Consuming football in late modern life

I consumed this book on various plane journeys to, within and from Brazil during the 2014 World Cup finals. Therefore, although the author and I share a passion for English club football, I inevitably examined this book partly through the lens of international fandom. Dixon intends for his work to ‘encourage readers to formulate a picture of football fandom as consumption in the late modern period’ (p. 135). It left me with both questions and answers about football fandom in England and elsewhere, and the meanings and patterns of its consumption. Of the 130 countries I have visited, and the 80 in which I have watched professional football, no nation rivals Brazil's obsession with the sport. The country's elation and relief following hard-fought tournament victories was sandwiched between angry anti-World Cup protests and the ultimate humiliation suffered in the 7–1 semi-final defeat to eventual winners Germany. Various other countries were notably represented in Brazil by visiting fans. In particular, countless South American pilgrims made their presence felt, their voyages overland serving as rites of passage. In many ways it was a World Cup made by the fans.

Rather than mere passive ‘consumers’ of football therefore, supporters can also be seen as active producers in the spectacle. This is often the case both in football stadiums on match days, and at public screenings of games, notably in fan parks located in host cities (Frew and Mcgillivray 2008). As I read Dixon's engaging new book, my consciousness was shaped by prevailing thoughts of the participatory contribution of fans. Recent research shows that some supporters are uncomfortable with being labelled as ‘consumers’ (see Millward 2011). In truth therefore, thinking as a supporter, I was somewhat suspicious of the book from the opening word of the title. However, I was also intrigued by it, from the opening line of the introduction: ‘football fandom practice occurs primarily through routine acts of consumption’ (p. 1). This could be viewed as a necessarily bold statement to make in such a book, and the remainder of the work offers a strong case for its defence.

The book is divided into seven chapters brimming with pertinent references to relevant academic sources, and more significantly, original and illuminating data. To his credit, the author also refers to selected journalistic contributions, which add important layers of insight. (I particularly enjoyed the references to away fans as ‘excursionists’ from a 1913 article in The Times (p. 16)). After an introduction which examines everyday fandom as consumption, the conclusion is preceded by sections on the history and theorization of football fandom, consuming knowledge and the construction of ‘other’ in late modern fandom, the significance of corporate values and the routinization of football consumption in late modern life.

Dixon succeeds in offering a meaningful, structured theoretical account of what has been an over-researched (but often poorly researched) culture, and in doing so he contributes to the development of a critical sociology of fandom. This empirically informed reflection calls us to rethink football fan culture for the conditions of late modern life, and questions the meaning and significance of consumption ‘beyond the simple economic purchase’ (p. 135). Recognizing the potential for criticism from or on behalf of the so-called traditional supporters, Dixon immediately and effectively addresses the plausibility of denials of whether ‘real’ fans ‘can be labelled as consumers at all’ (p. 2). He then proceeds to examine the motives and processes associated with the development of relevant socialistic communities.

Regarding the research process, Dixon claims his work is a response to calls for empirical rather than conceptually based work – although this section would have benefited from more detail. His interviews were conducted in England's north-east, which the author, lending from Aurthur Appleton's reference, labels as ‘the hotbed of football’. With Brazil my frame of reference, however, I could not help but wish Dixon had instead have adopted the measured phrasing of Alan Bairner, who in a cover blurb on the back of this book refers to the geographical context in question as ‘one of the game's heartlands’. In total 60 fans were interviewed, an impressive number given the depth of inquiry, particularly as these were carried out over a relatively short period of time (between August 2008 and February 2009). The decision to only include 36 males in the research was perhaps a curious one. Dixon is obviously to be commended from an equality perspective, although whether this is representative of the demographic of football fandom in the geographic region in question is another matter. That said, the insight into what Dixon terms ‘gendered fandom’ (p. 62) is particularly notable, no doubt due in part to the high proportion of female interviewees.

Dixon's depth of understanding is evident in his skilful illumination of key processes and events that have shaped the historical development of football in this context, particularly in relation to professionalism and emerging spectatorism. He also offers an insightful examination of the role of football for supporters in ‘offering stability in a rapidly changing environment’ (p. 13), and the financial motivations behind ground improvements and the impact of such developments. The historical coverage of some significant eras of change, however, initially seems to lack depth. This notably concerns the increases in away fans from the 1960s, and the ensuing causes and impact of and responses to the disorderly conduct of football supporters. However, this is clearly a conscious decision, and one that is legitimately defended, albeit belatedly, in the conclusion. In this section, Dixon points out that the focus of his book deliberately avoids what he terms the ‘exceptional elements of fandom such as hooliganism, obsession and racism’ (p. 125), as they are well documented elsewhere. Readers interested in such ‘exceptional’ research would benefit from reading the exceptional work of Millward (2009), Cashmore and Cleland (2012) and Cleland and Cashmore (2014).

