“Arguably the Greatest”: Sport Fans and Communities at Work on Wikipedia

This article explores the socially constructed space of Wikipedia and how the process and structure of Wikipedia enable it to act both as a vehicle for communication between sport fans and to subtly augment existing public narratives about sport. As users create article narratives, they educate fell...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sociology of sport journal 2009-03, Vol.26 (1), p.127-154
Main Author: Ferriter, Meghan M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Communication
Communities
Internet
Sports
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Summary:This article explores the socially constructed space of Wikipedia and how the process and structure of Wikipedia enable it to act both as a vehicle for communication between sport fans and to subtly augment existing public narratives about sport. As users create article narratives, they educate fellow fans in relevant social and sport meanings. This study analyzes two aspects of Wikipedia for sports fans, application of statistical information and connecting athletes with other sports figures and organizations, through a discourse analysis of article content and the discussion pages of ten sample athletes. These pages of retired celebrity athletes provide a means for exploring the multidirectional production processes used by the sport fan community to celebrate recorded events of sporting history in clearly delineated and verifiable ways, thus maintaining the sport fans’ community social values.
ISSN:0741-1235
1543-2785
DOI:10.1123/ssj.26.1.127