{"title":"Super “Soul” Parties: Building Civic Inclusion Through Fandom","authors":"Whitney Gent, Emily Sauter","doi":"10.1177/21674795251315343","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/21674795251315343","url":null,"abstract":"Despite a widespread belief that sports can build community and help lift people out of violence and poverty, scholars have yet to establish a definitive relationship between marginalized communities and sports fandom as a pathway to social inclusion. In this study, we examine publicity surrounding a series of “Super Soul parties,” Super Bowl parties for people experiencing homelessness, to show how sports fandom can be rhetorically positioned to create a sense of belonging. We argue that Kay’s use of the Super Bowl is a strategic utilization of sports as a tool for rhetorically creating 1) visibility, 2) legibility, and 3) dignity. However, we also find this strategy is tenuous; over time, Super Soul parties’ housed attendees revert from seeing homeless people as fans to understanding them as others in need of service. For sports fandom to successfully provide dignity and inclusion, advocates must find ways to avoid reinscribing traditional service hierarchies.","PeriodicalId":46882,"journal":{"name":"Communication & Sport","volume":"55 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143072368","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Selfie Scores: A Scoping Review of Research on Athlete Social Media Self-Presentation","authors":"Qingru Xu","doi":"10.1177/21674795251315832","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/21674795251315832","url":null,"abstract":"This study conducts a scoping review of the literature on athlete social media self-presentation (ASMSP), aiming to map the current state of research, identify gaps, and propose directions for future studies. The review of 99 journal articles reveals a significant expansion over the past two decades, with studies exploring diverse aspects such as difference comparing across athlete groups, identity negotiations, brand building, and interactions between ASMSP and professional outcomes. Based on the syntheses, we recommend future scholars advance theoretical perspectives, examine identity negotiation among male athletes, explore diverse sport and geographical contexts, refine the measurement of athlete popularity, and move beyond descriptive patterns to explore causal relationships. By consolidating the existing body of literature, this review serves as a roadmap for future research and offers insights for practitioners to refine strategies for athlete branding.","PeriodicalId":46882,"journal":{"name":"Communication & Sport","volume":"124 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143056595","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Natalie Brown-Devlin, Jingyue Tao, Chris Imbrogno, Nicole Butterbaugh, Xiaotong Liu, Leonard Memon, Yara Acaf, Josh Anderson
{"title":"Examining Sports Media Credibility, Bias, Political Identification, and Fandom Using a Repeated Cross-Sectional Survey","authors":"Natalie Brown-Devlin, Jingyue Tao, Chris Imbrogno, Nicole Butterbaugh, Xiaotong Liu, Leonard Memon, Yara Acaf, Josh Anderson","doi":"10.1177/21674795251314383","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/21674795251314383","url":null,"abstract":"Two studies utilizing a repeated cross-sectional survey were conducted over a three-year period to measure the source credibility and media bias ratings of six sports media brands (i.e., NBC Sports, ESPN, FOX Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report, Yahoo Sports). Study 1 found sports media brands’ source credibility has been rated more positively since 2021 and ratings of media bias have decreased since 2021. Guided by social identity theory, Study 2 analyzed how respondents’ social identity labels (i.e., political identification and sports fandom) affected their media bias and source credibility evaluations, noting the importance of sports fandom. Notably, sports fans report lower levels of media bias when their fandom level is high.","PeriodicalId":46882,"journal":{"name":"Communication & Sport","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143056598","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Why Do People Collect Sportscards? Fan Motivations for Collecting Miniature Sports Media","authors":"Scott Parrott","doi":"10.1177/21674795241309844","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/21674795241309844","url":null,"abstract":"The sports card industry boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic when sports fans lacked access to sporting events. Estimates now place the value of the sports card industry in the billions. Sports cards raise compelling questions concerning fan behavior: Why collect cardboard photos of athletes? This study examines fan motivations for collecting sports cards by examining comments on Reddit, a social media platform centered around shared interests. Informed by the Uses & Gratifications approach, a thematic analysis was used to examine 326 comments concerning user motivations for collecting sports cards. Seven reasons were identified: Fans collect sports cards because (1) sports cards are educational; (2) fans identify with athletes; (3) sports cards can be a financial investment; (4) sports cards are addicting; (5) sports cards nurture social connection; (6) sports cards are entertaining, and (7) sports cards provide escape from mundane and stressful life events.","PeriodicalId":46882,"journal":{"name":"Communication & Sport","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142987312","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Sports Journalism as Both Practice and Industry: New Research and Ideas to Understand Dynamics and Impact","authors":"Marie Hardin, Andrew C. Billings","doi":"10.1177/21674795241308355","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/21674795241308355","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":46882,"journal":{"name":"Communication & Sport","volume":"49 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142967751","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"“If Those Stats Make You Mad, Then You’ve Come to the Right Place”: Theorizing a Women’s Sports Media Counterpublic","authors":"Monica Crawford","doi":"10.1177/21674795241301308","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/21674795241301308","url":null,"abstract":"With over four decades of scholarship assessing sports media coverage through the lens of hegemonic masculinity, this study poses counterpublics as a generative theoretical concept for telling stories about sport differently and locating instances of feminist resistance within sports media. To theorize the nature of a women’s sport counterpublic, this study turns to online women’s sports media organizations. The analysis consists