Atlanta United's "Heartbeat": Exploring the Experience of the "Most Passionate Fans"
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Clemson University TigerPrints All Theses Theses May 2020 Atlanta United's "Heartbeat": Exploring the Experience of the "Most Passionate Fans" Mackenzie Lane Smith Clemson University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses Recommended Citation Smith, Mackenzie Lane, "Atlanta United's "Heartbeat": Exploring the Experience of the "Most Passionate Fans"" (2020). All Theses. 3302. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses/3302 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Theses by an authorized administrator of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ATLANTA UNITED’S “HEARTBEAT”: EXPLORING THE EXPERIENCE OF THE “MOST PASSIONATE FANS” A Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of Clemson University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts Communication, Technology, and Society by Mackenzie Smith May 2020 Accepted by: Dr. Angela N. Pratt, Committee Chair Dr. Stephanie M. Pangborn Dr. Kristen Okamoto ABSTRACT Professional soccer has been growing across the United States as the professional leagues begin to expand and experience more success both on and off the field. A unique fan experience can be seen with soccer as compared to other sports, with the opportunity for fans to be a part of a supporter group, a group whose main purpose is to be the most passionate and loyal fans for their team. Atlanta United, a Major League Soccer (MLS) team located in Atlanta, GA, was one of the MLS’ expansion teams in 2017 and has experienced immense success since its inception. Through the use of a phenomenological study, I aimed to gain an in-depth understanding of the essence of the experience of being in a supporter group of Atlanta United, specifically the Resurgence supporter group. I conversed with nine participants from the Resurgence supporter group using a semi- structured interview approach. Several themes emerged through the process of analyzing interview transcripts, the relationship therein described by two overarching categories: Unity and Disunity. The fan experience of unity is evidenced by sub-themes of connection to the city, engagement, sense of family/home, performance, and recognition; fans’ experience of disunity is evidenced by sub-themes of front office relations, inter- group relations, and the future. These themes resonate with multiple communication theories and concepts such as social identity theory, theory of performance, BIRGing and CORFing, fan consumption, and organizational identification. In addition to the theoretical significance of findings, this study also provides valuable information for professional soccer teams within the United States as well as the organization of fan groups designed to support them. ii DEDICATION To my teammates and coaches throughout the years I would like to say thank you for allowing me to fall in love with such an amazing sport that has provided me with immense opportunities. Soccer, thank you for allowing a little girl from Bath, NY to meet hundreds of new amazing people, travel the country and the world, and bring me to my dream college. I would finally like to thank my parents for helping me become the woman, soccer lover, and scholar that I am today. You led me to the sport that will always be a massive part of my life and helped me excel in my academics as well. Without my mom rereading all of my papers and giving me tips in middle school (and yes, even high school) and my dad listening to all the stories I wrote as a child, I would not be where I am today. So, my longest and most important story ever written is for you, mom and dad. At least this time I’m not forcing you to sit down and listen to me read it out loud as I act it out. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Dr. Angela Pratt, where do I even begin? I could never even begin to repay you for all of the things that you have done for me throughout my years at Clemson. From my first qualitative study in your class years ago, to helping me complete my own qualitative thesis, and even just teaching me about life along the way, you have been instrumental in my successes both as a woman and a scholar. You were the one who truly helped me find my passion for sport communication and even helped me find a way to pursue it. I can’t wait to hear about all the students that you inspire in Canada, they are truly lucky to have someone like you. Dr. Stephanie Pangborn, thank you for allowing me to work alongside you and develop an even stronger passion for helping others. The combination of your caring personality, big heart, and academic talent will undoubtedly change many people’s lives for the better. Dr. Kristen Okamoto, thank you for teaching me in my first Graduate Communication class that I could do it and that I was capable. You helped me through my first research paper where I found the inspiration for this thesis. It was the passion that I developed during that process that helped me complete this piece of work. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TITLE PAGE .................................................................................................................... i ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................ iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................... v CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................... 1 We’re Here for Them and They’re Here for Us ...................................... 1 The Up and Coming Sport (In the United States) .................................... 2 II. LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................................. 5 History...................................................................................................... 5 Growth ..................................................................................................... 7 Social Identity Theory .............................................................................. 9 Performance ........................................................................................... 11 BIRGing and CORFing ......................................................................... 12 Fan Consumption ................................................................................... 13 Organizational Identification ................................................................. 13 Supporter Groups ................................................................................... 16 Atlanta United ........................................................................................ 18 III. RESEARCH DESIGN & METHODS ........................................................ 22 Phenomenology ...................................................................................... 22 Reflexivity .............................................................................................. 23 Culture of Interest .................................................................................. 24 Population .............................................................................................. 25 Data Collection ...................................................................................... 26 Data Analysis ......................................................................................... 28 Commitment to Quality ......................................................................... 30 v Table of Contents (Continued) Page IV. RESULTS .................................................................................................... 32 Unity ...................................................................................................... 33 Connection to the City ........................................................................... 33 Engagement ............................................................................................ 37 Sense of Family and Home .................................................................... 42 Performance ........................................................................................... 46 Recognition ............................................................................................ 53 Disunity .................................................................................................. 57 Front-Office Relations ........................................................................... 57 Inter-Group Relations ............................................................................ 61 The Future .............................................................................................. 64 Summary ................................................................................................ 65 V. DISCUSSION .............................................................................................. 67 Theoretical Implications ........................................................................ 67 Practical Implications ............................................................................ 72 Limitations ............................................................................................. 75 Future Research ...................................................................................