In the section of the book titled "Hate me out to the Ballgame," Grant describes hatred between fans of the New York Yankees and fans of the Boston Red Sox and the negative stereotypes that it produces.
Rivalries between many high schools and colleges also produce negative stereotypes.
Do you think most of these stereotypes are harmless because fans realize that they are not rooted in reality?
Or are they actually harmful because so many people insist that those who attend rival schools are, in fact, more malicious, obnoxious, aggressive, arrogant, etc.?
I am not much of a sports fan but I have witnessed harmful behavior from fans at the games I have attended. Certain fans tend to exude negative behavior when the opposing team is right in front of their eyes. Once the opponent's fans are in view, its very easy to let light-hearted rivalry get out of hand. I have seen very hateful behavior between teams such as yelling and cussing. Grant questioned whether the Red Sox hated the Yankees more than they loved their own team. I have seen many instances where fans got so caught up in "being a fan", they didn't even watch the game. Rivalry can be fun and encourage people to be more engaged, but fans must remember why they actually attend the game.
ReplyDeleteEmily Crowley
I think in cases like Yankees vs the Red Sox, fan behavior can be very prejudiced because the team's are from two different parts of the country. It's easier to judge someone or be rude to them when you don't even come from the same place. On the other hand, when it comes to rivalries like Oklahoma vs Oklahoma State, I think most people realize it's just a game and know not to take it too seriously. After all, in every town or city in OK, there's a mix of both Sooner and Cowboy fans. We have friends that support OU and friends that support OSU. It humanizes us and makes us less likely to engage in harmful fan behavior.
ReplyDeleteLauren George
I agree with Lauren. Rivalries that span across the country are more likely to be prejudiced and hate each other merely on the merit that they are opposing, than rivalries in the same area are. I didn’t go to a ton of sports games at my high school, but those I did go to were normally from a school or two over. The students there were normally pretty relaxed, you would see kids from both schools talking and hanging with each other, on both sides of the field. They would cheer for their team and talk bad about the other team, but there normally wasn’t any real heat to it. The few fights that broke out during the games were more from teenage stupidity than any fan rivalries.
ReplyDeleteLuke West
I agree, being someone who has grew up in sports, playing in rivalry games are the most exciting. All week both teams talk trash to each other, much of it is playful but some does get serious. The funny thing about rivalries is that through sport and competition you become friends with many of the opposers. Hatred and competition is two different things that can often get confused.
DeleteI am a large sports fan. When discussing the productiveness of rivalries, I often see both sides. There are always certain people who will take things way too far, no matter what it is. I think the same is true. Of course, there are fans who will act malicious and aggressive towards rival teams based off the name on their jersey. However, rivalries can also increase fan turn out to those games. I think that the most harmful rivalries are those that are between teams in different states. For example, I am an Oklahoma Sooners fan. When playing Oklahoma State, it would be impossible for me to not cheer for Oklahoma Sooners to win. However, I always wish that Oklahoma State wins their other conference games, because it is still an Oklahoma team. Overall, I think rivalries, like anything else, can be bad if taken too far.
ReplyDelete-Megan Lewis
I believe that rivalries should be friendly, but as long as they are friendly, I believe they are harmless. I am a pretty serious athlete, and if rivalries didn’t exist, I think it would make competition less fun. However, I believe that stereotypes can be harmful. If someone hears a stereotype enough times, they will start to believe it, and this could develop hatred rather than rivalry.
ReplyDeleteAs a sports fan, I believe that the stereotypes of rival schools or teams are extremely harmful. We get riled up about even the smallest things, it awakens something inside of sports fans that is dangerous and unneeded. In high school, we were known for having many rival schools, and I was taught from my freshman year to my senior year, that the people from those rival schools were bad and that we hated them and should have nothing to do with them, and they hated us right back. I have seen all out fights between schools because something didn’t happen the way they wanted it. This carries through to adult life, I see many adults go to professional sports games and absolutely lose control of who they are as a person. This is harmful to not only other fans but to the athletes' mental and physical health as well. Fans become angry and threaten their players who are not playing their best that day. What is it about sports that ignites a fire inside us that can bring people together or tear us apart?
