“Just Watching It Again Now Still Gives Me Goose Bumps!”: Examining the Mental Postcards of Sport Spectators

Abstract

In a highly mediated world, iconic sporting moments are repeatedly relived, with their significance reinforced by a series of media montages. These narratives form the basis of a series of collective, shared memories within a society. Despite the power that collective memories may have, iconic sporting moments may also have private significance for an individual. In this paper, we examine these, what might be termed “mental postcards.” The study was conducted within the West Midlands of the UK, with participants asked to identify their most memorable moment as a spectator of sport. Though respondents’ accounts were idiosyncratic, highly individualized, and covered a range of sports, thematic coding revealed four specific themes: “What a Hero,” “Never Say Die,” “Being There,” and “We Won.”

Reflections on Communication and Sport

“…The second influence is a profound sense of alienation and frustration amongst female athletes and fans of women’s sport who have described themselves as “pissed off” and angry about absent, irregular, or ambivalent coverage (Bruce, 1998a, p. 385). Finally, it appears that both females and males come to accept mediasport as primarily a male domain (Griggs, Leflay, & Groves, 2012; Lines, 2000, 2002). Young people appear to be strongly influenced by the overwhelming focus on male sports: “Young people’s sports discourse revolves around men.…”

“I Never Saw Him Play but We Were the Best of Friends for Years”

“…Thus far, individual sporting memories (whether real or virtual) have attracted little academic attention (Griggs et al, 2012), but the tone of many of the blogs for players once known and now lost is rooted within nostalgic memories (Stewart, 1993). What researchers have referred to as “reflective” (Boym, 2001) or “private nostalgia” (Healey, 1991) has generated memories that are ideal vehicles for providing widely understood and “tellable” stories that have become deeply embedded into a specific culture (Snyder, 1991).…”

“…In the highly mediated world within which we live, sport has become a pervasive element within many homes (Horne, 2006). Consequently, the pictures of sport in our minds and the performances of sporting figures are framed by their media presentation (Griggs, Leflay, & Groves, 2012, 2013). This is as equally applicable to the coverage of the performance of a player during a football match watched on television, where camera angles are selected and commentary is consumed, as it is to the statistical presentation and performance of the same player on a computer game (Weiss, 1996).…”