No Stadium, No Sports Bar: the Challenges of Substituting Digital Fandom for In-Person Gathering For

DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/V79UM No Stadium, No Sports Bar: The Challenges of Substituting Digital Fandom for In-Person Gathering for Cheeseheads Lisa Beckelhimer, University of Cincinnati A Popular Science article on sports games? Are digital fandoms enough or are fandom (Ferro 2013) begins: “Whether they poor excuses for the social benefits a you’re lamenting the devastation of physical sports fandom can provide? Many your March Madness bracket or gearing up of those questions can be answered in for the excitement of a baseball-filled multiple ways and depending on whom is spring, sports fandom can be an emotional asked. This brief analysis is based on the roller coaster.” Seven years later, in March author’s experiences as a life-long sports fan 2020, the roller coaster goes off the rails: a who currently lives in a region of the global pandemic has devastated lives and Midwest known for college basketball and health systems, and neither March Madness professional baseball. That said, the author nor a baseball-filled spring happened. As and her partner are far more obsessed as spring warmed into summer, the virus founding members of a fan club for the NFL continued to control summer sports: the football team, the Green Bay Packers. The PGA revised its schedule of golf author’s local fan club, three states and 517 tournaments and required players to be miles away from Lambeau Field in Green tested daily (Hoggard 2020); NASCAR Bay, Wisconsin, has more than 600 began its season by racing around empty members on Facebook. On a game day tracks built to hold between 50,000 and against a rival such as the Minnesota 250,000 fans; the Tokyo Olympics Vikings or Chicago Bears, the small pizza postponed opening ceremonies to July of pub and bar where the group meets fills to 2021. As summer cools into fall, the its seating capacity with nearly 200 of those pandemic has its sights set on a significant members. American sport: football. Nationally, sports fandoms are suffering The impacts of the pandemic on players, the consequences of the COVID-19 teams, and owners are the daily focus of pandemic, ranging in severity from sports media. But what of fans? How are competitions without fans in the stands to avid versus casual fans impacted differently, completely cancelled seasons and events. and what about members of formal Narrowed to the microcosm of the author’s fandoms? How and when do fans want fandom and viewed through this author’s sports to “reopen”? How are fandoms lens, it is clear that the pandemic has coping with digital substitutions for live amplified that “emotional roller coaster” for sports fans—particularly members of tight- find Packers gathering places all over the knit fandoms that rely on personal contact. country. Additionally, this negative impact comes at Mumford (2004, qtd. in Tarver 2018, p. a time when sports might be the one form of 25) characterizes such a “deeply felt entertainment that would provide a soothing allegiance to a team” as “analogous to those balm to fans reeling from a pandemic, social allegiances one might feel to one’s spouse or unrest and racial inequality, and a politically family.” Indeed, the author’s fandom divisive culture. remains friends during the off-season, To investigate the pandemic’s impact on celebrating birthdays and anniversaries sports fandoms, it is important first to together, gathering to watch local sports distinguish what differentiates a typical teams compete, and even vacationing sports spectator from a fandom. together. In other words, fans who identify Participation in a sports fandom can demand with a specific fandom such as Cheeseheads a considerable amount of time and do not, on the whole, watch as mere commitment to what Tarver (2018, p. 2) observers or spectators, but they integrate refers to as “something that looks very much the sport or team fully into their lifestyles. like work.” While spectators might read Tarver (2018, p. 3) further claims—and about their teams, study statistics, and spend the author confirms—that this investment in money to wear team apparel, fandoms often the sport or team is multiplied when travel to see their teams play live and experienced as a group. Fans, for example, revolve their lives around gathering with will “shout, wail, leap from their seats, cover others in their fandoms on game days. Green their faces in horror, hug and kiss strangers Bay Packers fans, or “Cheeseheads,” as they in moments of unmitigated joy, crumple in are called, were dubbed by Forbes as the despair, scream loudly and long enough to number one most passionate fandom of 2020 lose their voices and give themselves among North America’s 123 professional headaches, and spread their arms wide while sports teams in the NBA, NFL, NHL, and tilting their faces to the heavens.” MLB. The Packers are the NFL’s only What, then, when most of this behavior publicly-owned team, and more than is not allowed by CDC guidelines? 