Monday, 30 April 2018

Identity: reading 2, "Sports Fans and Identity" (B&S3, p11, Developing critical thinking)

What we read

We have read "Sports Fans and Identity" (Bixby and Scanlon, 2013, p. 11), and done the exercises that checked our understanding of the ideas in it. 
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Our responses 

As you were reading, you might have been thinking to yourself things like: 
  • Yes, that's right. 
  • No way. I don't agree with that.
    or 
  • Really? Is that right? 
This critical assessment of what we read is an important skill, and one that the following exercise practices. 
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Bixby and Scanlon's questions

  1. Read each statement based on "Sports Fans and Identity". Do you agree or disagree with the statement? Or are you unsure about it?
    Think of a comment or example to explain your agreement or disagreement.

    a. When you are a fan of a particular team, at a game or event, you instantly feel that you have thousands of friends. (Agree? Disagree? Not sure?)
    b. If a sports team is a very important part of a fan's identity, winning is extremely important. (Agree? Disagree? Not sure?)
    c. Winning a championship changes the way fans feel about themselves for a while. (Agree? Disagree? Not sure?)
     
  2. Why do you think fans continue to support a team that does poorly year after year? 
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Reference

  • Bixby, J. & Scanlon, J. (2013). Skillful Reading & Writing Student's Book 3. Oxford: Macmillan Education. 

6 comments:

  1. I am not sure about this statement. When I cheered for some team in NBA, I think that I am the one who watched it via online platform. But sometimes, in school, I can talk with my friends about NBA and feel like I have many friends.

    I totally agree. I want my favorite team to win every matched because I feel like I am winning too.

    I disagreed with this statement. People have the feelings but they do not seriously watch Sports. They just watch it for fun. When their team win a championship, they feel happy but not change the way they feel about themselves.

    Because fans support a team so that the team can use the money to make the team grow up and be stronger. Another reason is that we love in someone or in something. For example, parents always love their child even if the child is bad or stupid. It is something that can be explained by the heart not the reasons.

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  2. I thought that the last question was the more interesting one because it is clear that even losing teams have loyal fans. But if our self-esteem is strongly influenced by whether our team wins or loses, this seems a bit surprising. Why to loser teams still have devoted fans who support them after repeated losses? There is something here that needs to be explained.

    i agree with the statement that winning a championship changes how fans feel about themselves for a while. I remember last year, or the year before, or maybe longer ago, some unpopular English team won a major football competition. It might have been Leicester, but I don't follow football so my memory isn't 100% sure. But I remember the fuss in teh local Thai papers, I think because the owner of the team was Thai, and a monk had given the team a magical piece of cloth. I'm not sure about the details, but the fans were clearly thrilled and seemed to think their chosen team, and themselves, to be amazing. I'm not sure that the team has repeated its performance, but I'm sure it still has loyal fans waiting for the next big win.

    So, why do fans do this? My guess (I'm not sure) is that the important thing is being a member of a group, and it doesn't matter so much what that group is or what it does. This seems the same to me with political groups: terrorists blowing up innocent people, PDRC mobs on the streets of Bangkok, and Thaksin supporters all seem to get enormous self-esteem from being members of their chosen groups, even if the rest of society greatly dislikes them. And religions have always been a source of such comfort, even when membership of the group carried heavy social penalties, as it still does in some morally undeveloped nations.

    There are lots of interesting things to think about in these readings on identity.

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  4. 1a.I agree because everyone that come to watch the game has the same purpose and when they scream or shout out together it makes them feel closer to each other.
    1b.Yes,I agree with that because team's victory makes fans more confidence and it also makes the team famous.
    1c.I do agree,even the team win the competition makes fans confidence and happy but winning a championship will make a big change to the fans.

    2.I do not have any idea bout this one. I always curious why fans support the same team even the team didn't doing well in the game.

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  5. 1. a. yes, I agree. Because of the our passion from our sport and team and it can make you crazy with being a part of fans sport teams.
    b. I agree that winning is a extremely important because it can change your identity.

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  6. 1

    a
    I am not quite sure that I have thousands of friends. The first thing that come though my mind is that Yes, I have thousand of friends who ware the same team' uniform. But, I feel like I am not really connect with them. That's why I am not sure.

    b.
    I agree with this statement because we are all the same soul. we all connect as a team spirit.

    c.
    I absolute ly agree with this staement becasue I have experienced it from myself. It seems to me that I am the winner as well.

    2
    It is very difficult to continue to support their team well year after year. Another reason is they may change their support team. Fans mostly tend to support the team that perform well.

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