ReplyDeleteMady Emerson
Typical humanity, creating sides and running with it. Yes, it can be harmful but it speaks to a much broader scale than just sports. Most dictators come to power by creating an enemy and then telling the people that that enemy is against them and they are the ones to rid/destroy it. Now obviously I'm not saying the Yankees or Red Sox are wanna-be dictators, but I'm trying to show that analogous situations crop up everywhere. We as individuals desperately wish to become part of a collective and some tend to cherish it's ideals, and despise it's opponents, more than we may realize.
ReplyDeleteRivalries are definitely interesting. I met my current roommate before I moved to Ada, back in the eighth grade. He was the first person to remember my name and it was nice to see a familiar face around town. When I started going to Ada they told me that I was supposed to hate anyone from Byng, but that was where my friend was going. Was I really not supposed to be friends with him? We would say hi to each other around town but there was so much social pressure to only be around people from your own school that we never would hang out. Freshman year of college brought us both to East Central where we started hanging out some more and decided it would be a good fit to find a place together. I consider him my best friend now, but why was there so much pressure to turn away from such a good friend just because of a silly school rivalry?
ReplyDeleteI personally am guilty of a sports rivalry, especially since I was heavily involved in sports at Poteau. I personally don’t believe that it creates hatred between two teams, because while those teams may have a rivalry and do not like each other, they still have a respect for each other. The best phrasing I can personally think of is how you can’t hate on anyone at the gym because we all start somewhere. However with that being said, I do believe it creates tension within the sports community, which in itself can become conflict, but there isn’t necessarily hatred. I think the word “hate” is too strong of a word. I believe it's more of a conflict of interest between the two communities which has the potential to turn violent within certain individuals, but not as a community.
ReplyDelete(125) I think that sports rivalries can be in good spirits to get the spectators involved but there are situations where it can go way beyond that. I have seen hatred from one side of a rivalry to the other side. These acts of hatred have included physical and verbal violence. I do think that once people attach themselves emotionally to a sports team it can become very scary to see how much they are willing to do, especially when alcohol is involved. Britt Bradstreet
ReplyDelete125. School rivalries are always fun for the school and the students, whether from student pride days, getting excited with a band or even just cheering for your own team. It is also fun to yell about how your team will easily come out on top above all the others, and how the other teams suck! There is an evil joy we get about the idea of being on the winning side, no matter the way! But, most of the time the others involved all know its in good fun, no one denies the fact that they are all in this mess for their own love of the game or the love of the energy it brings. EVen in Grant's own study he explains about how most of his rabid fans agree that they all share the value of loving the game, regardless of which team. However, Grant's study also proves how this group value sometimes has no impact at all! "Shared identity doesn't stick in every circumstance" (130). It is when this basic understanding between opposing fans, that the fun comes from the energy not the hate, gets lost do real problems occur. When these fans pass on their views of other teams to their children, rather than the enjoyment of the game, or when one small group decides to take it too far, then all bets are off. Then the fun no longer comes from somewhere good, but a place of hate. -Austyn
ReplyDeleteI think that rivalries are certainly viewed as harmless by the majority, and they probably are for most people. However, there is always the opportunity for it to become harmful, and some people use rivalries as an excuse. I have certainly been at high school football games where the other team has thrown things at us in the band. There was even one time (I didn’t actually see it so take this with a grain of salt) when a student from the other school supposedly kicked the flute of an Ada student off of the stands. I’m sure that some Ada fans also participated in similar actions. It can also be dangerous when rivalries are completely pointless. I live in C Wing of Pontotoc and my friend is an RA in the building. Occasionally, she will mention someone who lives in D Wing and my reflexive reaction is to say “Eww, who lives in D?” I have no idea how this started, I just started saying it. There is nothing that makes one wing better than the other, I’ve never even been in the D section. I think that the affect of rivalries that turn harmful outweighs those that stay harmless.
ReplyDelete-Michael Draper