[...]... rather than a qualitative base Yet the evidence of my research suggests that the connection between class and taste in football fandom is more complex than can be accounted for through quantitative data alone In contrast to the universal popularity of football among groups with varying economic and educational capital, qualitative data reveals that football is still associated with particular social... I am a season-ticket holder That I pass as a fanatical fan (Vicky, Chelsea supporter) I think the fact that I had season tickets for two years, plus the fact that I am very enthusiastic when attending football matches, makes me a fan (Derrek, DC United fan) I watch all the games on TV and go to games as much as possible (Bob, DC United fan) Having an insatiable appetite for news and info on my team... football fandom as a space of projection and self-reflection Moving from the micro to the macro foundations of football fandom, the second part of my argument is dedicated to the cultural, social and economic conditions of football and fandom Chapter 4 analyses the impact of cultural universalization on football fandom, arguing that the cultural proliferation of football furthers the structural transformation... privatization’ were already established Television was part of a second generation of mass media that reinforced the structures of decentralized, private and mobile suburban life As Silverstone (1994: 62) argues, ‘the space for television had been created by a social and cultural fabric already prepared’ This social and cultural fabric was in turn an expression of the ever more central role of rationalized... relevant in football fandom Fans, as Fiske (198 9a: 7) argues, ‘draw sharp and intolerant lines between what, or who, they are fans of and what they are not’ In other words, fandom is a matter of taste Pierre Bourdieu, in Distinction (1984), has famously explored processes and patterns of taste in modern societies, and his enlightening analysis of taste also has much to offer for our understanding of. .. rise of football was as much an expression of the attempts of an enlightened middle class to establish new social and cultural values of rationalism as it was a reflection of technological change If we understand technologies as (rational) systems of organization as Simpson (1995) suggests, the crucial technological advance in the proliferation of modern football was born of the institutional network of. .. Deutsche Akademische Austauschdienst and the Department of Sociology at the London School of Economics I am indebted to my family and many friends My parents, Waltraud and Ulrich Sandvoss, and my grandparents, Walter and Ilsa Laue, have supported me as much as possible during most difficult times for themselves Lisa Pinsley made useful comments on many drafts of my work and undertook the laborious task of. .. discussion of fandom and consumption further, Chapter 3 analyses the processes and mechanisms through which the relationship between object of fandom (the football club) and football fans is constituted and maintained as football clubs become spaces of identification and self-reflection Chapter 2 Fan practices and consumption Having outlined the history of Association football, I now want to turn attention... Dictionary (1989) defines ‘fan’ as follows: A fanatic; in modern English [orig US]: a keen and regular spectator of a [professional] sport, orig of baseball; a regular supporter of a [professional] sports team; hence, a keen follower of a specified hobby or amusement, and gen an enthusiast for a particular person or thing Three aspects are worth noting here Firstly, fans are spectators This may seem banal,... interrelation between football fandom and cultural globalization, localization and deterritorialization The changing regimes of rationalized production and – through television – distribution of football provide the backdrop to the final part of this book, conceptualizing professional football as postmodern cultural form Chapter 6 illustrates the application of formal rational regimes – summarized under . Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Sandvoss, Cornel. A game of two halves: . Austauschdienst and the Department of Soci- ology at the London School of Economics. I am indebted to my family and many friends. My parents, Waltraud and Ulrich Sandvoss, and my grandparents, Walter and. leisure David Morley A Game of Two Halves Football, television and globalization Cornel Sandvoss Hiding in the Light On images and things Dick Hebdige Home Territories Media, mobility and identity David