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Will Misenheimer

Professor Arnold

UWRT-1101-073

15 November 2015

Ethnography Report First Draft

Forrest Gump’s mother once told him, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know

what you’re gonna get.” While at most any type of sporting event, I can assure you that you are

liable to be exposed to anything. I once heard profound wisdom from a manager at the Charlotte

Motor Speedway prior to a volunteering stint; he told us, “You will see titties, and you will see

drunk men.” From managers uprooting and throwing bases, to the drunk, the culture of sports

and its fans is certainly an interesting one, in which “you never know what you’re gonna get.”

To most people, sports are nothing more than games, but to its fans, athletic competition

is a form of war and needed sense of release in which boundaries are drawn and blood is shed. I

can recount several embarrassing, defensive remarks made from the UNC Charlotte student

section while performing the first stage of my research. Would you rather the “He literally threw

a punch. He should be ejected!,” or the “ You’re the thundering turds on the bench!”; pick your

poison. Since my career as a baseball player on a competitive team has come to an end, I’ve had

the pleasure to experience life as a spectator and compare fan behaviors with the nature of the

athlete. During the midst of athletic competition, the athletes are typically respectful towards one

another, while there are the occasional hot-heads or smack-talkers, commonly connotated as the

instigators to a situation. However, I discovered Saturday, October 31st that the same cannot be

said for its fans. As stated by the Youtube documentary, “Obsessed- a documentary about

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football and its fans1,” sports fans are naturally defensive and territorial. I witnessed this

protective nature during my primary research at the UNC Charlotte football game, with many

defensive comments such as, “Your mascot looks like a turd!” Following the actions I observed

during my primary research stage, I pondered about the nature of the defensiveness of the fan.

The students in the UNC Charlotte student section, much like any average sports fan, had been

exposed to the stresses and grinds of the previous week, desperate for a release. According to the

Youtube documentary, to sports fans, athletic competition is that needed release. Therefore,

when the score is not necessarily in favor of the sports fan, it is understandable as to why the fan

may lower him or herself to a position of targeting individual players and spiteful chants.

In chapter 5 of Joe Queenan’s True Believers, Queenan discusses “Fans Who

Misbehave.” During my study of the UNC Charlotte student section at the UNC Charlotte vs.

Marshall football game, I felt an abrupt, repetitive thump on my left shoulder. As I turn to

identify the source of my annoyance, I heard a student say, “Hi, I’m plastered!” While

“plastered” is a term used also by non-sports fans, it depicts a high level of intoxication. This is

very similar to Joe Queenan’s personal experience, in which he witnessed an intoxicated woman

moon, or flash her buttocks, her best friend to get a laugh. This evidence further supports the

notion that athletic competition is a release and an escape from the stresses of reality. In another

chapter of Queenan’s book, the topic of “Fans Who Love Too Much” is presented. Queenan

discusses his profound love for sports, yet he feels that his involvement in athletic competition

may have slightly hindered his ability to be the best father that he could be. However, in a study

done by the Seattle Times, avid sports fans are proven to usually be much happier and feel

alienated less3. Just as I witnessed during my primary research study, fans use athletic

competition as a means of release and social facilitation. While the man who approached me to

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inform me that he was “plastered” was certainly misbehaving, he was also engaging in social

interaction with others, by approaching me, and releasing emotionally with the use of alcohol.

In the same study done by the Seattle Times, domestic violence, heart attacks, and

wreckless driving have all been linked to and connected with the results of athletic competitions.

This statistic is used to display the negative effects that undesired outcomes of athletic events

inflict upon the sports fan. While most people view sports as a side activity, in which not much

dedication is given, but to sports fans, it is tribal. This unparalleled dedication of a fanatic to his

or her team is shown through the negative effects triggered by a poor outcome to an event.

Whether it’s the surprising welcome of a “plastered” student at a football game, or the

heave of a beer bottle from a drunk NASCAR fan, when it comes to predicting the specific

actions of a sports fan, you really never know what you’re gonna get.

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References

2Queenan, Joe, True Believers. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2003. Print.

3Stone, Larry, “The psychology of being a sports fan.” Seattle Times. 15 February 2014. Web.

15 November 2015. <http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/the-psychology-of-being-a-

sports-fan/>