Sportsiology

While we often think about deviance as being a negative for society, there are many sociologists who recognize a purpose for it. Durkhiem says that one of the four functions of deviance is to release tension, and while sporting events shouldn’t be deviant, fans do participate in deviant acts during sporting events like they wouldn’t any other place. The negative interactions that fans can have with players (like the events which led to the brawl at The Palace or Charles Barkley and the Miami fans or with each other (the Giants fan beat up in Dodgers stadium, the little kid in the Jets uniform tackled by a Browns fan represent, what we hope, is abnormal behavior in the non-sports life of sports fans. One hopes that because they have the release of the game, and the drinks and the rowdiness (or in other cultures, the hooliganism), they can control those urges in other places. I think the big question here is why are sporting events an allowable place for this? It seems as though there is historical precedence for this—the amount of rowdiness displayed by the Greek during arena fights comes to mind—but is this really why Jet fans at Gate D at Giants Stadium used to grope women and request flashing during halftime?