Document Type
Poster
Publication Date
Spring 2015
Abstract
This Creative Inquiry project studied post-game Twitter messages (i.e., "Tweets") in the aftermath of closely contested rivalry games in college football/basketball to learn more about how fans react to victories/defeats using social media. We aimed to determine whether or not these reactions would mirror the predictions from thedisposition theory of sports spectatorship (Zillmann, Bryant, & Sapolsky, 1989). According to this theory, enjoyment of sports will be maximized when an intensely liked team defeats an intensely disliked team. Conversely, when an intensely liked team loses to an intensely disliked team, "negative enjoyment" occurs. Using Radian6 software in the Social Media Listening Center, we were able to pinpoint the end of closely contested rivalry games and study tweets from fans of the victorious and losing teams. Tweets from each game were saved and coded into themes separately by each member of the CI team. Next, CI members along with their faculty advisor discussed the themes they felt emerged from the tweets overall and achieved consensus about each contest being studied, and then sought consensus for themes that emerged across games.
Recommended Citation
Spinda, John; Sheehan, Avery; Paul, Courtney; Chandler, Grace; Rouse, Taylor; Maxson, Sarah; Rose, Carly; Chapin, Carlee; Heil, Michaela; Skelley, Brooke; and Kornegay, Katie, "The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat: Using the Social Media Listening Center to Examine Post-game Twitter Content in College Rivalry Games" (2015). Focus on Creative Inquiry. 102.
https://open.clemson.edu/foci/102
Comments
Poster presentation at Clemson University 10th Annual Focus on Creative Inquiry Forum, Clemson, SC.