As I switch on my TV, to watch my favourite basketball team play, the Toronto Raptors I drift apart into a different universe, with the full involvement on the team.
Jenkins’ 1992 book Textual Poachers focuses on audiences, and how audiences are passive, and an overall fandom is an alternative community. Media content becomes universally parallel as an audience becomes more passive. Let’s use my basketball team as an example, my team is based in Canada, but I am a passive fan from Australia and local to global aspects rise. Media, broadcasting and the sharing on social media further allows for the fandom to rise. For instance, last year’s NBA Finals in which the Raptors won, according to CBC, Canadian athletes watched their team worldwide, leading to a boost in the franchise and fandom of the club. This allowed the ESPN media entity to show more Raptors games as they grow in popularity. Highly based on the notion of studying fans and how loyalty equates to boosting fandom.
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Photo by Adrian Lang on Pexels.com
Early study models are not reliable anymore, as they do not focus on the media boost in which we have seen in the world in the 21stcentury. Fans used to be seen as gullible and susceptible to lies told within media entities. Now, fans are more active than ever, and ultimately drive the media in which they love to make money. I heavily follow the Raptors Instagram page and check on a daily basis for new photos to add to my already massive album. On top of this, I collect cards of my favourite player Kyle Lowry, driven by media as I see advertising on my socials. This could not be taken into account within early study models as the media was not prominent, or even existent back then to add an audience interaction with media component to it. In 1910, being a fan of anything was considered unusual.
As we further study fans, we further see the corroboration between fans and media and how that shapes media entities. Yes, I will bring it back to basketball again. Fans want to wear what their players wear. So, the NBA Store ships worldwide and has exclusive offers on current trending items. Fans ultimately dictate how and what a media entity to do to further spread its audience.
Media stars have a huge influence on fandom and a common example of a corroboration with a media entity. Drake, the world-renowned rapper is the global ambassador for the Raptors. For those who watch the games, he’s on the sidelines hyping up the crowd, and also hyping up my couch! Fans of Drake corroborate with his social media and his posts and will in turn support the team he supports. CBS News support this claim, indicating that Drake is indeed loyal to the team from the north. Especially the crazy ones. Explaining this concept of passive fans and how fans become produser, playing a role in decisions made by entities.
In fact, the name ‘Raptors’ was voted for by fans, eluding to how fans are a major stakeholder in the overall brand and image of the media entity of the Raptors. The name also brings together several media entities, the fans, the team and Jurassic Park, the concept in which the team was named after. According to Bardown.com. the Raptors were heavily invested in pop culture.
References
Adrian Lang, Pixaby Photos, tower near high rise buildings, photograph, accessed 20th of April 2020, “https://www.pexels.com/photo/tower-near-high-rise-buildings-3727070/” rel=”nofollow”>Pexels.com</a>
Bardown Staff, The Raptors were almost named the dragons, which would have worked perfectly today, Bardown.com. Available at: https://www.bardown.com/the-raptors-were-almost-named-the-dragons-which-would-have-worked-perfectly-today-1.835389
Celebrity fans of every team, CBC. Available at: https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/celebrity-fans-of-every-nba-team/7/
Jenkins, H, 1992, Textual Poachers, United States of America, Routledge.
The Canadian Press, (2019) Raptors fandom goes global as Canadian athletes cheer Toronto team, CBC. Available at: https://www.cbc.ca/sports/basketball/nba/canadian-athletes-cheer-raptors-1.5149665
Mavro Productions 