The influence of social media on the sports fans culture analysis by the case study of The Chinese women

王倩文　孙正林

Abstract：In recent year， the development of social media has had a main effect on all types of industry all over the world. The Internet has shortened the distance between people further to promote the interaction between them. The social media as the delivery tool not only can make the relationship between the sports fans and athletes closer but also can provide a space for people to express their thoughts on the athletes competition without reservation， whether positive and negative. Therefore， the social media as a relatively fair platform which offers the right to speak freely for everyone. This essay is a research essay which aims to by analyzing the case of the Chinese womens badminton athletes lost a match on purpose in 2012 London Olympic Games to discuss the influence of social media on the sports fans culture. This essay will use some academic and non-academic resource to evidence this topic.

Keywords：Olympic Games， Social Media， Sports Fans， Interactivity， Athletes

Case description

This case is a Chinese badminton athletes scandal in the 2012 London Olympic Games. The Chinese women's badminton team entered the London Olympics as the world's No. one and No. two， that makes it possible for them to win gold and silver medals （Richard Allen Greene， 2012）. However， due to the new Olympic Badminton Rules， the two Chinese teams will meet in the semifinals， depriving China of the opportunity to win gold and silver medals. Therefore， Yu yang and Wang xiaoli who were the London Olympic Games badminton womens doubles top seed， they in order to avoid to compete with their teammates in the ? competition， so they played the match-fixing game and passive play to lost the game against Korea on purpose （Li， 2012）. Then， the world badminton federation immediately announced that disqualified those players from the competition and that means they lost the chance of the Olympic Games （Roxborough， 2012）. In addition， this scandal spread quickly by social media platform which became a hot topic at that time （The Hollywood Reporter， 2012）. There is the much different voice in the fans. Some of the fans made a comment to supports the two athletes; others were blaming and complaining about Yu yang and Wang xiaoli. Nevertheless， this scandal had a serious influence on their sports career.

Analysis

With the power of social media， the sports fans culture has formed a special culture in the sports industry （Sanderson， 2013， p502）. Why the sports fans culture can have a deep influence on the athletes sports career？ Sports fans are a group of people who always adore and support athletes， and fans mood often ups and downs with the athletes competition ranking （Li， 2012， p2）. In addition， the four-year Olympic Games is the grand event of all people who love sports， because when the heroic victory does not belong to the life of most people， the Olympic Games provides people with a feeling of glory （Roxborough， 2012）. In modern society， sports fans can watch the live competition by digital device; discuss and celebrate with others by social media platform， even left the name-calling comment to the athletes. By interaction between the social media and sports fans culture， that offered a chance for athletes to attain more attention （Li， 2012， p2）.

The negative influence of social media on sports fans culture

When sports fans have formed a connection relationship with each other during the online communication environment， they should think about the information content from the four values perspective， such as integrity， responsibility， righteousness and benevolence （Ruihley and Hardin， 2014， p1）. For most of the sports fans， the Olympic Games represent the passion and justice. However， for most of the Chinese sports fans， the badminton made them proud， because of Chinese badminton teams ability allows them always won the Olympic medal. When this scandal appeared， some of the fans said they were shamed for this competition because they think Chinese Badminton Team violated the spirit of the Olympic Games， and that made them lost the faith to the Chinese badminton team （Li， 2012）. Through the social media platform promotion， the Chinese badminton team has been no longer symbols of responsibility and Justice， and that caused the wrong values to fans. In addition， the spread feature of social media will expand sports fans panic and anger （Sanderson， 2013， p502）. When those anger has formed an opinion trend which will have a bad influence on the reputation of an athlete （Sanderson， 2013， p500）. Even though this scandal happened in London， because of the social media platform， the fans can discuss immediately. Although the Chinese badminton team explained the process， but it did not stop fans rage. The Chinese badminton team cannot image and calculate the damage of the scandal to fans and themselves. Furthermore， most of the affinity of the sports account on the social media platform comes from the sports fans， which also includes many negative comments. Fans are still free in the online world; nobody can restrict fans right to speak， or control them only can write the positive words （Seo and Green， 2008， p99）. When someone supports Yu， there must are someone oppose her. The social media is fair; there existed different voice of this scandal.  According to those disadvantage comments that can allow the Chinese badminton team to reflect and do not make the same mistake again. Because in the digital era， the sports fans anger through delivering by social media platform， such as Weibo， Facebook and Snapchat may destroy the athletes sports career. In short， when the scandal was spread rapidly by social media platform; for the athletes， once their idol's image falls apart， it is hard to rebuild fan's confidence in them.

Conclusion

According to the digital technology penetration rate has been increased in modern people life， so by the social media to reach the purpose of interaction has become the necessary trend （Billings et al.， 2017， p20）. On the one hand， the fans and sports teams are using the social media platform s attraction to help the athletes. In the case of 2012 Olympic Games， even though there were many negative public opinions but the social media platform more like a bridge to deliver fans trust and comfort. In addition， due to the social media can explore this scandals truth that allows fans trust not belongs to blind and unreasonable. On the other hand， the information spread quickly and widely on the social media platform that will expand the influence of this scandal further to amplify the fans anger. Moreover， by the social media spread， this case conveyed the wrong values to the fans， further to let Yu Yang and Wang Xiaoli lost parts of fans. Thus， the impact of social media on fans culture is both an opportunity and a challenge. In conclusion， the advancement of social media allows the sports fans culture is reasonable and valuable.

Reference

Billings， A.， Qiao， F.， Conlin， L. and Nie， T. （2017）. Permanently Desiring the Temporary？ Snapchat， Social Media， and the Shifting Motivations of Sports Fans. Communication & Sport， 5（1）， pp.10-26.

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Li， Y. （2012）. 名列第一 為何難享盛譽？ - 大紀元. [online] 大紀元 www.epochtimes.com. Available at： http：//www.epochtimes.com/b5/12/8/4/n3651157.htm [Accessed 29 May 2017].

The Hollywood Reporter. （2012）. London 2012： Korean， Indonesian Olympic Badminton Players Appeal Disqualification. [online] Available at： http：//www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/london-2012-badminton-scandal-357223 [Accessed 26 May 2017].

Richard Allen Greene， C. （2012）. Olympic badminton players disqualified for trying to lose - CNN.com. [online] CNN. Available at： http：//edition.cnn.com/2012/08/01/sport/olympics-badminton-scandal/ [Accessed 27 May 2017].

Roxborough， S. （2012）. London 2012： Korean， Indonesian Olympic Badminton Players Appeal Disqualification. [online] The Hollywood Reporter. Available at： http：//www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/london-2012-badminton-scandal-357223 [Accessed 27 May 2017].

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Seo， W. and Green， B. （2008）. Development of the Motivation Scale for Sport Online Consumption. Journal of Sport Management， 22（1）， pp.82-109.

作者簡介：

第一作者：王倩文，1992-12-23，女，汉族，山东青岛，教师，硕士研究生，青岛黄海学院，研究方向：影视艺术、创新创业教育

第二作者：孙正林，1995-06-28，男，汉族，山东德州，本科学士，研究方向：创新创业教育