ATHLETES CAUGHT IN PERSONAL FAILING: DOES WINNING TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING? By ANNELIE LINA SOPHIE SCHMITTEL A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2015 © 2015 Annelie Lina Sophie Schmittel To myself, as a reminder that anything is possible. And to my high school Latin teacher who told me I was never going to amount to anything: “Inveniam viam aut faciam” [I shall find a way or make one]. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There is not a single more important section of this dissertation than the one I am about to write and the one you, the reader, are about the read. Throughout my entire life I’ve been blessed to be surrounded by some of the kindest, most generous, hard-working, dedicated and smart people in the world. The first of which have been by my side since day one (literally): my dad and my mom, Manfred and Heidrun Schmittel. Dad, it is safe to say that without you I would not be where I am today. From the subtle nudge to study abroad in the U.S. at the age of 16, to letting me move to Minnesota permanently before even turning 18, from allowing me to embark on the longest educational endeavor known to mankind (like you, I never thought it would end), to always being there when I needed you. You have always encouraged and supported my journey; in fact, it was you who started and fostered my love for sports. You’ve always believed in me and my dreams, and you never second- guessed the strange decisions I’ve made along the way; for that I am forever grateful and indebted to you (and yes, even financially this is probably true!). You’ve taught me the value of being ambitious and always working harder than the next person. The amount of sacrifices you have made to get me to this point are beyond anything I will ever comprehend, but know that my success is every bit your success. Mom, you have been my biggest cheerleader and there is not enough ink or pages in this world to express my appreciation for everything you have done. For as many doubts as I have had throughout this process and throughout life, you’ve always found the right words of encouragement and your unmatched love and belief in me has driven me to always go the extra mile. 4 To Erik Steine, bless your heart for sticking with me over the last eleven years and more particularly throughout my doctoral studies. You have been my biggest supporter and I can honestly say I could not have gotten through the last years of trials and tribulations without you. Thank you for loving me, challenging me to always aim higher, for listening to me and my endless talks about research ideas, the latest sports news, and god-knows-what-else. Thank you for always having a hug ready for me, for giving me space when I needed it, for never making me feel bad about being busy with school, for always offering advice when I needed it, and for encouraging me to always be a better version of myself. Most importantly, thank you for teaching me everything I know about football and for making me fall in love with the sport and the people who play it. I am so lucky to have you in my life and I cannot wait to see where life takes us now that we will both be doctors (yes, yes, I know, you are the ‘real’ doctor- medical degree and all). There are so many other people who have supported and loved me throughout this process, and although I am sure the editorial office did not intend for me to write a whole dissertation worth of thank yous, I am so glad that there is a place in this document to acknowledge them all. My deepest gratitude goes to my dissertation chair, Dr. Debbie Treise who patiently guided me through my doctoral career. Without you, Dr. Treise, I could not have completed this dissertation. Your kindness, dedication, smarts, and care kept me going on this long and very windy road. Thank you for never giving up on me, for always talking me off the ledge, for always leaving your door open and never turning me away when I had ‘just one more question’, for sending me Burberry sale emails and 5 encouraging my terrible retail therapy behavior (Dad, it’s all her fault!), and for allowing me to spend 8 wonderful weeks in Europe with some of the greatest students and professors in our college over the last two summers. You are truly one of the smartest, funniest, toughest, and most devoted women I have ever had the pleasure of meeting and I am beyond thankful for all you have done for me. An enormous thank you to Professor Ted Spiker, who is not only the best teacher we have at the University of Florida, but also the greatest mentor any graduate student could ask for. You have had such a profound impact on my life and I will forever be grateful for you allowing me to be a part of the greatness that is #SportsMediaUF. You are the best role model in the classroom and I have learned an exponential amount from watching you teach and interact with students. If I can become half the educator you are, I will be just fine. Thank you for showing me what it is like to teach a class that you are so passionate about it never feels like work, for perfectly balancing fun and learning, for providing the most insightful practical non-researcher perspective, for creating some of my most memorable and funniest moments at UF (from Tweet-of-the- Week to ‘I’m a man, I’m 40’) and for always checking in with me to make sure I’m ok. Your support meant the world. Finally, thank you for all the rounds of boxing and Saturdays filled with Ted Torture workouts- couldn’t have made it without them! Thank you to Dr. Norm Lewis, who is the smartest man in Weimer. Since the day you handed me your 25-page syllabus for Perspectives you have challenged me to push my limits and to think beyond the obvious. Thank you for always having an open door and never being too busy, when really you are entirely too busy. There is not a single person other than my mom (and she has to do it) who I felt believed as much in 6 me as you have, Dr. Lewis, and I am forever grateful for all of your words of encouragement over the last three and a half years. You are a wonderful human being and I am fortunate to have been able to learn from you. To Dr. Mike Sagas, you were the very first person I asked to be on my dissertation committee. Your humbleness, inquisitiveness, dedication and kindness are radiating and I knew immediately that I wanted to work with you. Thank you for making the Florida Gym and the Department of Sport Management as much of a home for me as the College of Journalism and Communications. Thank you for always treating me like one of your own students and offering me endless amounts of incredible opportunities, including PAADS, teaching in your Athlete Development program, working the Bayern Munich camp, and even offering me an assistantship within five seconds of learning I desperately needed one. You truly are one of the best department chairs at UF and everyone who gets to work with you is incredibly lucky. No amount of thank yous will be enough for you and the rest of my dissertation committee. One of the most important thank yous goes to my research partner, friend, fellow pizza connoisseur, French fry lover, Blue Moon drinker, shoulder-to-cry-on-er, Kevin Hull. I’ve often said that I would not have made it through without you and while that may or may not be true, I am 100% certain that this whole journey would not have been nearly as fun and/or successful without you. As the two most inexperienced researchers coming into this program, fellow sports nerds and secret (or not so secret) homebodies we found each other and made the most of the past three years. We shared research interests, an office, and a myriad of conference trips across the country, first 7 publications, countless pizzas and Chic-fil-A fries, infinite laughs and even some tears. I am honored to call you a friend. Thank you for everything! Thank you to Jiyhe Kim for patiently teaching me statistics. You were an angel when I was in desperate need. I could not have completed this dissertation without your guidance. How you managed to get me to understand statistics is beyond me. Thank you to Krissy Birnbrauer for the late night company studying for qualifying exams, for always being only a phone-call away, for letting me cry about statistics, for the many shared celebrations and laughs, and most importantly for being such a great friend and an inspiration. Thank you to my partner-in-crime Nicki Karimipour who has traveled the world with me. There is no one I would have rather experienced study abroad with. We walked countless miles across a number of European cities together, visited more museums than either of us ever thought we would, ate an unhealthy amount of pizza, croissants, gelato, paninis, and even the occasional McDonalds, drank just the right amount of wine and aperitivos, took a million pictures, shared laughs and frustrations and made a million memories.