THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS: SPORTS FANS FIND GOOD SEATS AT THE BAR

Abstract

This study explored public sports viewing in bars and restaurants by means of more than 200 hours of observation and informal interviewing at six sites. Grounded qualitative analysis revealed four schemas for contextualizing public sports viewing: participation in a membership community, opportunity for social interaction, access to otherwise unobtainable events, and diversionary activity. Situated between the at-home and the stadium sports experiences, public consumption of mediated sports combines the benefits of the control characterizing home television viewing and the sociability characterizing the group experience. Public consumption and production of sports transform the seeming limits of the mediated event and legitimate fan behavior to serve participatory and social needs.