Professional football is one of the most popular television 'genres' worldwide, attracting millions of fans, and the sponsorship of powerful companies. In A Game of Two Halves, Cornel Sandvoss considers football's relationship with television, its links with transnational capitalism, and the importance of football fandom in forming social and cultural identities around the globe presenting the phenomenon of football as a reflection of postmodern culture and globalization.Through a series of case studies, based on ethnographic audience research, Cornel Sandvoss explores the motivations and pleasures of football fans, the intense bond formed between supporters and their clubs, the implications of football consumption on political discourse and citizenship, football as a factor of cultural globalisation, and the pivotal role of football and television in a postmodern cultural order.

A completely updated edition of a seminal work on fans and communities We are all fans. Whether we follow our favorite celebrities on Twitter, attend fan conventions such as Comic Con, or simply wait with bated breath for the next episode of our favorite television drama-each of us is a fan. Recognizing that fandom is not unusual, but rather a universal subculture, the contributions in this book demonstrate that understanding fans--whether of toys, TV shows, celebrities, comics, music, film, or politicians--is vital to an understanding of media audiences, use, engagement, and participatory culture in a digital age. Including eighteen new, original essays covering topics such as activism directed at racism in sports fandom, fan/producer interactions at Comic Con, the impact of new technologies on fandom, and the politics and legality of fanfic, this wide-ranging collection provides diverse approaches to fandom for anyone seeking to understand modern life in our increasingly mediated, globalized and binge-watching world.

Sports stars are omnipresent icons of popular culture. In the global age of celebrity, few public personae enjoy greater popularity and recognition than professional athletes. Yet, beyond their sporting achievements, athletes - from stars with near-global appeal such as Muhammad Ali or Tiger Woods to local and national sporting heroes - embody and reflect key political, social, and cultural discourses of our time. This anthology investigates sports stardom in its global context across the spectrum of spectator sport: from the quest of Japanese star athletes to exorcise the cultural demons of postwar Japan, to the Mexican pitcher celebrating victory in the first major league baseball game played on Mexican soil; from the naturalization of a Croatian footballer in Israel, to the marginalization of Scottish women curlers at the Winter Olympics. Reflecting this focus, Bodies of Discourse conceptualizes the discourses surrounding sports stars as part of an increasingly transnational and fragmented public sphere and thus traces the economic, social, and cultural roles of these discourses, ranging from nationalism and racism to foreign affairs and sexual politics.

A completely updated edition of a seminal work on fans and communities We are all fans. Whether we follow our favorite celebrities on Twitter, attend fan conventions such as Comic Con, or simply wait with bated breath for the next episode of our favorite television drama-each of us is a fan. Recognizing that fandom is not unusual, but rather a universal subculture, the contributions in this book demonstrate that understanding fans--whether of toys, TV shows, celebrities, comics, music, film, or politicians--is vital to an understanding of media audiences, use, engagement, and participatory culture in a digital age. Including eighteen new, original essays covering topics such as activism directed at racism in sports fandom, fan/producer interactions at Comic Con, the impact of new technologies on fandom, and the politics and legality of fanfic, this wide-ranging collection provides diverse approaches to fandom for anyone seeking to understand modern life in our increasingly mediated, globalized and binge-watching world.