University of Wisconsin Milwaukee UWM Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations August 2016 A Hero a Minute: the Manufacture of Aura and Rarity in the World of Sports Memorabilia and Rapid Commemoration Roger C. Draeger University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.uwm.edu/etd Part of the Communication Commons, Economics Commons, and the Marketing Commons Recommended Citation Draeger, Roger C., "A Hero a Minute: the Manufacture of Aura and Rarity in the World of Sports Memorabilia and Rapid Commemoration" (2016). Theses and Dissertations. 1262. https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/1262 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by UWM Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UWM Digital Commons. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. A HERO A MINUTE: THE MANUFACTURE OF AURA AND RARITY IN THE WORLD OF SPORTS MEMORABILIA AND RAPID COMMEMORATION by Roger Draeger A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Media Studies at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee August 2016 ABSTRACT A HERO A MINUTE: THE MANUFACTURE OF AURA AND RARITY IN THE WORLD OF SPORTS MEMORABILIA AND RAPID COMMEMORATION by Roger Draeger The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2016 Under the Supervision of Professor Richard K. Popp This is a study of the contemporary sports memorabilia industry and its surrounding culture through the analysis of a pair of its biggest providers. The following research explores the business model of Steiner Sports and examines its methods concerning pieces of game-used memorabilia and personal artifacts.