Dedicated To Sport Phenomenon: Atlanta Braves

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Dedicated to Sport Phenomenon SOC 318 Sociology of Sport April 1, 2013 In today’s society the common sports fans common interest usually involves a specific sports team. Although, the sports teams are typically associated with a geographic area, the fan base of that team can extend far beyond the city or region that the team calls home. I live in the State of Georgia and I have been to several different states throughout my life and the one of the common sport teams I can see supported by different people of all ages is the Atlanta Braves. Sports fans are an interesting group because “many are highly involved and have an emotional attachment to sport” (Shank, 1998). There are those that define themselves as “Braves Fans” or “Cowboys…show more content…
Though showing up as a Chiefs’ Fan at a Raiders’ game would provide substantial amounts of conflict, the phenomenon of sport dedication supports functionalism due to the singular focus, the shared value of the fan base of the team. A brief search of Google will return more than 24 million entries for “part of something bigger.” Wanting to be part of a bigger organism and what it supports, namely norms, customs, traditions and institutions, allows for greater solidarity and social cohesion, (Coakley, J.…show more content…
They can brandish the title “Glutton for Punishment” as a Badge of Honor. Whether it is the ill-fated Cubbies Fan in Chicago that dreams of the post-season every off season (Cobdress, C. 2009) or the fabled New Orleans “Aint’s” Fan of days gone by that would wear a bag over his head at the game to protect his image and identity, there are emotional risks to tying your affinity and fealty to a losing team. “To root for a team is to experience varying degrees of misery, whether you're devoted to a club that hasn't won a World Series in generations or one that just missed the playoffs or, one that muddles along so deep in the cellar that first place seems to exist only in a galaxy far, far away” (Taylor, P. 2009). Though it may earn you Andy Warhol’s “fifteen minutes of fame,” it may not always be worth it in the long run as Washington Nationals fan Stephen Krupin found out. Stephen Krupin was highlighted in Sports Illustrated as the Unluckiest Fan in America. “Not once in Krupin's 19 visits did the Nats deliver a victory. A number-crunching cousin of Krupin's calculated that the odds of his 0--19 season were 1 in 131,204, not all that different from the chances of getting hit by an asteroid, which, come to think of it, might be less painful than watching your team lose every time you show up.” Krupin’s response? "That's the
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