Reflections on Communication and Sport: On Fanship and Social Relationships

In this essay, Walter Gantz reflects on the importance of communication and sport and the evolution of his research on fanship and social relationships. Cutting across two overlapping dimensions-physical location and technology-this essay characterizes key ways that sports fanship may be integrally linked with meaningful relationships. Sports viewing at home is often a shared activity, one that is far more likely to maintain or enhance existing relationships than isolate or annoy family members and create significant strife. Sports viewing during holidays can create special frustrations but these, too, seem easily addressed by family members. Out-of-home attention to mediated sports-from sports bars to the workplace-also has a strong social dimension as participants are able to share and affirm their fanship, at times at a cost to productivity. Social media and other interactive technologies (e.g., talk radio, smart phones, the Internet) facilitate sports-related expression and community. Research still needs to be conducted on the social dimension of sports fanship across the span of adult life.