Social interaction during sport events

In interviews, almost all the informant says they preferred watch the sport events with others. They think via watching together, they could share their opinion and emotion about the game with others, and further create exciting atmospheres and enhance the pleasure of the game. The social context and behaviors during sport events would be revealed in this section.

A. Group viewing prerequisite

a.1) Watching together only when significant games

Although the entire informants claim they preferred watch the sport events with others, they usually watch alone, and would only watch the games with other peers when they both know each other might have interest about the game. Moreover, the games itself are usually

huge and significant, such as playoffs or world cups, or have the player and team them both supports.

“I would only invite others to watch the significant sport events together, because these are something worth to see and everyone would pay much more attention on.” (P4)

a.2) Geographically close prompting to watch together

When this significant game are about to arrive, people will notice and invite their peers to watch the game together, and generally they will tend to invite the peers who are “close” to them, not only relationally but also geographically. Since close friends will make them feel more comfortable and careless to express themselves and a closer distant might be easier for them to gathering in the same place to watch together without paying great effort.

“I would like to invite acquaintances who live close to me to watch the sport events together. This is much convenient for both of us!”(P1)

a.3) Better viewing environment enhancing enjoyment

Most of our informants feel that watching sport game with their peers is a kind of enjoyment, so they would like to pursuit a higher quality of the game, such as watching at a bigger screen and place, sometimes even go to the sport bar if the situation permitted. Some informants even say they might prepare related sport equipment to enhance and facilitate the interaction during the game.

“Watch sport events together with friends are something enjoyable and relaxing, it deserve a better viewing quality” (P2)

B. Thoughts of collocate viewer

b.1) Supporter sharing the recognition

Our informant also share some subtle thought about the collocate viewer they tend to invite to watch the game together. All informants say they prefer invite people who have a similar mindset and attitude with them about the game, or support the same teams and players.

They think via sharing the same thought and emotion, they could feel being supported and accompany by others.

“I would invite someone who shares the same idea with me to watch the game together. It feels good when you can share the emotion and being supported by others.”(P6)

b.2) Antagonist facilitating social interaction

Interestingly, many of our informants also refer that they would like to invite people who might hold an opposite ideas about the game against them, such as support the opponent of the game. The hostility situation, our informants consider, might facilitate the discussion, brings much more fresh view point and topic while watching sport events. But they also refer that the antagonist they invite will only reluctant to acquaintance, since the hostility discussion might offend people who are not intimate with them. However, few people in the interview claim they were not intent to invite antagonist, as they concern the criticize words might hurt the relationship of each other.

“If I watch the games with people I do not quite familiar, I would follow the mass support tendency in order to avoid saying something wrong or offend others. But if I watch with acquaintances, teasing around each other’s favorite player or team would be a great pleasure of the game” (P1)

“We love to joke around other’s favorite player when watch the game together, since we all acquaint to each other, no one would care about the offending words” (P5,P6)

b.3) Mix group, the best

Some informants who prefer to invite antagonist even think the best watching circumstances is to watch with the “mix group”, which some people share the same ideas with our informants while others hold an opponent opinion about the game. They say this kind of circumstances could usually raise an intense atmosphere, stimulus and generate variety topics to talk, and most important, fire up emotion via against each other, pouring energetic of interaction and lead to an ultimate viewing experience.

“It is best when watch the game with both supporters and antagonists. Those supporters would help me to against antagonists, and the squabble situation make the watching experience become much exciting and interesting” (P1)

b.4) Preferring viewer with more or less common sense

Lots of our informants say they prefer to invite people who might have similar understanding of the game as them. The informants explain these people are familiar with the rules and process of the game, so they both share the same aware of “important and unimportant moments” which smooth the conversation timing during sport events. Some informants even claim they feel frustrating when they watching the games with someone who is new to the sport events, because they have to be keep explaining the rules and situations to another person, and these newcomer will always talking a unrelated topic in a

weird timing which could interrupt and bothering the watching experience.

“Watching sport events with others who are unfamiliar with the rules are sometime quite disturbing, because I might need to keep explaining the game and interrupted by unrelated chatting.” (P4)

C. Social interaction with peers during sport events

c.1) Interaction changeable with game flow

All of our informants say that most of the times while they watching sport events, their talking topics will stay around the game itself, such as commenting each plays or even talk about other relate game or even the sport they play. Especially when the “burst events”

comes, they would further put all their attention to it, talking, shouting, share the exciting emotion about the events with collocate viewers. Conversely, during the “unimportant moments”, they would shift the talking to other topics which might nothing to do with the game itself, such as the gossip about their peers or other life anecdotes.

