Pop culture and the excitement of college sports rivalries
College sports have taken a new wave in the 21st century. According to Jones (2005), a lot of rivalries are derived from familiarity. This familiarity leads to “Border Wars” due to the fact that most rivalry schools are in the same state or they at least border one another. Additionally, these kind of rivalries are really big because of the recruiting ramifications. Rivalry schools like to showcase their best talent when playing one another, and the “crazy fans” get bragging rights over the millions of people in the stands and watching via TV. This kind of competition helps boost recruiting efforts along with giving hungry fans a huge thrust of adrenalin. These rivalries also help boost beer, jersey and school merchandise sales.
College sports have taken a new wave in the 21st century. According to Jones (2005), a lot of rivalries are derived from familiarity. This familiarity leads to “Border Wars” due to the fact that most rivalry schools are in the same state or they at least border one another. Additionally, these kind of rivalries are really big because of the recruiting ramifications. Rivalry schools like to showcase their best talent when playing one another, and the “crazy fans” get bragging rights over the millions of people in the stands and watching via TV. This kind of competition helps boost recruiting efforts along with giving hungry fans a huge thrust of adrenalin. These rivalries also help boost beer, jersey and school merchandise sales.
Now according to passionatesportsfans.com, “college sports fans are one of a kind when it comes to their favorite team.” Most college sports fans are extremely loyal, far exceeding the average professional team fan’s passion for sports. With that said, rivalries are generally when college sports fans take it to another level. College basketball games between the Duke University and the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and college football games between Ohio State and Michigan is something to watch, especially if you’re a fan of either team. During these rivalry games numerous fans are covered from their heads to their waists with paint representing his or her team. Major sports vendors and national TV organizations fight for a chance just to air such games. According to passionatesportsfans.com, you should be startled to see 90,000 LSU fans in Death Valley each game during football season. In addition to the 90,000 people in the stands, around 20,000 fans will be outside the stadium tailgating. As you can see, in today’s society the passion for college sports is incredible.
References:
College Sports Fans (2009). Retrieved on June 16, 2009 from http://www.passionatesportsfans.com/2009/03/31/college-sports-fans.html
Jones, Bomani (2005, September 1). ESPN. Why are rivalries so intense? Retrieved on June 16, 2009 from http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=jones/050902
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