In the Spiral of Silence Theory, one of the main assumptions is that public behavior is affected by public opinion assessment. This is shown in the picture I posted showing a Yankees' fan holding a sign during a Red Sox-Yankees game in Boston. The public opinion of being a Red Sox fan is affecting the behavior of the Yankees' fan with the sign. The fan is rooting for his team even more than usual even though public opinion says to root for the Red Sox. Sometimes public opinion can influence public behavior inversely such as is in this case. This also shows that public opinion assessment affects the behavior of certain people. The Red Sox fan next to him has a "thumbs-down” signal, which tells him that he is not welcome according to public opinion. However he decides since he is not welcome, he will root for the Yankees even harder. This shows how public opinion affects public behavior.
In the video I posted, a Red Sox fan (holding the camera) makes his way through the bleachers at Yankee Stadium trying to get to his seat. He is being heckled by Yankee fans who show their hatred for the Red Sox fan. The Red Sox fan chooses not to say anything and quietly makes his way to his seat. He chooses not to say anything because he does not want to start any fights or even be noticed in a hated environment. He is being silenced by the opinion of the Yankee Stadium crowd. This is the effect of the public opinion on public behavior, which is one of the major assumptions of the Spiral of Silence Theory.
3 comments:
It's interesting that you pointed out that public opinion can influence public behavior inversely. I think the Yankees' fan holding a sign during a Red Sox-Yankees game in Boston is an exmaple of hard core.
The world of sports is a great example of the hard core as Dr. Hu pointed out. The die-hard fans that make sports so unique would do almost anything for their teams. Wearing a Red Sox jersey in Yankee Stadium is a very risky move as I have seen from personal experience. You will never see a last-minute swing for fans of either team because of their devotion and hard core tendencies. I think this example goes against the basis of the Spiral of Silence theory because, as Mike mentioned, fans get more pumped up as they see opposition from the other side. Whether or not the media tells sports fans they are in the majority, they will root for their team. Fights break out, people get hurt, and people go to jail over games and this shows the hard core nature of fans.
As a Red Sox fan, I can tell you that it is no picnic walking into the lions den with your Sox gear on, but I have done it because I love my team more than anything else. One phenomenon I have seen that links Spiral of Silence to the rivalry is that when either team does well, gear sale goes up exponentially because of fairweather fans looking for a winner. This also happens year round with the yankees as people "think" they will win because of their past championships. There are more fake yankee fans out there than any other team. Regardless of what has happened over the long history between the teams, both sides have had ups and downs though. I respect true yankee fans because I love the game, but I want my team to beat them even when they aren't playing them. It is this hard core that drives sports, especially baseball.
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