Class feedback on 9/11 & Sports Media: Themes

(Originally published 9/12/11)

Image: gawker.com 

I asked my Sports, Media & Society class to share (on our class Facebook page) instances where the 10-year anniversary of 9/11 was referenced in the live sports events they watched over the weekend or in other media they consumed about sports (e.g., news & commentary). Further, I asked them to note how this media content made them think and feel, and how they thought other people would think and feel about the media content. If you were watching this weekend's NFL games or the U.S. Open tennis tournament, you'll know that visuals and commentary related to the 10th anniversary of 9/11 were everywhere.

In lecture today, I offered the class a "quick and dirty" analysis of themes from their responses. After the jump are the five themes I identified from the content they shared and/or their impressions of that media. For each theme, I've included a couple examples of the media content they shared.

Three dominant themes 

(note: there was considerable overlap in themes)

"Inspirational"

The story of the man in the red bandana on September 11th 2001 and how he saved up to twelve lives in the south tower of the Twin Towers. He was a college lacrosse player for Boston College and he also played hockey in high school so this story aired on ESPN’s Outside The Lines.

This article is of a girl who writes about her experience of the day of September 11th, 2001. She recounts her day and what she had been experiencing on that horrific day. She reminds us of how our lives have forever been altered in the way we go about daily lives such as flying and traveling overseas and even how we attend public sporting events.

"Patriotic/Unifying"

There were many 9/11 tributes that went on in many NFL games today. These photos are just a taste of what went down. Each of these photos has something patriotic about it.

This is a page posted on espn.com telling about this history of the National Anthem in sports and why its so important to all of us.

"New York Athletes/Coaches & 9/11"

This video has Joe Torre, the long-time Yankees manager share his experience from 9/11 and how the Yankees did their part to comfort their city. He talks about the days shortly after the attacks and then talks about the World Series from that year.

There's a specific video on this website where some of the players and the coach from the New York Mets reflect on where they were 10 years ago and the experiences that they went through on 9/11.

This video was shown on sportscenter to show the perspective of the NY teams' coaches the days after 9-11. It also describes the way sports help the city get back to normalcy.

Two Periphery Themes

"9/11 & Uniform Policies"

This article is all about how the NFL is very strict in allowing players to change their uniforms in any way, even if it is in remembrance of 9/11. 

On Friday, the NFL announced that it would allow its players to wear special gear in commemoration of the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks. 

"Sports as Distraction/Diversion"

This SI article talks about how sports has grown exponentially since 9/11 based on what it provides people with; something that people can agree to disagree on and recognize that the world will keep spinning no matter what the outcome may be. 

This video shows several players giving their own experiences with 9/11 and how they each reacted differently and their thoughts on how baseball was able to bring America together at a time that was so emotional. (Note: baseball described as both diversion and unifying)

Class discussion 

After talking about each of these themes, I started a discussion about whether the use of 9/11 imagery and commentary around sports could be seen from both a functionalist perspective (as much of the class' posts reflected) and from a conflict theory perspective (as a means of manufacturing consent for the Iraq & Afghanistan wars and the Homeland Security State). I showed part of a clip from "Buying the War" and suggested that patriotic & unifying imagery in the wake of 9/11, including that around sports, contributed to the wider "drumbeat" for war. On Wednesday we'll discuss whether the 9/11 symbols around sports this weekend--especially those paired with shots of service members--provide an explanatory and justificatory framework for the subsequent policy developments of the last decade.