Overview

"Diehard sports fans are arguably the beating heart of the sports industry. In good times and in bad, they file into stadiums and arenas of all shapes and sizes ready to expend financial and emotional currency on a hobby that goes horribly wrong half of the time. Does the payoff from the good times - the thrilling victories, championship glory and miraculous performances - outweigh the trauma inflicted by the bad? Why do diehards invest so fully in sports teams and players when that commitment, love and adoration is seldom reciprocated - if ever? Through the lens of baseball, Diehards unravels the mystery of sports fans and provides context for what fuels the evolution from casual fan to diehard. In Diehards, Chip Scarinzi canvasses experts about the impact of sports fandom on fan psyche, health, and family life while also sharing personal accounts of deep-seated sports passion from the most dedicated of fans. PRAISE FOR DIEHARDS ""For the true fan of baseball, reading Diehards is like sitting in your season seats and trading stories of euphoria and defeat with the other fanatic regulars around you. Scarinzi is amusingly confessional and unapologetic about his own fandom as he explores the social and psychological causes and effects of loving a sport and a team. He is one of those overly informed, nostalgic and even romantic bleacher creatures that are the characteristics of baseball lovers everywhere, yet he cleverly couples anecdotes and historic moments with quantitative data and cultural analysis to make this a very smart and authentic take on baseball's place in the cultural fabric of America. Diehards confirms for every true baseball lover that they are not crazy, or at least not alone in their fanaticism for the game. If you list your bobblehead collection in your will, this book is for you. - Heidi Watney, MLB Network ""Through this fine book - that is as lively and humorous as it is well researched and insightful - Chip Scarinzi has brought me to a deeper understanding of my own obsession. The author does a remarkable job deconstructing the excitement, joy, frustration, heartbreak, and range of other emotions sports bring into our lives."" - Josh Pahigian, author of The Ultimate Baseball Road Trip and 101 Baseball Places to See Before You Strike Out"

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9781939054487

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Reviews

For the true fan of baseball, reading Diehards is like sitting in your season seats and trading stories of euphoria and defeat with the other fanatic regulars around you. Scarinzi is amusingly confessional and unapologetic about his own fandom as he explores the social and psychological causes and effects of loving a sport and a team. He is one of those overly informed, nostalgic and even romantic bleacher creatures that are the characteristics of baseball lovers everywhere, yet he cleverly couples anecdotes and historic moments with quantitative data and cultural analysis to make this a very smart and authentic take on baseball's place in the cultural fabric of America. Diehards confirms for every true baseball lover that they are not crazy, or at least not alone in their fanaticism for the game. If you list your bobblehead collection in your will, this book is for you. - Heidi Watney, MLB Network Through this fine book - that is as lively and humorous as it is well researched and insightful - Chip Scarinzi has brought me to a deeper understanding of my own obsession. The author does a remarkable job deconstructing the excitement, joy, frustration, heartbreak, and range of other emotions sports bring into our lives. - Josh Pahigian, author of The Ultimate Baseball Road Trip and 101 Baseball Places to See Before You Strike Out When I first taught my course on Baseball and American Culture I found that some students had a tough time objectively analyzing their favorite team. They had the ability to be open-minded about the majority of the course content, but as soon as we started talking about racism and how it pertained to their team, or stadium funding and their team, or other, perhaps, unsavory aspect of the history of their favorite team, the students would close off or get defense as if they were being personally attacked... The two weeks with Diehards at the start of the semester allowed us to better deal with difficult topics about our favorite teams later in the semester. Whenever I teach this class in the future, I will start with Diehards. --Chris Hatch, Associate Professor, Hobart and William Smith Colleges Ever wonder why you are so crazy about your sports teams? Diehards puts you in the Psychiatrist's chair to find the answer... Analyzing the fan psyche is intriguing and essential to the story, but the heart and soul of Diehards is the cast of characters Chip meets along the way: Superfan Will MacNeil, 'Banjo Man, ' Father Jim Greanias, along with the long forgotten St. Louis Browns and 'Baseball Heaven' in St. Louis. - Scott Butler, Editor of Phils Baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies In Diehards, Chip explores what it is that makes the fans in places like Philadelphia and Oakland so passionate. What is it that all have in common? What leads us to spend our good money on shirseys, and often act out at a ballpark in ways we would never consider doing, say, at our workplace or even right in our own backyards? Chip weaves in references to other research, to modern studies on the topic, while instilling the work with his own flavor, which is both understandable and enjoyable to read. -Matt Veasey, Editor of That Ball's Outta Here

"""For the true fan of baseball, reading Diehards is like sitting in your season seats and trading stories of euphoria and defeat with the other fanatic regulars around you. Scarinzi is amusingly confessional and unapologetic about his own fandom as he explores the social and psychological causes and effects of loving a sport and a team. He is one of those overly informed, nostalgic and even romantic bleacher creatures that are the characteristics of baseball lovers everywhere, yet he cleverly couples anecdotes and historic moments with quantitative data and cultural analysis to make this a very smart and authentic take on baseball's place in the cultural fabric of America. Diehards confirms for every true baseball lover that they are not crazy, or at least not alone in their fanaticism for the game. If you list your bobblehead collection in your will, this book is for you."" - Heidi Watney, MLB Network ""Through this fine book - that is as lively and humorous as it is well researched and insightful - Chip Scarinzi has brought me to a deeper understanding of my own obsession. The author does a remarkable job deconstructing the excitement, joy, frustration, heartbreak, and range of other emotions sports bring into our lives."" - Josh Pahigian, author of The Ultimate Baseball Road Trip and 101 Baseball Places to See Before You Strike Out ""When I first taught my course on Baseball and American Culture I found that some students had a tough time objectively analyzing their favorite team. They had the ability to be open-minded about the majority of the course content, but as soon as we started talking about racism and how it pertained to their team, or stadium funding and their team, or other, perhaps, unsavory aspect of the history of their favorite team, the students would close off or get defense as if they were being personally attacked... The two weeks with Diehards at the start of the semester allowed us to better deal with difficult topics about our favorite teams later in the semester. Whenever I teach this class in the future, I will start with Diehards."" --Chris Hatch, Associate Professor, Hobart and William Smith Colleges ""Ever wonder why you are so crazy about your sports teams? Diehards puts you in the Psychiatrist's chair to find the answer... Analyzing the fan psyche is intriguing and essential to the story, but the heart and soul of Diehards is the cast of characters Chip meets along the way: Superfan Will MacNeil, 'Banjo Man, ' Father Jim Greanias, along with the long forgotten St. Louis Browns and 'Baseball Heaven' in St. Louis."" - Scott Butler, Editor of Phils Baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies ""In Diehards, Chip explores what it is that makes the fans in places like Philadelphia and Oakland so passionate. What is it that all have in common? What leads us to spend our good money on shirseys, and often act out at a ballpark in ways we would never consider doing, say, at our workplace or even right in our own backyards? Chip weaves in references to other research, to modern studies on the topic, while instilling the work with his own flavor, which is both understandable and enjoyable to read."" -Matt Veasey, Editor of That Ball's Outta Here"

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