Autoethnography

An Autoethnography is a work that talks about a social, political or world topic/issue by drawing from personal experiences. This is a tremendously effective way of writing, because it allows audiences to relate to the writer rather than just hearing from a more formal completely unbiased source.

The Joys of Live Sports: How to Feel Alive

The go-ahead run touched home plate, and I was ecstatic. At 14 years old, the New York Yankees were the only thing I had a care in the world about, and now they were just 3 outs away from being just 2 wins shy of the World Series. As I began to bask in the glory of this incredible accomplishment that I had nothing to do with other than yelling at my TV, I heard my phone ring. It was my Aunt Amanda, also an avid Yankees fan, who I assumed was calling to talk about the crazy game we both had just witnessed. I picked up the phone, excited to talk some more about the game, but the subject of this phone call was slightly different than I had originally anticipated. “Would you be interested in going to the game tomorrow?” My aunt asked. A silly question of course. She asked the question knowing it would send me into a state of euphoria. I quickly accepted and thanked her profusely. This was going to be my first time seeing a Yankees playoff game in person, so as you could probably imagine, I was like a kid on Christmas eve.

An autoethnography is a work that talks about a social, political or world topic/issue by drawing from personal experiences. This is a tremendously effective way of writing, because it allows audiences to relate to the writer rather than just hearing from a more formal completely unbiased source. In this autoethnography I will be talking about the benefits of attending live sporting events while I use examples from my life.

The excitement I experienced at that moment was not unique to me. There are many avid sports fans around the world that would be just as or even more excited as I was in a similar situation. Why is this? As I mentioned before, I had nothing to do with the Yankees' thrilling victory, so why does the prospect of going to a live sporting event bring me and so many others such joy? The biggest factor has to be the sense of community you feel when surrounded by fellow fanatics of your team. As human beings we are always trying to belong or fit in. Sports offer such a great and easy way to belong to a community. You don’t have to take a test or live in a specific area to support a team. All that matters is that you like them and you’re willing to support them. Erin Blackmore of the Washinton Post writes about this very concept in her article about the effects of live sporting events on mental health. It is based off findings from a British study. “The study, published in Frontiers in Public Health, looked at data from a survey of 7,209 16- to 85-year-old people living in England. The survey asked participants questions about their lives and well-being, and included questions about whether they attended sporting events.” (Blackmore) The Study interestingly found that those who said they attended a sporting event in the past year were on average less lonely and had a greater sense of belonging. Although this study comes from our friends overseas, it is still extremely relevant to the topic at hand. Sports in Britain are arguably even more intense over there, so the effects would be even more pronounced. This is completely in line with my experience. As a fairly shy person, I have never felt more comfortable in my own skin than I have attending my favorite teams’ events. Everyone around me shares a similar interest and we’re all rooting for the same outcome. In the same Washington Post article Blackmore goes on to further explain the benefits of the findings from the study. “Our findings could be useful for shaping future public health strategies, such as offering reduced ticket prices for certain groups,” says Helen Keyes, head of the Anglia Ruskin University School of Psychology and Sport Science and the study’s lead author, in a news release.” (Blackmore) The idea of offering lowered ticket prices to certain groups to try and get them engaged in a team of some sort would most likely be a very beautiful and beneficial thing.

