With the vigorous development of China's sports industry, more and more sports projects and outstanding athletes are receiving attention and pursuit. The fan culture, a youth subculture formed by the economy of idol artists and fans, originated in the entertainment industry and has gradually invaded the sports field in recent years, even leading to increasingly irrational star chasing behavior.
Not long ago, the General Administration of Sport of China stated at the National Conference on Sports Propaganda and Culture that the national sports system will resolutely resist the erosion of distorted "fandom culture" on the sports field throughout the entire process. At the meeting, the General Administration of Sport of China emphasized that the chaos in the "fan circle" is extremely detrimental to the physical and mental health growth of athletes, the ability of sports teams to bring glory to the country, and the sustainable development of the sports industry. Sports should not, nor should they be allowed to, become the "leader" and "breeding ground" for the continued growth of distorted "fan culture". Solving this problem is urgent, and the national sports system must be highly vigilant and act quickly.
From fans tearing and insulting each other on social media, brushing and controlling reviews, to offline celebrity chasing and malicious attacks, and then to "long guns and short cannons" and shouting during the viewing process... Some extreme and out of control "fan circle" behaviors are seriously affecting athletes' competitions, training, and even daily life.
Out of control order on the field and off the field
"What kind of flash is on?" "Do you guys have a mouth?"
This is a scene that occurred at the Chongqing Championships of WTT (World Table Tennis Major League) in early June. In the audience, fans of each athlete raised their support banners and occasionally cheered to delay the game serve. Different fan groups always argued about whether the other party intentionally turned on the camera flash and disrupted their own athlete's game state.
Fans watch sports events like a concert
Table tennis is one of the "hardest hit areas" eroded by the distorted sports fan culture. During the competition, various conflicts are staged in the audience; Off the field, the fan club's unanimous and orderly pursuit of stars has torn apart a corner of the chaos in the sports industry. Fans gather outside the arena at a certain time, holding flags, banners, flip flops, and other support materials that include but are not limited to athlete names. They shout out a unified and loud support slogan. The support team will take a video and then forward it to relevant WeChat groups or Weibo super messages for fans to watch and remember.
Song Qian (pseudonym) caught up in one of the support activities, and she said it was her most precious memory since entering the circle. "After shouting, I cried directly, and it felt like that moment was very real, very close to them.".
CP fan collective support
CP (short for couple) in the sports fan circle mainly refers to a pair of athletes who are set as "lovers", and CP fans generally have strong fan stickiness. Compared with the love relationship read by most CP fans, Song Qian is more willing to interpret her favorite CP as "they accompany and grow together". Song Qian admitted that there may be some friction between different fan groups, and I feel that the only fans on both sides may not look down on us. They may think that we are simply playing CP and leaning towards love.
The starting point of fans "in the name of love" may seem similar, but in reality, it is like a stranger. The only fan in the sports fan circle refers to a group of fans who only like one member within a certain group. A CP fan infiltrated the team building venue provided by the WeChat fan support association to collect souvenirs, but was discovered to be a non WeChat fan. The two sides immediately engaged in physical altercations and even alerted the on duty special police.
The conflict between Weifan and CP fans
In fact, the organizers of the Only Fans Support Association are very strict in verifying the identity of fans who come to collect souvenirs. In the team building venue, they shouted, "Bring out the observation group and competition tickets in advance.". Competition tickets are relatively easy to buy, but there is a high threshold for entering the viewing group. When applying, you need to review whether you are a fan and see if your Weibo super talk level is high enough.
Outside the competition venue, only fans will cover a team building venue at their own expense
Is it "one-sided love" or "deformed love"?
As a table tennis enthusiast, Li Yan (pseudonym) never considered herself a pure "fan". In her understanding, "fans" and "fans" are two groups with almost no intersection. Anyone who focuses more on the athletes themselves than on the game or the skills themselves should be classified as a "fan" sequence.
Li Yan is a loyal fan of a member of the national table tennis team. In addition to following her idol's itinerary and status on various social media platforms, she also follows matches offline, makes her own support items such as banners, and cheers on athletes on the field. Li Yan said that even so, she still finds it difficult to integrate into the core of the "fan circle": "I can't even get those souvenirs from the support clubs. This is my first time watching a football game, and I also want to join a fan group. Let's see what news we have and how we can go together. At that time, I didn't understand this set of rules. I directly applied to join the group on Weibo, but the administrator never paid attention to me. Later, I realized that even if you have other Chinese table tennis players in your follow or like, it's not enough. You can only follow one person to qualify for joining the group."
"Only for fans" channel
Zhang Ya (pseudonym), a frontline practitioner in the sports industry, confirmed the predicament Li Yan once faced. He introduced, "When it comes to your identity, they will use social media and a set of 'methodologies' to identify - whether you have left a message in the other person's super words, checked in, and so on. If there are these clues, they will feel that your love for someone is not loyal enough. You can love them, but you must love them wholeheartedly."
Sports journalist Huang Hui (pseudonym), who has been on the front line of event reporting for years, cannot understand this kind of "one-sided love". She believes that all fans should be "fans". "Shouldn't you support the entire Chinese team?" Huang Hui revealed that in today's fan culture, this behavior is suppressed. "They will feel that it is a form of universal love. In this situation, they no longer have the concept of patriotism.".
