Free Custom «Observation of a Sporting Event» Essay Paper

In this section, the focus is on a sporting event that I watched on television. The location is at Manchester, in the northern part of England. The sporting event is a football match pitying the two Manchester clubs: Manchester United vs Manchester City. The setting of the game is tense as reflected by the high level of passion that the two sets of fans demonstrate.

There are estimated seventy-five thousand people attending the match as fans from the two sides. The fans can be seen to fall into three sets. There is a category of fanatics which is enthusiastic about the game. Another set is moderately enthusiastic and cannot be classified as fanatical. The other one is classified lukewarm or normal. The latter class does not appear to be agitated as much as the initial group. The group could easily fit into any social event as the members are calm and appear to be in control of their emotions.

The elements of space are primary attributes that influence social relations (Horne & Manzenreiter, 2006). Put differently, observing the social distance among or between persons is critical in establishing the nature of relationships. In the competition, there are mainly friendly associations going by the distance that the attendees depict. The distance between most fans is sizable. This implies that they are close friends (Houlihan, 2003). At another instance, some people are seen to be so close with virtually no distance between them since they are cuddling. In my assessment, this group of fans could be more than just friends. Most probably, these are those fans who hold intimate relations owing to their closer proximity. However, given that the environment in the northern part of England is cold and rainy, the close distance among some fans could not explain their social relations. The view is held in regards to the perception that they could be doing it as a measure to overcome the low temperatures.

 

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The people in attendance come from various walks of life. Apart from some officials, the larger percentage of those in attendance is fans. The demographics of the fans are widespread. To begin with, the fans are from the age of six to seventy-five years. However, the majority of the fans fall between the ages of eighteen and forty. The economic status of the biggest percentage is middle class. This is apparent based on the kind of clothing that they adorn. Similarly, the cars they drive reflect this. A bigger percentage of the fans are of the male sex/gender. Perhaps, it is based on the notion that football is a male dominated game. It is difficult to tell the levels of education although from their conduct, it is hypothesized that most of them have at least college education. The ethnic origin of the attendees is predominantly white, although Blacks and Asian descendants are also present.

The players do not compare with the fans greatly. However, in regards to ethnicity, there are big similarities. However, going by the social status, the players seem to be ahead of most fans. Unlike the fans, the players appear to come from the same social class. This sub-culture has such names as the devils, dragons, gunners, indispensables, etc. Often, they also use a dirty language. The terms are attached to the groups as they carry the same meaning amongst members. Often, the words are meant to glorify the teams supported while at the same time, they imply demean the opposing teams.