Pippa Carvell 2013 THE 'TWELFTH MAN' IN THE CYBER STANDS: Exploring Football Fan Discourse and the Construction of Identity on Online Forums This thesis is submitted to Cardiff University in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy September 2013 Pippa Carvell School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies Cardiff University 1 Pippa Carvell 2013 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ________________________________________________________________ Firstly, I would like to thank my supervisor, David Machin, for his continual support, advice and guidance, across the many miles, throughout the whole of this project. The Skype sessions were invaluable and the level of encouragement was incomparable. Likewise, I wish to thank Lucy Bennett for giving up so much of her time to read and provide feedback - I honestly appreciate it so much. I would like to extend my thanks to my admin' buddies at Swansea University for refraining from telling me how awful I looked in the mornings after nights of interrupted 'sleep', and particularly to Jenny, for going through it with me and providing the buckets of tea. To my wonderful Willit, who somehow appreciated that not every day was a walk day. To my brother, Rob, and my boyfriend, Adam, for managing to be both annoying and supportive in equal measure. To my best friends, Amy and Mair, for all the texts, phone calls, and wine. I'll whine less from now on, I promise. And lastly, but - as is ever the case with these things - most importantly, to my wonderful parents, for never questioning me, always supporting me, and encouraging me despite not really having a clue what I was writing about. For always making me realise that one of the few things that really matter in life is the support of those you love and who love you back. Life can be hard; you both always make it easier. This is dedicated to my grandparents; neither of whom cared for football, but both of whom cared an awful lot for me. Memories live longer than dreams. 2 Pippa Carvell 2013 ABSTRACT ________________________________________________________________ Some football fans go to matches, but what do others do? This thesis examines online football fan forums in order to explore the construction of fan identities and positions. By implementing a cyberethnographical approach supplemented by online interviews with fans, it explores how football fan communities operate, discussing aspects of forum management, control and hierarchies, all the while illustrating how these factors contribute to the development of individual and collective identities. In considering this, it presents football fans as inhabiting a multitude of complex positions, taking into account arguments of 'active' and 'passive' fandom and the importance of fan status (Hills, 2002.) I argue that that there has been a significant lack of research into 'everyday' football fandom, with both the mainstream media and academic perspectives preferring to focus on the extraordinary instances of performance and behaviour, which, I further argue, are simplistic in their treatment of fans. Mainstream media representations are addressed; with the latter sections of the thesis illustrating that discourses produced by fans themselves often contrast significantly with dominant narratives at play in the news media. The football fan is found to demonstrate articulate consideration for his/her own position, with this being frequently determined by the overriding importance of the team's success and the part that the fan plays in this. This is particularly apparent when considering national and regional allegiances, and how these can be seen to present regular areas of conflict in regards to dominant affiliation, yet all the while contributing to the fan's position as an extension of the football club. 3 Pippa Carvell 2013 CONTENTS ________________________________________________________________ CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION 7 1.1. Context................................................................................................................................7 1.2. Topic...................................................................................................................................8 1.3. Positioning the Research....................................................................................................9 1.4. Structure............................................................................................................................11 CHAPTER 2, PART 1 - WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT FANS? 13 2.1.Fans: An Introduction.........................................................................................................13 2.2. Fans 2.2.1. The Cult Fan.......................................................................................................16 2.2.2. Fan Communities and Fan Performance(s)........................................................21 2.2.3. Imagined Communities......................................................................................24 2.2.4. Hierarchies of Fandom.......................................................................................28 CHAPTER 2, PART 2 - WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT FOOTBALL FANS? 34 2.3.1. The Hoolifan..................................................................................................................34 2.3.2. Language, Nationalism and National Identity.................................................. 38 2.3.3. Nationalism and National Identity.....................................................................41 2.3.4. Class and Social Identity....................................................................................45 2.3.5. Women and Football..........................................................................................47 2.3.6. Active and Passive Fandom...............................................................................49 2.4. Internet Communities........................................................................................................52 2.4.1. Online Forums....................................................................................................55 2.3.2. Exploring Online Communities.........................................................................64 2.4. Conclusion........................................................................................................................66 CHAPTER 3 - METHODOLOGY 69 3.1. Introduction and Research Questions................................................................................69 3.2. Selection............................................................................................................................70 3.2.1. Team...................................................................................................................70 3.2.2. Forum.................................................................................................................71 3.2.3. Time...................................................................................................................72 3.3. Cyberethnography.............................................................................................................73 3.4. This Work..........................................................................................................................77 3.5. Online Interviews..............................................................................................................79 3.5.1. Why Online Interviews......................................................................................80 3.5.2. Sampling............................................................................................................80 3.5.3. Conducting the Interviews.................................................................................81 3.5.4. Questions and Case Studies................................................................................81 3.6. Conclusion.........................................................................................................................82 CHAPTER 4 - FOOTBALL FANS UNITED: CONSTRUCTING THE ONLINE COMMUNITY 83 4.1. Introduction.......................................................................................................................83 4.2. Not606: An Overview.......................................................................................................84 4.3. Members, Moderators and Management...........................................................................85 4 Pippa Carvell 2013 4.3.1. Members.............................................................................................................85 4.3.2. Moderators and Management.............................................................................87 4.4. Case Study: The "What Went Wrong" thread...................................................................90 4.4.1. Banning and the Not606 Community.................................................................96 4.5. New Users: Welcome to the Board!................................................................................101 4.6. Free Speech: Comment, Debate, Create... Freely...........................................................106 4.6.1. This is Our Board...Issues of Ownership and Community..............................110 4.7. Thinking of Calling it a Day: Leaving the Online Community......................................114 4.8. Hierarchies......................................................................................................................118