In Li Yan's memory, before the 2016 Rio Olympics, the ticket prices for the Table Tennis Super League were quite cheap, costing a few tens of yuan to watch for a day, and the organizers also provided free boxed meals. At that time, the distance between fans and athletes seemed to be just right. Whenever the national team triumphed, outside the athlete apartments of the Capital International Airport or the General Administration of Sport, a cheer, a bouquet of flowers, and a greeting card were already the most sincere wishes of the fans. After the Rio Olympics, with the breaking of multiple popular events and phenomenon level star athletes, a large number of fans who originally knew little about competitive sports emerged and gradually formed a "fan circle", as well as a large number of virtual communities. Today, their performance on social media has become increasingly difficult for Li Yan to adapt to. "I particularly admire the fighting ability of many fans in the fan circle. I haven't counted them, but the feeling they give me is that they can even post hundreds of Weibo posts a day, all of which are content of arguing with others." Li Yan found that different fan groups don't really curse offline and even avoid walking, but their online fighting ability is very strong. "They curse very hard and don't start from reality anymore. They personally attack players. Some of them post a long paragraph on Weibo, explaining how unfair the rules are and how unfair athletes are treated, and then others share it.".
Opposition and Tearing: A Form of Self Projection and Collective Resonance
Zhang Ya observed the expressions of a large number of extreme fans online, and he concluded that the reason why some "brainwashing bags" and "provocative posts" can be supported by fans is not because they truly output some correct views in the sports professional field, but because they cater to the psychological emptiness of many fans. "If this person does not have a normal job or a fulfilling life, she spends most of her time here, how can she find a sense of existence? She must attack each other, and in this process of attack, she will establish some attention that has never been received before, and even some people feel very satisfied in the scolding.".
Huang Hui also believes that an important manifestation of abnormal sports fan culture is online violence, and in one online violence after another, fans themselves will form an information cocoon and repeatedly speak out within the same circle. "One characteristic of the fan circle is mutual tearing and pinching, as well as hostility and fighting." Huang Hui found that extreme fans are good at standing at the moral high ground, challenging everything and looking down on everything, obtaining a false sense of power. "She feels that she is just, and the opposite is evil. In addition, they have an inexplicable sense of organization, and everyone in the organization likes and hates who... This feeling of group may also resonate with their psychology.".
On Weibo, the main battleground for discourse power among various fan groups, there are moments of tearing and insulting each other, spreading rumors and trampling on each other, and even multiple fan groups often engage in a "melee". My idol has suffered unfair treatment, which is the topic with the highest traffic and most significant achievements. In such topics, some influential and influential fans will take the lead in controlling comments on social media, that is, using a unified copy to control the content and direction of comments; There are also "data female workers" who have registered multiple "accounts" and contributed to the number of likes and comments, further spreading their opinions.
It is worth noting that the topic also includes attacks on other athletes, referees, clubs, national teams, and even regulatory authorities. In the eyes of industry insiders, competitive sports have a set of very professional selection rules, and the so-called "fair" standards measured by fan circles are more often just fans projecting their work and life situations onto athletes. Faced with the changing atmosphere of the fan circle, Li Yan chose to actively avoid it: "There are all kinds of people, they are too diverse, and everyone's minds and cognition seem to be different. What everyone sees may not necessarily be the whole picture, but they may think that resources are not equal and that everyone is targeting their favorite athletes. Moreover, they will put their unpleasant feelings on the athletes they like, thinking that they are two from similar families, work and life."
Using the "ruler of reason" to constrain "in the name of love"
The controversy among fans caused by the distorted sports fan culture is not limited to table tennis, but also widely exists in many strong domestic events such as diving, swimming, badminton, women's volleyball, and short track speed skating. Li Yan is more concerned about the present, about the essential conflict between the mainstream fan culture of comparison and opposition and the spirit of competitive sports. Whether the athletes she loves can withstand these baseless attacks and accusations, and whether they can compete, train, and live normally. Li Yan said, "I think for anyone, when someone who likes you attacks your boss or your colleagues in your workplace, they will feel embarrassed. It's okay for everyone to cheer on each other off the field, they even write letters, and even confront the head of the supervisory department in person. Some rational fans also express their hope that everyone will not do too much, as it will affect the relationship between idols and colleagues. They should put themselves in the shoes of idols. However, extreme fans will go after the accounts of these rational fans, meaning, 'Do you think doing nothing for her is good for her?'"
Since April 23, several Internet platforms have carried out a three-month special action of "ecological governance of sports food circle". On May 15th, the General Administration of Sport of China publicly stated its firm resistance to the erosion of distorted fan culture in the sports field. Previously, the Chinese Olympic Committee had issued consecutive articles calling on all sectors of society to respect the individual rights and interests of athletes, pursue stars rationally, avoid inappropriate words and actions, and resolutely prevent the chaos in the fan circle from spreading to the sports field.Zhou Yang (pseudonym), who has participated in the formulation of sports related policies and is currently engaged in sports brokerage, believes that at this stage, the strong resentment in the sports industry has actually touched the red line of athlete development. Fans should not deviate from the focus on athletes in competitive sports itself. Zhou Yang's analysis: "The key lies in the fact that athletes are relatively simple and young. If they are constantly influenced by public opinion and their emotions are very disappointed, it is indeed not conducive to their growth, and it is also a significant harm to competitive sports. If you like them, just silently watch them and let them shine? This is a healthy pursuit of stars. Attacking related organizations and affecting individual athletes, the fan circle is going crazy, and it is still necessary to return to rationality."
