Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Kaylan Pinson
Mrs. Intawiwat
English 111
15 April 2016
The sports industry is arguably one of the most popular industries within the
entertainment realm. It has undergone exponential growth within the past fifty years or so and
has created an entire sub culture within entertainment as well as an important facet within
consumerism. As a musician who is only partially involved in this culture, I have become curious
as to how and why there has been such significant growth within this facet of the entertainment
industry. In order to study this culture more closely I conducted an ethnographic approach in
attempts to study the actions, influences, and ideas of sports fans regarding its position in our
culture. Through this I hope to obtain information and potentially determine if such success has
During the early summer season there are many opportunities to observe sports culture.
There are events such as the NBA finals, Stanley Cup finals (NHL), and even other events such
as the world cup. I began this project by observing at a sports bar in Matthews, NC called
Kristophers bar and grille. The specific night was a Thursday on an NBA finals game night. I
initially began by taking notes on how the bar was designed and set up. There were easily about
twenty televisions in the room each of which were positioned next to another. The majority of
them had the NBA finals game on, but some had other sporting events such as a Womens track
and field event. A handful of other televisions were showing the current game of the Womens
world cup as well. It was obvious that the NBA game was the primary selling point of the night.
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The sound of the sports announcers was playing over the speakers rather than music or any of the
other games that were being broadcasted. What was surprising to me was that I knew of many
baseball games that were on but there were no broadcasts of it at the restaurant. Given that
Baseball is considered Americas pass time, I figured it would be broadcasted along with any
other sport within the restaurant. However I believe that the magnitude of the NBA finals game
as well as the international following with the FIFA Womens World Cup would lead to their
The entire bar was cluttered with flags and pennants of different Universities as well as
professional teams. Most of the professional franchises that were represented were American
football teams. If there wasnt sports paraphernalia on the wall there were advertisements for
I then began to move my attention to observing the actions of the customers within the bar. I
noticed that most people who seemed to be paying attention to the game were at the bar with a
large group of friends. Almost every person was also partaking in alcohol consumption. There
were a few people wearing basketball jerseys, almost all of which were the jersey of LeBron
James who was in the finals playing for Cleveland against the Golden State Warriors. Other
people sat at tables and watched the games periodically but were more focused on the people
they were with or the technology they had available. These people seemed to be there more for
the social aspect and the food because the majority of these customers left the restaurant after
paying their tabs. Most people that fit within this category were couples or customers who were
not paying much attention to the game. A large amount of people left right at half time, leading
me to believe that they were going to continue watching the game at a different venue.
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I then became interested in observing the game itself and how certain aspects of the
broadcast were presented. On almost every television screen there were status reports of other
games and players that were going on at the same time. This was true on every network except
for the NBA screen. Every commercial for the NBA game was either for Nissan, bud light, or
sprint all of which were obvious sponsors of the game and network. Other commercials were for
products using athletes as endorsements, movies that include athletes such as LeBron James in
train wreck, and other miscellaneous advertisements for shows that were produced by the
network. Each time the game came back on the cameras usually focused on one player when the
clock was paused between plays. Nine times out of ten this player was LeBron James.
Regardless of what was happening in the game the focus was on James. Even if he was just
sitting on the bench he was typically always the central focus. Is LeBron one of the main selling
points for the NBA? Or is he simply just that good of a player to create almost an obsession
within the media and the consumers? These questions began arising and created a curiosity in me
to determine what the central focus of the sports culture is and what role each aspect of the
industry plays. Through research I want to determine if sports fans follow their sport for specific
players, the franchise, the social aspects, or the love of the game itself?
After some interviews and research I found many different perspectives regarding the
role of the athlete. I decided to interview three subjects two of which are members of the culture
that are not far removed from being athletes themselves. Both of these students are rising college
freshmen. One student is a former Lacrosse player named Alpha and the other is a former
basketball player named Charlie. I felt this would create two perspectives from different types of
athletes that would be much closer to the sport due to their recent experience. Alpha claims
Kids can play the games and find role models at the professional level and want to grow to be
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just like them. Charlie spoke about how in watching sports; you can try what you see your
favorite athlete does. Each of these responses paints the athletes as an image of something a
young spectator would desire to become. Because these students still hold their own athletic
career very close, they seem to idolize athletes hoping to better themselves with a professional
example. I believe the networks could be manipulating this perspective by filming mainly
For another interview I spoke with an adult who had been a member of the culture for at
least thirty years named Bravo. I found that there are a few different trends that explain why
adults who are much more removed from the activity, also enjoy participating even if it may be
more relevant to a younger age group. I love when we have Monday night football here in
Charlotte and there is such a buzz in the city. People are nicer to each other even. When I was in
college it was exciting to go to the games because everyone was there. It just kind of added to
your life to be a part of something big. This statement provided a perspective on how sports
provide a type of unity that can bring a community together. A home-team event creates a
commonality between people that wouldnt normally interact. This leads to a type of comradery
that consists of members rooting together for a common outcome. The adult focus isnt
necessarily on the individual players but the social aspect of the game and its positive impact on
a residential community.
All in all the players role isnt terribly different from any other entertainers role.
Entrepreneurs who earn money by providing sports as a form of entertainment hire professional
athletes as performers. These athletes are compensated to provide the best entertainment possible
by training and learning to play the game at a top-notch ability level (Haupert, 2006, p. 195). It is
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amazing that something that was meant for purely entertainment purposes has evolved into a
large part of American culture. This is even true with other countries with international sports
Arguably, the biggest factor that has contributed to the growth of the industry is the
accessibility to the entertainment (Beck and Bosshart, 2003, p. 23). No matter where or at what
time, there is always some kind of sporting event being broadcasted on a network or live stream
somewhere. During Charlies interview he stated that, If you want to truly follow ESPN or any
sports team you have to have a twitter account. Its a quick way to get in touch with other fans,
hear news, and know what kind of things your team is doing. In this day and age it has become
easier than ever to gain access to players, teams, and games that use to seem so far a way and
almost untouchable. This gives people in the general public a chance to be a part of a franchise as
well as find ways to relate to a famous athlete through various forms of communication. In my
own industry, opportunities such as this dont typically occur. In most circumstances a trained
musician typically separates himself from the general public. The only access to this musician is
by professional means only. As a result there is definitely less of a social following within the
Social media and the sports industry have evolved into a type of symbiotic relationship
(Haupert, 2006, p. 201). This relationship has created an aspect of sports marketing known as the
with the organizations best customers, generating further business and profit. It is also designed
provide additional value for consumers (Williams and Chinn, 2010, pp. 425-426). Informal
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social media applications such as twitter and Facebook allow consumers to play a central role in
environment that is appealing to the general consumer. Other applications such as score center
produce constant sport updates and statistics readily available at the hand of the consumer. Even
networks like ESPN and sports center always provide entertainment in critiquing and analyzing
The sports industry has served as one of the strongest marketing fields within the
entertainment industry. Not only that, but it has become one of the largest aspects of American
culture because of the tactical use of social media and marketing. Each method of delivery has
proven to appeal to multiple members of society with different backgrounds. Compared to other
facets of the entertainment industry, sports have taken one of the top seats in applying current
trends to their strategy. If other entertainment industries learned to incorporate this approach, I
believe the following of each industry would increase exponentially because of its appeal to
Works Cited
Beck, D., & Bosshart, L. (2003). Sports and media. Communication Research Trends, 22(4).
Haupert, M. J. (2006). The entertainment industry. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press. Williams,
J., & Chinn, S. J. (2010). Meeting relationship-marketing goals through social media:
A conceptual model for sport marketers. International Journal of Sport Communication, 3(4),