Sports and Shows: Spectators in Contemporary Culture

Abstract

The spectatorial relationship between sporting events and theatrical performance, based on recent sociological studies, reveals much about the nature of any audience position, and raises issues of class, economic status, and gender. Despite the heavy commodification and internationalization of professional sport, fans retain a remarkable sense of psychological investment in home teams, centred around notions of civic pride and communal ownership. They ardently follow the fortunes of their sides in a manner rarely associated with any other form of entertainment, a devotion that can lead to notable violence. Sporting events also constitute one of the few remaining examples of live television broadcasts. Television extends the implications of the sports spectator enormously, and is the foundation of the globalization of sports, but it also affects live audiences through the mediatization of some events.