Rooting for the home team : sport, community, and identity / edited by Daniel A. Nathan.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Nathan, Daniel A.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sports--Social aspects--United States.

Sports.

Sports--Social aspects.

United States.

Sports--United States.

Physical Description:

x, 237 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Urbana : University of Illinois Press, [2013]

Summary:

Rooting for the Home Team examines how various American communities create and maintain a sense of collective identity through sports. Looking at large cities such as Chicago, Baltimore, and Los Angeles as well as small rural towns, suburbs, and college towns, the contributors consider the idea that rooting for local athletes and home teams often symbolizes a community's preferred understanding of itself, and that doing so is an expression of connectedness, public pride and pleasure, and personal identity. Some of the wide-ranging essays point out that financial interests also play a significant role in encouraging fan bases, and modern media have made every seasonal sport into yearlong obsessions. Celebrities show up for big games, politicians throw out first pitches, and taxpayers pay plenty for new stadiums and arenas. The essays in Rooting for the Home Team cover a range of professional and amateur athletics, including teams in basketball, football, baseball, and even the phenomenon of no-glove softball. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Basketball and Magic in "Middletown": Locating Sport and Culture in American Social Science / Mark Dyreson Dyreson, Mark 17

2 The Biggest "Classic" of Them All: The Howard University and Lincoln University Thanksgiving Day Football Games, 1919-1929 / David K. Wiggins Wiggins, David K. 36

3 Bobby Jones, Southern Identity, and the Preservation of Privilege / Catherine M. Lewis Lewis, Catherine M. 54

4 Football Town under Friday Night Lights: High School Football and American Dreams / Michael Oriard Oriard, Michael 68

5 Girls' Six-Player Basketball: "The Essence of Small-Town Life in Iowa" / Jaime Schultz Schultz, Jaime, Shelley Lucas Lucas, Shelley 80

6 Chicago's Game / Christopher Lamberti Lamberti, Christopher 93

7 The Baltimore Blues: The Colts and Civic Identity / Daniel A. Nathan Nathan, Daniel A. 108

8 The Voice of Los Angeles / Elliott J. Gorn Gorn, Elliott J., Allison Lauterbach Lauterbach, Allison 125

9 We Believe: The Anatomy of Red Sox Nation / Amy Bass Bass, Amy 139

10 American Brigadoon: Joe Paterno's Happy Valley / David W. Zang Zang, David W. 157

11 Jayhawk Pride / Michael Ezra Ezra, Michael 170

12 Finding My Place: A Sports Odyssey / Susan Cahn Cahn, Susan 182

13 A Philadelphia Nocturne / Mike Tanier Tanier, Mike 195

14 The Cult of Micky Ward in Massachusetts / Carlo Rotella Rotella, Carlo 205.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780252037610

0252037618

9780252079146

0252079140

OCLC:

816316059