“Since most of the sport events we watch together would be significant game, everyone would focus and talk more about the game itself, unless the commercial or some boring timing, we might engage in chitchat” (P4)

“We talk less during those intense moments of the game and chat more when those leaving timing when I watch alone, but there are times we would celebrate and shouting for some exciting plays.” (P1)

c.2) Interaction only if remote peers interest

Besides, our informants reported that they will also interact with their remote sport peers while watching sport events. They might use different devices and networks to chat or share information with their peers, but as a prerequisite, they have to know first that their peers might have interest about the game.

Our informants say they would assume their peers would feel interesting if the games are important to them, such as playoffs or the games are played by their favorite player. Or, they might saw their peers are on-line at social network site during sport event, and further guess they might watching the same game as they are. Under these circumstances, they would actively chatting or sharing information about the game with the remote peers, especially when “burst events” happened.

“Sometimes I would call my friends to recommend some important sport game to them, or chat during the game when I saw they are on-line, especially when exciting events happened.” (P3)

c.3) Collocate viewer instead of remote viewer

In the interview, most of our informants say they would not intend to interact with other remote peers or use other devices if they are watching the sport events with collocate peers.

As they claim the real social interaction with collocate viewers could replace the virtual interaction and entertainment, bring more pleasure of the game.

“I would not use my laptop when I watch the sport events with friends, because the real interaction could replace any other entertainment.”(P2)

However, some participants in the interview also reported they would like to share the viewing experience with remote peers who are also acquaint with the collocate viewers.

“There are sometimes we would call our friends to share the information about the sport events we are watching, it just like he also watches the game with us” (P5, P6)

D. Social interaction with strangers during sport events

As the aforementioned, all of our informants acknowledge they preferred watch the sport events with others. However, when ask about their normal watching situation, these informants report that most of the time they just watch alone. But, they will stay on the BBS boards which are related to the sport events they are watching. The BBS board works as a platform which brings a huge amount of passionate strangers who share same interest about the game as our informants are, and provide a great opportunity for they to see how others’

reaction toward the same game.

d.1) Stranger as a role of companion

Our informants says they would keep checking the update discussion and information on the BBS throughout the game, especially when the “burst events” arrive, because they would curious about what others might think about the play they just saw, and if others share the same idea and emotion as they are.

“If there are some exciting event happened during the game, I would immediately check the related discussion about the event on the BBS board, because I want to know what others reaction.” (P4)

Same ideas shared by many of our informants, they think when their peers cannot watch the game with them, those viewers on the BBS can brings a feeling of accompany to they, even if they are strangers. Some informants even say sometimes they could share the emotion by just simply watch the discussion on the board, and watching these interesting comments have become one of the pastime to them, especially during the unimportant moments of the game.

“When there are no one can watch the game with you, BBS are your best friends” (P2)

d.2) Following sport events via strangers’ discussion

Interestingly, as our informants referred, they would keep staying on the BBS boards even if they have already turned off the broadcasting channel. This would happen in two situations.

Firstly, the game is over, but our informants wants to know what other viewers’ opinion about the game, they think others’ comment sometimes are funny and fresh, and they can find pleasure or even understand more about the game.

“Usually, I would stay on the BBS board for a while after the game, because I want to know others’ comments and thoughts or some related statics about the game.” (P3)

Secondly, the game itself is too boring, so our informant shut the channel down, but they will keep following the game via the discussion on the BBS, and if people start enthusiastically talking about the situation on the board, their curiosity would be raised again and then going back to the channel again.

“I would turn off the broadcasting channel if the game is really boring, but there are sometime I was attracted by the exciting discussion on the BBS board and go back to the channel again. The impact of others on the boards is huge to me.”(P5)

d.3) Conservative interaction with strangers

Although most our informants regard BBS as a great source of pleasure and bring a feeling of accompany to them, they do not actively interact with other viewers on the board, because they are strangers. As our informant’ report, usually they just browsing the board, since they do not know other viewers’ intention, and afraid their opinions might be criticized by those viewers. Therefore, they would post their thought onto the board only if they are pretty familiar about the game or have seen some opinions that are inappropriate or even make them feel offended. Besides, most of the replies by our informants on the BBS are highly relate to the sport events, since they do not know these viewers, it hard to talk about other topics with them.

“I would post my thought on to the BBS boards only if I am familiar with the game, otherwise I might afraid the opinions are not persuasive enough to convince others, even if I really want to share.”(P2)