Misenheimer 1

Will Misenheimer
Professor Arnold
UWRT-1101-073
3 November 2015
Ethnography Stage 2 Research:
Following the primary research I performed at Jerry Richardson Stadium, I decided to enhance
my knowledge of the behavior of sports fans by viewing Joe Queenans, True Believers. While the
experienced sports fan may have a deeper understanding of the text, Queenan composed his story so that
it would be easily understood by the average person with no prior knowledge of sports. In his book,
Queenan attempts to depict the many personas and personalities of sports fans everywhere.
In True Believers, Queenan discusses the infamous aspect of misbehaving fans in the chapter
titled, Fans Who Misbehave. In this chapter, the Philadelphia author provides an anecdote of a drunk
Phillie fan who pulled her pants down in Shea Stadium to flash her buttocks, or moon, her bestfriend.
This case of a crazed and intoxicated fan reminds me of an earlier UNC Charlotte football game, in which
I was standing alongside the railings. An intoxicated student tapped me repeatedly on the shoulder and
when I gradually turned around, he declared, Hi. Im plastered. The UNC Charlotte student and Phillie
fan are classic examples of the typical misbehaving fan.
Joe Queenan also describes the overly-obsessive fan in the chapter titled, Fans Who Love Too
Much. The Phillie fan performed an experiment in which he calculated the amount of time he has spent
thinking about or attending to athletic competition. Queenan estimated that he has spent roughly 7 years
of his life watching teams that he loves. While Queenan obviously loves athletic competition, he admits
that he worries over the statistic as he feels that in order to give more attention to the teams he loves, he
may have neglected his family to a certain extent. Joe Queenan uses himself as an accurate depiction of

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an overly-obsessive fan, or a fan who loves too much. The authors anecdote reminds me of ESPN, the
worldwide leader in sports. Since ESPN provides around-the-clock breaking news, highlights, and
detailed information pertinent to the sports world, the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network
obviously caters to the fan who loves too much. This issue also introduces a new avenue of research that
discusses how sports fans are taken advantage of by big businesses, such as ESPN, through the perception
of sports as a business and marketplace.
In the book, True Believers, Joe Queenan discusses the many personas and fan personalities that
exist within the world of sports fans. Through researching this book, I have gained knowledge on the
many types of fans, such as the fans who misbehave and the fans who love too much. I have also
discovered a new interest of the relationship between big businesses, such as ESPN, and sports fans. The
research conducted for Joe Queenans, True Believers certainly supports the observations made during
stage one and will help in the overall collection of knowledge pertaining to the behavior of the sports fan.
Thesis
To most people, sports are simply nothing more than games, but to sports fans, athletic
competition is a form of war and a needed sense of release in which boundaries are drawn and blood is
shed.