Black vs. white sports fans. Are they really different?

[Buzzbee]

The following thread about the 2 live Stews http://dynamic.gamespy.com/~fof/foru...ad.php?t=40056

got me to thinking about black vs. white sports fans. The show is hosted by two black brothers, Ryan Stewart who played football at Georgia Tech and for a few years with the Detroit Lions (I believe) and his brother Doug Stewart (who I think played football at South Carolina State). Their show targets a young black audience, and from what I can tell has been fairly successful (they were picked up by Sirius Satellite radio, and apparently now by ESPN). They target blacks because that is a big demographic in metro Atlanta, but why not just sports fans in general?

But it got me to thinking, are there cultural differences in sports fans? Both blacks and whites will by jerseys, will support favorite teams and players, will both pay money to go see games live, will freely express their opinions, will both partake in social events regarding sports (tailgating, "super bowl" parties, etc.).

Part of me says that a sports fan is a sports fan is a sports fan. Another part of me says that white fans and black fans are different, view the sports in different ways, and participate in different ways. My feeling is that in general, there isn't a difference, but when drilling down to a local or small group level that there are distinct differences.

I thought this would be a good 'forum' to get different views and opinions on the racial aspects of being a sports fan.

Thoughts?

[Franklinnoble]

One of the things I like about sports is it's the only true meritocracy left in America. I shit on anyone who tries to segregate or add entitlements to sports.

[JonInMiddleGA]

The difference, at least with regard to the Stews, isn't with the sports, it's with the rest of the interests/lifestyle/et al. If they stuck to sports, they'd likely have a larger white audience, it's the other stuff that drives those listeners away.

Judging strictly from the small groups I've known & how they deal with sports/the role sports play in their lives, I'd say one of the differences might be found in the depth to which sports invades their lives. For example, both black & white fans will be disappointed when their favorite team loses, but in my experience, you're more likely to find a white fan devastated by the loss & having the loss affect other areas of their life. I'm talking about it interfering with their "normal life", relationships, depression, etc.
I've also known a higher percentage of white fans who get into the minutae of their favorite athletes statistically or who are into trivial details (so-and-so is married to such & such 3rd cousin on his mother's side, who also coached so-and-so, etc).

Maybe that says something about where spectator sports ranks in the overall scheme of white life vs black life. Or maybe it just points toward a higher rate of mental illness among white males

[Subby]

I am guessing there is not as much hockey/golf/NASCAR/tennis talk on that show. That seems to be the big difference to me when you start talking about white and black sports fans - the sports they follow.

The NFL really seems to be the one sport/league where I don't see a bit of difference with respect to the ethnic makeup of the fanbase.

These are general observations though - all marked by my tiny little worldview.

[Buzzbee]

Originally Posted by Subby

The NFL really seems to be the one sport/league where I don't see a bit of difference with respect to the ethnic makeup of the fanbase.

Interesting point. NFL appeals to a wide variety. MLB probably moreso white and hispanic. NBA more to the black fan. Does the racial mix of the athletes play into the sports we watch? Are there more black tennis fans because of Venus and Serena?

This is a little bit of a diversion from the original topic, but probably a worthwhile discussion as well.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Buzzbee

Interesting point. NFL appeals to a wide variety. MLB probably moreso white and hispanic. NBA more to the black fan. Does the racial mix of the athletes play into the sports we watch? Are there more black tennis fans because of Venus and Serena?

This is a little bit of a diversion from the original topic, but probably a worthwhile discussion as well.

There have been a lot of young kids introduced to tennis since Serena and Venus came up. But a lot of people failed to realize that there were lots of black kids playing tennis well before they made it big. Tennis has been trying really hard to develop a pipeline of minority players (not just black, but all of them and "low-income whites") to the sport through a variety of efforts targeted to each region. This also includes outreach and developing interest among parents and others in the sport - since if their kids are playing, it makes sense for them to get involved too.

Looking at all the rising players from the junior ranks, it seems that it's worked pretty well.

But I don't doubt that plenty of black folks were drawn to tennis events and golf events because of the Williams sisters and Tiger Woods respectively. But I think going to events is different than say, people who play the sports or follow them.

I know I've never been to a pro tennis event, but I've been playing since I was 9 (I'm 26 now..) and I haven't had a whole lot of desire. I don't know that a black player being competitive would make more interested in going to an event or even to follow the sport on TV more. I enjoy watching tennis, but I've never been too interested in the pro game.

By contrast, I watched golf even before Tiger showed up. Of course, that's because my grandfather watched golf and so I picked it up from him watching it on weekends. All we had back then was Jim Dent. But we watched each week anyway. I wish he would've been alive for Tiger....I dunno what he would've done.

But I digress...

I know with golf, the increase has been significant in terms of playing and in spectating. But I think that was across the board, not just with blacks, but with poor people and lots of others in between.

I think the USTA reports over 10% black membership (I can't find the data..) But most black players on both tours are sorta hedging. There have always been a few black women (not named Serena or Venus) in the Top 100 at different times, whereas a dominant black male players hasn't really arrived, James Blake can't put anything together and the Williams sisters are essentially bored with the game these days (not that I blame them, as that's seemingly the trend of most players of their ilk who reach their mid-20s and bore of the sport...see Martina Hingis)

I agree with the comment about some people being less interested in their favourite players favourite colour of whatever, versus say, others who don't care. But I've always been a huge stathead, mostly in baseball. So I dunno if that explains anything.

I don't think there is necessarily a different perspective when you talk about whether fans are rooting for their favourite teams. I think the real difference comes in perspective about particular issues. For example, the NBA age limit. Racist? Non-racist? (I'm not making a judgement call about it one way or the other...) What about TO's antics and how they're perceived? One might argue that issues that deal with the players and such, might be handled differently from two black sports guys versus two white ones. I don't necessarily buy that, but makes it pretty hard to ignore that being the case.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Franklinnoble

One of the things I like about sports is it's the only true meritocracy left in America. I shit on anyone who tries to segregate or add entitlements to sports.

Not a big fan of the salary cap I take it?

[Franklinnoble]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

Not a big fan of the salary cap I take it?

Not really, but it's a necessary evil.

[NYFAN]

I don't think there is much difference in terms of them being fans. I think regardless of race and culture, you generally watch a sport because you enjoy it, root for a team (some people get more carried away than others regardless of race), purchase memorabilia etc... the exact same way...

I do think there may be one difference, and again I boil this down more to culture than race. And that is probably the players/teams that we particularly like. My guess is that the younger fans are more prone to like the antics and "style" of players like Terrell Owens who do things a bit more rebellious, and have a bit more of an attitude, the players like Vince Carter who have a lot of style and not so much substance necessarily, and are less forgiving of players who feel "violated" by ownership - aka Vince Carter again. Again, they are looking more for style and flash (Deion Sanders anybody?) than substance, and when you get a player with some substance who has that big ego, lots of style and attitude, that's going to really draw a lot of kids in.

Where in contrast I think more mature fans generally appreciate players who potentially get overlooked a little bit, like John Stockton, in basketball, and John Olerud in baseball etc... guys that are great players, but don't normally score 30 points in a game or hit 50 HRs in a season...

Like I said I think it's more of a maturity issue than anything, but I think it also has a lot to do with culture - blue collar fans are probably much more likely to enjoy watching blue collar players etc...

That's probably the biggest difference you'd see in fans of one sport.

Just my 2 cents...