Dixon justifiably seeks to dispel the myth that the capitalist exploitation of football fandom is a recent development. This point is made emphatically by Sugden (2002) and elsewhere (John Williams' more recent work is referred to here), but is often denied in overly romantic ‘academic’ historical analyses and popular accounts. On this foundation Dixon builds an informative and at times amusing critique of what some fans might term the growing ‘menace’ of football merchandizing. He examines the potential ‘positive’ value of consumption in the context of emancipation, individuality, creativity and identity, making claims for a new theoretical approach to ‘more accurately depict the nature of fandom in late modern life’ (p. 25).

Dixon also examines what he sees as the ultimate failure of football fandom dichotomies and typologies. In doing so he refers to the means, motives and underlying philosophy of supporters, but a key ingredient missing from this recipe would arguably be the behaviour of fans. After reviewing key, extensively referenced classification systems published by scholars such as Giulianotti (2002), he claims: ‘They spend too much time attempting to segregate and compartmentalise fandom types into idealistic but ultimately unrealistic components’ (p. 29). Although not a point raised by Dixon, such problems are not confined to scholars. Official (NCIS) responses have seen English fans crudely labelled as Category A, B or C, depending on their involvement in football disorder (Stott and Pearson 2006). For such a diverse and numerically extensive body of people, any categorization system that is simple enough to communicate with reference to a few labels (or letters) is likely to fail to ‘fully’ represent the degree of variance evident in football fandom. However, while clearly problematic, such classification systems do offer a significant basis for framing an understanding of football supporters. This work claims to give voice to the authenticity of fan accounts. Importantly, football fans often talk in terms of ‘categories’ too, notably in distinguishing the internal ‘us’ from the external ‘them’ – the essence of both social identity (Jenkins 1996) and football rivalries. Dixon seems to undervalue such labelling and typologies.

Dixon's contributions do, however, outweigh the flaws of his arguments (many of which he would no doubt dispute). He offers compelling evidence that recent research on football fandom fails to position supporters in the new social contexts of late modernity. He justifiably suggests that the social and communal elements of football fandom have not disappeared in the manner some have projected. He argues that new lines of consumption such as new media communications actually help to maintain these elements, albeit by non-traditional means. Led by the words of his research participants, he refers to passive, fake and forced fandom, intriguing notions which could form the basis of an article for this journal.

He also explores notions of togetherness and the undesirable, and presents supporters as ‘imagined communities of diverse consumers’ (p. 68). He connects an understanding of British football fandom with wider associated processes, notably Disneyization. In this context he makes reference to theming, hybrid consumption, emotional perforative labour and merchandizing, offering readers an insightful and logical interpretative account. Dixon also explores the potential fluidity in the routinization of football consumption, arguing that routines play an important role in understanding social action, in maintaining security whilst allowing for gradual cultural change. In another example of a conceptual correlation, he argues that routine and change are ‘part of the same process’ (p. 96), substantiating his argument with contextualized references to his findings.

In relation to new media, compelling points are made about the alleged disjunction between offline and online fandom. He also examines the accessibility, fluidity and interactive qualities of the Internet, and the relationship between participatory democracy and passive fandom. However, for a body of work examining fandom in the late modern period, I was disappointed by the lack of depth on the section on Internet technology, online sociability and related football fandom consumption. This is not a criticism of what was included, but of what was not – a sin of omission, rather than commission. This criticism is actually meant as praise – for his contribution is telling here, I was just left wanting more, and fear other readers will be too.

Dixon has a way of communicating complex ideas in simple terms. The work is accessible and relevant across contexts. This book would serve a range of academic target markets, from undergraduate students to university professors. The author argues that ‘football fandom equates to a fluid series of consumption activities that are practiced in everyday life’ (p. 125). I still see fans as part producers, part consumers, but thanks to this work, I now better understand the role, development, processes and impact of the latter.