of such subcultures. For example, shared ways of dressing, group status and credibility, as well as some of the groups norms and rituals. The specific group I will discuss will be my basketball team and the role I play within it. Because my team is at highly competitive level, our norms may be unlike to other teams’ especially those of less competitive teams. Each and every team has their own culture and practices, and it is through these that they identify themselves as being different from other teams along with giving them an identity and a

My topic is about the full impact LeBron James has had on the NBA and society. He is known as a modern-athlete activist, he has never been shy to express his thoughts on social issues outside and inside of the NBA. LeBron James has played such a major role in the Black Lives Matter movement. For example, in the opening of the 2016 ESPYs, LeBron mentioned all the recent police shootings that have been occurring, and expresses his feelings on how he wants change. My topic will also talk about the impact he’s had on the economy, not only the impact inside of the NBA but thing’s he’s done outside of the league. Overall, I’ll explain the overall impact that he’s had on the world, and how much of an influence he has been in the African American community.

In sociology, there are 3 paradigms. There is the conflict theory perspective, the symbolic-interaction perspective and the structural-functionalist perspective. From a conflict paradigm point of view, the essay would focus on gender and how the assumption that girls lack the same level of strength and stamina as men. The WNBA (Women National Basketball League) doesn’t get the same amount of respect as the males do in the NBA (National Basketball League). Another issue could be that the NBA players have a higher annual salary than an average teacher. A structural-functionalist approach could be focused on how it creates jobs (the NBA) and academically too. Basketball could also be focused on how

The savior for the NBA emerged in the form of Danny Biasone, who instituted the 24-second shot clock that most agree, saved the league. The 1954-55 seasons was the first played with the shot clock, and the results were a more wide open style of play far more attractive to television viewers. The NBA has been selected for this study to determine how television coverage changed mass media coverage of basketball and the way the viewers perceived the game.

There are over 5,000 different types of sports. Basketball, a popular and world renowned athletic is a subculture Paul cuffee student Ramses cruz is part of. Especially now when the season is just beginning and being part of the Junior Varsity team is his main focus.

This past Thursday I had the opportunity to sit down and conduct a phone interview with Jordan Maleh. Jordan graduated from UConn in 2006 with a Bachelor’s in Sport Management and then his Master’s in Sport Management and Sociology in 2008. He currently works at the Big Ten Network in Chicago, Illinois as the Director of Digital and Consumer Marketing. As a graduating senior, this interview was very helpful to me because it gave me the chance to ask a professional in the sport industry, such as Jordan, questions about his experience at UConn and how he got his start in the sport industry and to where he is today.

Overall this topic is interesting to me because I’ve been a big basketball fan my whole life but as I grew older I realized I wouldn’t be make it in the NBA or be Lebron James. Instead this project will allow me to explore the jobs that still have a connection to sports. At the same time I will see what has to be done behind the scenes that most people do not know about.

During the 80’s, the period of which these individuals played, the NBA desperately needed a new spark, and the NBA got just what it needed. Larry Bird’s Celtics during the 1979-80 season made a dramatic improvement “from a 29-53 record the year before to 61-21”(Magic Johnson and). While Bird is making an extraordinary turnaround for his Boston Celtics, Magic Johnson, during his rookie season, won a NBA championship for the Los Angeles Lakers. This was the Los Angeles Lakers seventh NBA championship victory. Their success helped the NBA, but their identities off the court supersedes the game of basketball. The years previous to the Magic-Bird rivalry were ever changing. The NBA changed from a fundamental, half-court game with all-white players, to a quick pace, athletically acrobatic game with mainly black players. Few old-school former white people, such as Jerry West and Pete Maravich, could participate and compete in this new form of basketball. This different style of basketball significantly swayed many viewers, white fans, from attending the NBA games. White fans felt that the game was very egocentric and didn’t involve all the players. Also, the white fans didn’t

Within Hollywood’s movies depiction of drug addiction, many have failed to represent all true aspects that come along with such lifestyles. The movie, The Basketball Diaries, is based off a novel Jim Carroll wrote from his own diary entries. As a teenager growing up in the sixties, Carroll reveals his progression of drug abuse which eventually leads him addicted to heroin.Heroin is a white powder derived from morphine found in opium. It is commonly prescribed as a painkiller, but is also a popular street drug.The director casted Leonardo DiCaprio as Jimmy, and concentrates on creating the character as a stereotypical drug abuser. DiCaprio’s most captivating scene is when he is going through heroin