Submissions | Draft Submission

29 Jan Draft Submission – Pascal Kempson

Posted at 22:35h in Journalism Project, Level 6 by Kempson

I want my project to highlight my ability for writing a feature, opinion based with support from other experts. I intend to show how football fandom has changed since the introduction and development of social media. This is to be shown across all aspects. From a fan pre-social media, to a fan enveloped in what has become a mass space for football fans to come together and discuss their love for their club. Fan media is a big part of social media for fans, individuals and groups writing about their club and expressing how they feel in different mediums. My plan is to also speak to people within those circles, and understand what they consider themselves as and whether social media has a positive impact on that aspect of their fandom.

This project is about how being a fan has changed over the years, and how fandom rears it’s head in todays world.

Who is my feature for?

My feature is intended for an audience whom are most likely already football fans, although it could most certainly be for someone who isn’t. It will generally be for a reader who is introspective and likes to look at a bigger picture of something they are part of. I could see it being published anywhere that has a large sporting readership. Be that somewhere football specific such as MundialMag, Bleacher Report or The Athletic, to sporting sections of the traditional press such as The Guardian, The Telegraph or The Independent.

The changing faces of fandom in football..

What does it mean to you to be a fan? A fan of anything? Is it desire to see your favourite artist perform a sold out show? Or perhaps travelling hundreds of miles to catch a glimpse of a star? The desire so strong just to be close to someone or thing that you feel so strongly about? People do crazy things in the name of fandom. In the UK in 2001 at the height of Star Wars fever, a group started a religion called Jediism, and were implored to list it on the national census. In 2012, fans of the X-Factor soloists turned boyband One Direction went wild. Band Member and international teen heart-throb Niall Horan tried some Vegemite toast live on Australian TV (content) and subsequently spat it out, due to the fact that Vegemite is and always will be inferior to Marmite. Whilst the flavours were too much for the heart-throbs tastebuds to handle, it was almost certainly not too much for ‘Directioners’. The TV show put the half chewed toast up for auction on Ebay, where it fetched a grand total of $100,000. Like I said, fandom can make you crazy.

So now, if we move on to sport, fandom reaches a new level of severity. Fans of sport spend thousands of pounds, massive percentages of their wage packet on following their team or player up and down the country, home and away as it were. And when it comes to the nations favourite sport, Football, the feverous support turns up a notch. In Sweden, AIK lifted their first title in 9 years and celebrated in some style, invading the pitch in their hundreds letting off red flares in the process. I found out about this through an article on the Daily Mail which I am pained to credit, due to their constant harassment of any minority enjoying a mere modicum of success, more on that anon. Luckily they linked to the very respectable football outlet MundialMag, the video of the fans they shared gives you an idea about what it meant to that group of fans.

AIK fans are preeeeeetty chuffed about winning the Swedish league for the first time since 2009. pic.twitter.com/2duOWvXfdv

— MUNDIAL (@MundialMag) November 11, 2018

Before I get deeper in what it means to be a football fan, and how it’s changed over the years, some background on my footballing fan history might be helpful. I’ve supported Arsenal for many years, through many highs and what feels like a lot more lows. As a 22 year old, I’ve known the success and ecstasy of the early 2000s and then, in comparison, the pain of the following 10s.

In 2018, the club announced that Arsene Wenger was leaving the club he had managed since before I entered the world, the only male constant of my entire life other than my father. I awoke the morning of the announcement to a feeling of dread deep inside me, and subsequently booked as many tickets as I could to see his final moments at my club, with money that I didn’t really have, just to be able to say goodbye. I’ve been through various emotional periods in my life, and compared to many others I’ve lived a life which I could describe as happy contentment. But the feeling of this man I love leaving the club I love hurt as much as my parents separation when I was 11. It might sound melodramatic and over the top but for a good while after the announcement, it felt like a broken heart. Like all relationships things must eventually end, and it causes pain and suffering and denial and anger, but eventually acceptance and an appetite for something new.

Yes, I am still talking about a football club and a football manager, but what I’m trying to highlight is the emotional connection you make to your club, and I’ve only been in love with Arsenal for so many years.

Richard Holt has been an Arsenal fan for his whole life. He has experienced every element of fandom though-out his years as a fan. Below is part of an interview I arranged with him to understand exactly why he is a football fan, an Arsenal fan, and what that means to him.