of a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of six identified outlets’ “About” pages and contends that the outlets employ elements of counterpublicity by making statements of (perceived) exclusion, developing their discursive arenas, and maintaining links to mainstream sports media outlets. In posing counterpublics as a valuable conceptual framework for the study of sports media, this study advocates for a paradigmatic shift to focusing on the margins of sport as spaces welcome to a re-imagining of an inclusive future of sport.","PeriodicalId":46882,"journal":{"name":"Communication & Sport","volume":"55 3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142815638","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Danmu as Parasocial Audience Engagement: A Textual Analysis Based on Television Interviews With Women Athletes","authors":"Zizhong Zhang","doi":"10.1177/21674795241303424","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/21674795241303424","url":null,"abstract":"This study examines danmu (bullet screens) as a form of parasocial audience engagement, focusing on two television interviews with women athletes. A textual analysis of 3513 comments identified five types of parasocial interactions: addressing the athletes, the host, other viewers, social issues, and the nation. Danmu fosters multidimensional engagement, enabling audiences to shift roles and adopt diverse communication strategies. Moreover, the scope of these interactions extends beyond the video context to address broader societal and national issues. This study also highlights the concept of parakin interactions as reflected in danmu. It underscores danmu’s potential as a participatory journalism tool that complements mainstream media by fostering emotional resonance and challenging benevolent sexism in coverage. Feminism emerges as a central framework within the danmu discourse surrounding women athletes. As a form of parasocial audience engagement, danmu holds promise for empowering a wider range of marginalized groups.","PeriodicalId":46882,"journal":{"name":"Communication & Sport","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142756100","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Visions of Maradona: A Liar, a Cheat, Un Cocaïnomane, Un Dealer. UK and France Regarding a Latin American Player","authors":"Mauro I. Greco","doi":"10.1177/21674795241300254","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/21674795241300254","url":null,"abstract":"On November 25th, 2020, Argentine icon Diego Maradona died, and the international press and governments wrote their obituaries. Unlike what happened with the Argentine media press, where almost no critical voice was raised to remember the controversial sides of the iconic footballer, both British and French media—despite the well-intentioned decolonising agenda of the last seven decades—could not avoid a racial gaze to remember Maradona’s life and career. Focusing on some specific British ( The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, and The Jacobin) and French ( Le monde, Le figaro, and Liberation) media, I will systematise and analyse their tropes and images to depict Maradona’s passing. Drawing on French philosopher Gilles Deleuze’s reading of Baruch Spinoza, on French sociologists Grignon et Passeron discussing their conational Pierre Bourdieu, and finally on Erving Gofmann’s category of ‘stigma’, I will concentrate on the ‘regret requests’, ‘miserabilism’ and tensions between ‘minstralisation’ and ‘normification’ findable in British and French media press coverage of Maradona’s death.","PeriodicalId":46882,"journal":{"name":"Communication & Sport","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-11-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142753176","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Defamiliarizing Concussions: Sports Fandom, Injury, and Potential Attitudinal Shifts","authors":"Nathan Kalman-Lamb, Derek Silva","doi":"10.1177/21674795241299025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/21674795241299025","url":null,"abstract":"In this article, we examine whether modes of representation that disrupt and defamiliarize the naturalized understandings fans share about the legitimacy and necessity of spectacular violence and sacrifice in sport can have the potential to reframe fan attitudes and investments. We explore the social cognitive and attitudinal shift towards traumatic brain injury (TBI) and injury more broadly in American football of first year students with a stated investment in the spectacle of high-performance sports after viewing Josh Begley’s 2018 short film Concussion Protocol. By comparing the responses of students at the beginning of the semester to their responses immediately after viewing the film, this project reveals how placing fans of sport in a face-to-face relationship with athletic laborers can challenge preexisting assumptions about normalized violence in sport, ultimately effectuating a potentially new and more humane attitude to athletic spectatorship.","PeriodicalId":46882,"journal":{"name":"Communication & Sport","volume":"48 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142642986","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Use and Effect of Statistics in U.S. Professional Sports Leagues’ X Posts on Engagement, Enjoyment, and Emotion","authors":"Dustin Hahn","doi":"10.1177/21674795241299026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/21674795241299026","url":null,"abstract":"This study examines the use and effect of statistics in online social media posts on X (formerly Twitter) for the top five professional sports leagues in the U.S. (NFL, NBA, MLB, MLS, and NHL) during 2023 for changes in engagement, enjoyment, and emotion. This study utilizes machine learning to code 49,455 X posts before employing AI-powered sentiment and emotion analysis tools, in conjunction with more traditional measures of engagement and enjoyment, of 136,401 mentions responding to a randomly sampled subset of 500 of these posts (50 with statistics and 50 without statistics present in each of the five leagues). First, findings revealed discrepancies in frequency of use of statistics across leagues. Next, while posts with statistics increased engagement, they also negatively impacted enjoyment. Finally, analysis revealed posts with statistics yielded more “sad” responses compared to more “joyful” responses to posts without statistics. However, results varied by sports league. Implications for exemplification theory and future sport communication research on the use of statistics in sports media and practical considerations for sports media professionals are discussed.","PeriodicalId":46882,"journal":{"name":"Communication & Sport","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142637506","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}