The game that cemented this idea of the importance of live sporting events was the Yankee game I would attend the next day after the thrilling victory I mentioned before. The time between my aunt asking me if I wanted to go to the game the previous night and finally making it to Yankee Stadium that day felt like 10 years. I could not wait to get inside the stadium and see what the New York playoff energy was all about. I was accompanied by my aunt, my uncle Duncan, and my cousin Alex. I think all 4 of us were nervous after walking into that stadium. The game obviously had big implications, but the energy in the stadium from all the anxious fans made the stadium feel like a living entity. As we made our way to our seats, the fans were already chanting and heckling the opposing players relentlessly. I am against heckling personally and would never do it myself, but at the same time, I could not help but smile at a true New York welcome. Luckily for us and the 46,000+ in attendance, the Yankees won the game and put themselves 1 win away from the World Series. New York Times reporter Billy Witz recounts the exciting events of the game I attended in his article that recaps the events of game 5 of the 2017 American League Championship series. “It was the Yankees’ young core that carried the offense on Wednesday, with Aaron Judge, Greg Bird, Gary Sanchez and Didi Gregorius delivering run-scoring hits, and Sanchez adding a final flourish with a solo home run in the seventh inning off reliever Brad Peacock.” (Witz) That young core that is referred to is a huge reason why I got into baseball as heavily as I did. To have new, young, and exciting players on a team is something that always gets fans excited.  After the Yankees got out to their big 5-0 lead, I had never seen so many people so collectively joyous. It was truly intoxicating. To see so many complete strangers high-fiving and embracing, almost as if they had known each other their whole lives, was really a sight to behold.  In the grand scheme of things, the Yankees winning game 5 of the 2017 ALCS does nothing for the greater good. So, while I recognize the actual insignificance of this moment in my life, it was one of the most memorable and enjoyable moments I can recall.

To get an even better sense of the sights and sounds at the time of the game we attended, I interviewed my aunt about the Yankees game we attended in 2017. I am very close with my aunt, and I thoroughly enjoyed talking to her, per usual. I didn’t want this paper to be a recount of only my experiences, so I made sure to get someone else's experiences documented. We shared mutual feelings over the importance of the game and the great fun we had. She spoke about the environment we experienced as soon as we walked into the stadium. “Oh my gosh. Probably the loudest place I’ve ever been in. I just remember immediately being worried for [my 6-year-old son’s] Alex's safety. Thankfully it turned out I didn’t have to worry about anything.” (Wiley). This interview helped refresh my memory and allowed me to mentally step inside the stadium again, so I could more accurately represent my time there. Speaking to my aunt was probably the best possible way to do that. Other than the actual events that took place on the field, we had another community building-type moment toward the end of the game. My cousin Alex was desperately trying to get a souvenir baseball to take home, but to no avail. Then something pretty awesome happened. My aunt offered her thoughts on this moment. “I felt so bad for him! He tried so hard the whole game to get a player or a coach or anyone to give him a ball and right as we were about to leave a man near us gave his ball to Alex. Just a perfect end to an amazing night.” (Wiley)

This is yet another shining example of the community aspect of going to live sporting events. The man realized that a fellow fanatic was going to potentially go home disappointed and instead of taking the selfish route, as many people often do, he made a 6-year-old's night and maybe even helped to grow his love for baseball even more.

Watching baseball is one of my favorite ways to escape. It’s something that practically everyone in my family has at least some interest in. Everyone should have at least one thing in their life that brings them as much joy as baseball does for me. This is why I would strongly encourage those who aren’t so much into sports to consider giving it a second look. It’s not going to absolutely alter your life, but it can be a great distraction from the troubled world around us. It’s a way to express yourself and not feel like you’re under a microscope. It helps people to feel a greater sense of belonging and community, which can only be a good thing in the long run. You could have had a terrible day at your job, your car could have been towed, or something else entirely, but you know that at some point you’ll get to sit down and watch your favorite team, and all your problems will dissipate.  Sometimes, the world is just too much to fathom, so it’s nice to watch some guys hit a ball with a stick for 3 hours.

Works Cited

Blakemore, Erin. “Watching Live Sports in Person May Be Good for You, Researchers Say.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 24 Mar. 2023, www.washingtonpost.com/health/2023/03/26/sports-fan-health-benefits/.

Wiley, Liam. Personal Interview, September. 2023

Witz, Billy. “Yankees Overcome a Nemesis as Masahiro Tanaka Stifles the Astros.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 Oct. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/10/18/sports/baseball/yankees-astros-alcs-game-5.html.