FAN LIFE OF RICHARD HOLT – AUDIO INTERVIEW

Underneath this will be my reaction to the interview.

Since the launch of Twitter in July 2006 it’s been a place for people all over the world to communicate, to share opinions and discuss ideas. Since then, Twitter has evolved and now boasts over 300 million active users. Another evolution has been the idea of echo chambers on social media platforms. People who like the same thing tend to interact with each other and get caught in a place where they only see what they’re likely to agree with, thus creating the perfect breeding ground for something relating to a ‘tribe’. Whilst this can create a lot of problems, as it has in the world of politics, it has also become a great place for tribes that are already in existence. Football fans are tribal in nature. You support your club and, mostly, hate absolutely everyone else. It doesn’t matter who you’re playing, you want to win, you want your team to win. Therefore, Twitter has become the home of massive groups of football fans of every team. It doesn’t matter if you support a lowly league two side or the biggest team in the country, you can find your group of people and instantly be surrounded by hundreds to thousands to hundreds and thousands of like-minded individuals who all want the same thing as you. For your team to win. This sounds nice doesn’t it? Like going to the pub after the game and chatting to your mates. But this is a big pub, and they’re not always your mates.

The rest of my article will consist of the following:

TRIBALISM IN SOCIAL MEDIA FANDOM – HOW IT AFFECTS THE STADIUM MOOD, WENGER OUT ETC

FANS OF CLUB OR FANS OF PLAYER?

HOW IT WAS BEFORE – FANZINES, THE GOONER..

FAN MEDIA VS TRADITIONAL – OUTLINE WHAT FAN MEDIA IS, FANS MORE INFORMED

INTERVIEW WITH CLIVE PALMER – EXPERT IN FAN MEDIA

Below will be my reaction to this interview.

AFTV, DIFFERENT TYPE OF FAN MEDIA, LOOKING AT THE MISERY + HATE

THE NEXT FRONTIER – SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE, DECLINE IN TRADITIONAL SPORTS JOURNALISM?

Richard Holt Interview – February 10th

An Arsenal fan for 35 years. Someone who was a fan before the social media takeover and during it. The aim with Richard is to illustrate to the reader what it means to be a fan for so long. What I’m also looking for him is to answer exactly how the social media revolution has taken its toll on a fanbase, the mood in the the stadium, and how he interacts differently with fans.

What i’m looking for him to explain is that being a fan is a very special relationship, how he would spend so long thinking and talking about his club, and how his support might have changed through the years and the reasons for this.

I believe he will have a negative view of what social media has done to not just his support and the support of others.

QUESTIONS:

How long have you been a football fan?

What does it mean to you to be a fan of your club?

What was your experience early in your fandom?

Are you a part of the ‘social media fandom’?

What do you think that social media has done to fandom?

How do you perceive Arsenal fans now compared to your early days of being a fan?

What do you think social media has done to the in ground experience?

If you want to enjoy your experience as a fan, would you recommend social media?

Clive Palmer Expert Interview – Date TBC, late February

Clive Palmer is a youth football coach for Barton Rovers FC U18s and lifelong Arsenal fan. He has a prevalent social media account and has written and blogged AND spoken about Arsenal for many years. Clive is a large part of the online group of Arsenal fans and understands in many ways how it works regarding people’s opinions online and in ground, and also how it has changed over the years.

What I’m looking for Clive to discuss is exactly how the support for the club has changed over the years. Clive will provide me with a good insight into how fandom in social media has evolved, the differences between how it was in the early days of social media to now. How it affects perceptions of certain fanbases.

Being a part of the online fan media (a podcaster and occasional writer) he will also give me an idea of why he started doing what he does as what is essentially a hobby, what he believes his purpose is and whether he regards it as Journalism.

I believe he will have a mixed opinion of what social media has done for the idea of fandom.

QUESTIONS:

What does it mean to you to be a fan?

Is there a difference between being a fan online and being a fan at the ground?

What inspired you to start writing about football?

Has social media encouraged you to continue?

How has being a fan changed for you over the years?

What effect has social media had on your fandom?

How much and what effect does social media have on a clubs fans? What used to drive that?

As a part of the online fan media, do you consider yourself a journalist?

Do you think that people such as yourself have a better understanding of the club than other Journalists that write about Arsenal?

Research so far