350,000 fans own shares. The last time the There is no precedent for how sports team offered shares for sale, in 2012, more should respond to the pandemic. While than 250,000 were sold, totaling more than athlete health and the financial impact of $67 million. The season ticket waiting list is closures are important, guidelines that 137,000 names long, meaning that most discourage mass gatherings are most Cheeseheads will not live long enough to get impactful to fans. Historically, sports have a stab at buying season tickets The team has paused and then returned to full strength a social media following of more nearly 7.5 when deemed “appropriate” (Martinez million (Settimi 2020). Locally, the author’s 2020). For example, sports debated whether fandom is listed on a depository website or not it was appropriate to play during called Packers Everywhere, where fans can world wars, shortly after 9/11, and after The Phoenix Papers, Vol. 4, No. 2, October 2020 63 John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Martinez in the US. But many fans are worried about points out, however, that sports shut down (or in denial that) this “new normal” will for coronavirus not because it seemed change the atmosphere of sports inappropriate to play while people were dramatically. Martinez (2020), writing about dying of a virus, but because the virus his experience at the last soccer game in threatened the health of the athletes: “The Mexico City before the pandemic shut it hubris of the call to carry on in these down, described the atmosphere as “creepy circumstances became apparent in one to watch . It’s like spying on a private twenty-four-hour spell when a Utah Jazz scrimmage.” Sports media have described player and Arsenal’s manager across the games without fans as “weird” or Atlantic both tested positive. That meant “surreal” and have begun referring to games lights out.” That was 12 March. On 1 June, without fans as “ghost games.” Chau (2020) college football players went back to wrote that “Fandom is a sense of community voluntary workouts and by 22 June, more held together by the power of collective than 100 college athletes across the nation imagination—the feeling of belonging to a tested positive for COVID-19 (Dodd 2020). greater whole. The pandemic has created Will those cases ultimately result in the an environment of fear and uncertainty cancellation of college football? among sport fans and the resumption of play Members of the author’s fandom reflect has drawn a mixed response.” the mixed emotions of sports fans The author’s Packers fandom is most everywhere as fall football season concerned, of course, about the pandemic’s approaches. A Seton Hall poll conducted in impact on their own gathering place, but April 2020 found that 72% of fans would also about the mass gathering location of not attend games without the development Cheeseheads everywhere: Green Bay, of a vaccine Gardner 2020). Each time the Wisconsin. At one time supported largely by Packers pay at home in Lambeau Field, the meat packing industry, Green Bay is about 600,000 people convene in the city of now reliant on the Packers’ 81,441-seat Green Bay (Ryman 2020); 72% of 600,000 Lambeau Field and associated tourism. If means a loss of more than 400,000 fans. the Packers play without fans, the result And if the virus spikes in winter flu season, could mean a loss of more than $150 million as some medical experts expect, would fans (Ryman 2020): “It’ll be a devastating impact want to attend a game in the stadium known on the Green Bay economy to not have any as the Frozen Tundra anyway? Gardner fans,” said Brad Toll, CEO of the Greater further questions, “When sports do return, Green Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau. will fans be eager to squash themselves into “This has kind of been a nightmare. This is tightly bound stadium seats or walk through the kind of thing you go to the movies and sardine-packed concourses?” see.” Some international sports leagues have Hotels, bars, and restaurants have returned to play without fans, and that suffered all summer due to the virus’ effect option is being considered by sports leagues on the team’s annual training camp. Leading The Phoenix Papers, Vol. 4, No. 2, October 2020 64 up to the season, the Packers’ annual Additionally, the team was forthright that: training campus draws thousands of fans, “Face coverings will also be required, and including members of the author’s fandom, other necessary precautions will be in pace. to the small town to watch players parade As a result, the special experience to which from Lambeau down the street to the fans are accustomed at Lambeau Field will training field, where fans wait in line for the look and feel very different.” chance to sit in the stands and watch the For sports fans who consider themselves team practice.

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