Read and Download Ebook Superfans: Into the Heart of Obsessive Sports Fandom... Superfans: Into the Heart of Obsessive Sports Fandom George Dohrmann PDF File: Superfans: Into the Heart of 1 Obsessive Sports Fandom... Read and Download Ebook Superfans: Into the Heart of Obsessive Sports Fandom... Superfans: Into the Heart of Obsessive Sports Fandom George Dohrmann Superfans: Into the Heart of Obsessive Sports Fandom George Dohrmann A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist pulls back the curtain on the extraordinary inner lives of America's most obsessive sports fans. There are fans, and then there are fanatics. In this wondrously immersive look at American sports fandom, George Dohrmann travels the country to find out what distinguishes an ordinary, everyday enthusiast from that special breed of supporter known as the superfan. In Minnesota, Dohrmann meets newly minted generals of the Viking World Order, a Minnesota Vikings affinity group organized along military lines. In Oregon, he shares a few beers with a determined soccer fan who amassed--almost singlehandedly--a four-thousand- strong cheering section for the fledgling Portland Timbers. In Illinois, he talks with the parents of a five- year-old boy whose intense hatred of Tom Brady went viral on YouTube. Through these and other intimate profiles, Dohrmann shows us the human faces behind the colored face paint, the real people inside the elaborate costumes who prowl the stands and parking lots at stadiums from coast to coast. In addition to the fans themselves, Dohrmann also talks with the experts who study them. He uses the latest thinking in sports psychology--some of it learned during a spirited round of miniature golf with a group of professors at the annual Sports Psychology Forum--to unravel the answers to such burning questions as: How does fandom begin? What are its effects on everyday life? When does it go too far? For everyone who's ever body-painted their torso with the team colors of their alma mater before heading off to a sports bar--or even just screamed at their television during the NBA Finals--Superfans offers an entertaining and insightful exploration of the many ways human beings find meaning in something bigger than themselves. Featuring photos of the Rally Banana, Timber Jim, the officers of the Viking World Order, a pair of Kentucky Wildcats tattoos, a Kevin Durant jersey torched by a jilted fan, and more. Plus analysis of the . Arizona State Sun Devils - Chicago Bears - Dallas Cowboys - Green Bay Packers - Indianapolis Colts - Milwaukee Brewers - Nebraska Cornhuskers - New England Patriots - Oklahoma City Thunder - Philadelphia Eagles - San Diego State Aztecs - Seattle Seahawks "Well reported and meticulously researched . Dohrmann is a respected, diligent sportswriter and has been so for years--you don't get Pulitzers for message-board posts."--The Wall Street Journal Superfans: Into the Heart of Obsessive Sports Fandom Details Date : Published February 20th 2018 by Ballantine Books ISBN : 9780553394214 Author : George Dohrmann Format : Hardcover 224 pages Genre : Sports and Games, Sports, Nonfiction, Social Science, Psychology, Sociology PDF File: Superfans: Into the Heart of 2 Obsessive Sports Fandom... Read and Download Ebook Superfans: Into the Heart of Obsessive Sports Fandom... Download Superfans: Into the Heart of Obsessive Sports Fandom ...pdf Read Online Superfans: Into the Heart of Obsessive Sports Fandom ...pdf Download and Read Free Online Superfans: Into the Heart of Obsessive Sports Fandom George Dohrmann PDF File: Superfans: Into the Heart of 3 Obsessive Sports Fandom... Read and Download Ebook Superfans: Into the Heart of Obsessive Sports Fandom... From Reader Review Superfans: Into the Heart of Obsessive Sports Fandom for online ebook Matt says 60% of Americans identify as sports fans, and if you're reading this review you probably count yourself among the ranks of athletic partisans. Originally inspired by his experiences fielding calls from irate readers while working the sports desk at The Los Angeles Times at the start of his journalistic career, sportswriter George Dohrmann explores the most extreme depths of fandom in his new book Superfans and details the psychology behind such behavior. It is not as gripping or powerful as his absolutely fantastic Play Their Hearts Out but Superfans is a breezy and enjoyable application of pop psychology to the sporting realm. Dohrmann is currently a writer for The Athletic and previously served as an investigative reporter for Sports Illustrated and won a Pulitzer Prize for a series of articles revealing academic fraud at the University of Minnesota while at the St. Paul Pioneer-Press. He is a tremendously gifted writer with a knack for deep and engaging character portraits. Superfans has a bit more an educational bent than some of his other work but he still excels at bringing to life and colorful and outrageous fans he meets such