Identify The Different Types Of Sports Fans

The Cleveland Indians fans have earned the reputation of being extremely dedicated and loyal to their team. According to Rosko (2016), Cleveland Indians’ fan base was ranked in the top 250 in the world. It is no secret that the baseball team has a devoted following, but it does beg the question who are these fans? The followers of the Cleveland Indians’ brand will be segmented into groups based on their demographics and geo-demographics. For the Cleveland Indians, this will entail categorizing consumers into groups based on age, gender, family size, and region.

My friends and I are constantly playing games where the winner is entitled to bragging rights. We versus all the time, and boastful when we play well. One topic that some of the biggest rivalries and arguments come from in my friend group is with professional sport teams. For example, a couple of my friends are fans of the Golden State Warriors and never fail to let me know how successful of a year they’re having. On the other hand, I can’t stand this team and always tell them how the team is going to choke. I argue with them about the talent the team has and about if there captain really is the best player in the league. Simple arguments and opinions turn into deadly rivalries when my friends begin to talk professional sports. All of our beliefs typically collide in some way and we’re left debating over questions that have no true

People watch sports all year long. They decide who they think is the best team and then they support that team. If they think their team is better than another, but they encounter a fan of the opposite team, hostilities ensue over their differences in opinions. But when the actual

Reason to Listen: Sports are a big part of most of our lives. You don’t want to be stuck being a fan of the wrong team

Professional sports has become one of the most popular industries in the world today. The media spends billions of dollars on advertisements and teams spend millions of dollars on professional athletes all for one reason, the fans. The fans ticket sales and merchandise purchases are what keeps all the sport teams around and prevents professional athletes from losing their jobs. There are three types of fans in the sports world, average fans, fanatics, and fair-weather fans.

In our society sports are a very important social construction. As sports continue to grow, they are becoming more integrated into the major spheres of social life. Sports have become an entity, due to the fact that they not only create entertainment and jobs; sports have become a huge platform for various causes. Sports are extremely important to our society and have very powerful influences. Though experiences vary from person to person, most people have some sort of experience with sports. I personally have experienced sports more from the spectator and participant stance, and have been impacted from each perspective a great deal. Compared to sophomore safety, Jamal Adams my sports experience has been very different from impact and perspective.

The one thing that all sports harvest is teams. Upon first glance when looking at a cheerleading squad one may not see a team. When picturing a sports team most people may believe there must be a type of offensive or defensive physical contact; this is not at all true. A team is a group of people working towards a common goal. A football team may work together to defend its goal post. A swim team may work together to achieve the overall best time. A cheerleader is but one member of a group of people; altogether these people work together to encourage a team of players or a crowd of people. This is the purpose of the high school, college or professional cheerleader. Cheerleaders work together to create new and exciting cheers, and dances. There is a head cheerleader in every squad which helps to direct the team; this person can easily be compared to the coach of any other sports team. A cheerleading squad is a group of people working towards a common goal; a cheerleading squad is a team.

The term “bandwagon” itself originates from a float in a parade that encourages people to jump aboard to celebrate and do things like sing and dance. The first time the term was utilized as a tool in public to influence the opinion of others was in 1884 at the Republican National Convention when candidate Dwight M. Sabin told potential supporters to “get into the bandwagon” as an attempt to gain more followers around his political campaign (Brown). Over time, the connotation surrounding

Cheerleaders and mascots keep the audience entertained when there are timeouts. Mascots are cool to have around because they hype up the crowd and are always doing something funny. The mascot represents the team and its personality as the animal they are using. A mascot is there to encourage the team and to hype up the crowd to encourage also. They give you a sense of pride and joy. Mascots can be used for anything and any sport.

I think the desire to be part of a group plays a large part of that loyalty. Belonging to a group, no matter what group it may be, cause a strong feeling of loyalty to that group. Whether they realize it or not, sports fans may not care as much about the team’s players as they do being a part of the fan base as a whole. It is easy for others to follow along when their friends are fans, because they also develop a sense of belonging to that group. Alcohol consumption is obviously what fuels the fire, both literally and figuratively, of rioting fans. However, the significance that fans place on the teams causes them to react more wildly and emotionally. The more significant a group is to them, the more lengths they will go to for it. Even after realizing these factors that go into fan’s loyalties, their actions can still be shocking to those that are on the outside. It seems that sports fans do not look at their teams as entertainment, but as close members of the same group that they feel loyal

Sociological imagination is a term that I was not familiar with until taking sociology. I quickly learned that sociological imagination is a concept that was described by sociologist C. Wright Mills. Sociological imagination is an awareness of the relationships between an individual and the wider society. I began to think about this term while I did my observing. I observed three different settings in order to find out more about the sociological imagination and how it affects our daily lives.

The arrows between cortisol and the three core needs are shown as a dashed arrow to reflect the negative relationships against fandom/ fanship formation. The solid arrows circulate from output to sporting events participation reveal the impacts of different psychological or behavioral consequences may influence the desire to participate in sporting events, therefore, activate next round of neurochemical release. Hence, the fanatic behavior will be continually reinforced or weakened.

The next factor involved in attending a sporting event is the overall atmosphere which to me is always the best at a college sporting event. While controversial, the Kansas State vs. Kansas game is notorious for a certain chant when the game rolls into Manhattan. Typically, towards the end of the second half of the game the song Sandstorm by Darude is played and a chant of “F*ck KU” rings out from the Kansas State student section. As I have many friends that go to school at K-State this chant is something all the students look forward to as I have even personally heard the chant at football games. While not respectful and flat out wrong, this chant is something that I consider a part of the rivalry. Some may have a very different view on this, but I believe things could be much

Sideline cheerleading is what people most often see. According to Renee R., “Sideline cheerleaders’ main goal is to entertain the crowd and lead them with team cheers…” (Renee R.) When people see often cheerleaders at a sporting event, they are seen as the “sideshow” to the game who dances, preform cheers, and shows spirit that supports their school’s

In this tense, Sports have one major flaw. There will always be a winner and a loser, which in a sense separates the fans into haves and havenots (people who have the victory and people who don't have the victory). Durkheim's theory that when society begins to separate its people it starts to feed the cult of the individual doesn't necessarily apply here. Yes, sometimes animosity can arise between overzealous fans, or players and coaches can go overboard with their antics. But in general, there is a healthy competitive nature encompassed by a sense of camaraderie.