as Steven Nevets, the founder of the Portland Timbers' Timbers Army and the eccentric forefather of fan psychology Dr. Dan Wann. Superfans bounces around the major aspects of fandom including illusions of control, affiliation and identification, and hatred or rivals. Each chapter has a mix of profiles and a little detail on relevant studies. Given the minutia researched across a variety of academic disciples, I was surprised to learn the marginalized position of fan psychology within academia. Most of the leading researchers are concentrated in pedestrian universities and for whatever reason cluster in the Midwest. Dohrmann usually mentions the conclusions of each article, but I wish he provided more detail at the psychological concepts hypothesized as causing such findings. The book might have benefited from a co-author from academia to give the book a little more scientific heft. I realize it is intended for sports fans more than psychologists, but if you are looking for some meaty psychological and neurological explanations you may find yourself wanting. The majority of studies in the space seem to be quirky and along the lines of "The Impact of Team Identification on Biased Ratings of Odors." Some of these studies are legitimately fascinating and it is great for them to be shared with a broader audience. However, a good portion of the research papers lean heavily on self-reporting and I would imagine that the approach could cause some issues. It doesn't take a PhD to acknowledge that sometimes passionate sports fans can be a tad biased, especially when reflecting on their own behavior. Sometimes the conclusions are essentially reaffirmations of common sense, such as the notion that fathers are hugely influential in shaping rooting interests and that many fans are looking for social acceptance and a sense of camaraderie. Dohrmann also largely ignores sports fans beyond America's shores, and I would have appreciated expanding the book's geographical scope, especially when it comes to some of the more soccer-mad countries. Gripes aside, Superfans was still quite a fun read. Dohrmann writes with a sense of compassion and empathy for the fan and he gives his superfan subjects a sense of humanity that can be lacking in some accounts. It's a nice mix of sociology and psychology applied to the sports fan, a topic that for some reason has largely been ignored by the brobdingnagian pop psychology publishing world to this point. Sure, I would have liked some more scientific rigor in some of its explanations (a psych professor co-author could have done wonders) but I still had a good time with Superfans and think it will appeal to any sports fan with at least a passing interest in the social sciences. 7.5 / 10 PDF File: Superfans: Into the Heart of 4 Obsessive Sports Fandom... Read and Download Ebook Superfans: Into the Heart of Obsessive Sports Fandom... Sam Sattler says George Dohrmann's "Superfans" is a study of how meaningful sports, and favorite sports teams, can become in the lives of their fans. Some people identify so closely with their favorite team that their whole lives seem to revolve around the ups and downs of those teams' competitive seasons. Others are more casual fans or bandwagon fans who come and go largely depending on the won-loss records of their local teams (or teams with which they have some other kind of tie: an old school or childhood memory, for instance). "Superfans" tries to answer why some fans take it all a whole lot more seriously than others. Anyone who has ever attended a professional sporting event probably has seen one of Dohrmann's "superfans" more than once, those who arrive at the venue covered in team-colored war paint, wigs, and costumes that leave little doubt as to their level of loyalty to the home team. Dohrmann has chapters on specific fans who have detrimentally let it take over their lives to fans who have greatly benefited from their close identification with a team. I was especially touched by the chapter titled "Salvation Army" that profiles Jim Serrill, a man who became closely associated with the Portland Timbers soccer club, so closely, in fact, that when Serrill's daughter died in a tragic auto accident, it was the team that largely brought him back from the brink of despair. Another memorable chapter called "Breaking Away" describes the process of what happens when rabid fans lose interest in their favorite team or, more likely, in their favorite sport and how difficult it is for them to finally let go. This is something that I suspect is probably happening all across the country these days with NFL fans who are finally growing fed up with professional football's politicalization and concussion problems. All in all, this is a book unlikely to appeal to readers who are not sports fans, but fans who see a little of themselves in what Dohrmann has to say about superfans are likely to enjoy it and learn a little about themselves from it.