An Ethnography of English Football Fans. Cans, Cops and Carnivals. Series: New Ethnographies

Citation

Manuela Nocker (2015), "An Ethnography of English Football Fans. Cans, Cops and Carnivals. Series: New Ethnographies", Journal of Organizational Ethnography, Vol. 4 No. 1, pp. 132-133. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOE-12-2014-0042

Understanding football fans

Why would someone (like me), watching football mostly when overwhelmed by the ongoing media spectacle, not being particularly interested in the ever-present “reign of football” and its idiosyncrasies, end up reading eagerly a book about football fans? Well, because there are books that hold the power to surprise, forcing us to differentiate our views and inviting us to shatter some of our deeply held stereotypes. Pearson’s book is one of these. The main title of An Ethnography of English Football Fans might as well be called “the ethnography” of football fans when it comes to shed serious (research) light on a particular group in the vast constellation of football fandom: the “carnival fans”.

Pearson explains his own motivations in studying this specific group of fans and at the same time helps us to learn where we might place ourselves and others in the available football fan categories. He details the pros and cons of categorisation and his conceptual choices. Analytically, the image of carnival fans is a powerful one. This allows us to make distinctions in relation to their motivation, attitudes, behaviours, and social networks. The argument is highly convincing conceptually (applying Bakhtin’s view of early-modern European carnival) and consistent from the start to the end of this book. Summarising briefly, “carnival fans” distinguish themselves as they are especially enjoying what happens (i.e. organise and experience) around matches in away days more than what may happen on the pitch. Their frequent disregard of rules and norms may make them a risk to public order; they may be mistaken as “hooligans”. They are a subculture with considerable influence on the wider football fan culture. Yet, they are no homogenous group either and their motivations and behaviours may differ significantly in context.

This research has followed classic ethnography when studying the life-world and norms of football fans and fully satisfies its requirements: a detailed, “close up” and rich rendition of group life over time. In an era when ethnography is becoming rather “trendy” or comes in “handy” for some researchers in search of a new take to their work (but only “throwing in some participant observation” here and there …), this book shows us one of the best examples of what it means to be engaged in a sustained and long-term ethnographic study. It is rare nowadays to come across any ethnography of a particular cultural group (sector, profession, and industry for that matter) lasting for 16 years. This is the period of time Pearson has spent “in the field” as well as reflecting about and (re)presenting English football fans. In giving a chronological view of a specific type of fan group, grounding English football fandom firmly in the changing vagaries of the football industry, Pearson shows what has changed dynamically as well as what remains relatively “static” about carnival fans. He substantiates his findings through differences and similarities found in the three cases of carnival fans at Blackpool FC, the England National Team, and Manchester United.

For academic and non-academic audiences (including “hard core” football fans) it will be fascinating to learn about ethnography and the inescapable dilemmas that a researcher may face in the field and long thereafter when questions arise about representing the research participants and when trying to do so “authentically”. Pearson never eschews the discussion of the own difficulties in positioning himself and others in this brilliant example of a mostly covert research. We may strongly identify or dis-identify with many of the moments lived by the carnival fans. It will not be possible to remain “cool” and detached. The fans’ life may invite a smile, a laugh, as well as sheer repulsion or mere puzzlement. It certainly will make us think. This can be seen particularly in the chapter about “identity and expression” when the fans’ experiences may push questions about our own preferred identities and those we may like or reject.

As one might hope, Pearson’s insights are extremely helpful when trying to “defamiliarise” dominant views we tend to reproduce easily such as that of “hooliganism” – a highly sensitive topic whenever crowds gather. Carnival fans are not hooligans but some of them may become hooligans under certain conditions (quite often, stimulated by those called to curb problems). This makes the book a must-read for anyone dealing with strategies for the containment and management of football crowds and for the prevention of violence. It also will resonate with researchers focusing on social movements and other types of large groups. Many readers, however, may be either dismissive, attracted, entertained or drawn to become judgemental when taking a closer look at the habitual “routines” of carnival fans engaging in their pre- and post-match experiences; together with everything in-between and beyond it. It is here that we may want to judge the fans’ values and behaviours: in fact, we may – like a mirror – strongly react to them.

We may also appreciate the carnival fans’ role in the creation of the “atmosphere” through their active support of football teams in matches as much as their close engagement with and resistance to emergent systems of new ownership and commercialisation. Whilst resistance may be convincing, it is also true that carnival fans do not go as far as to leave fandom altogether. Resistance might thus not mean subversion of a given world which appears to remain more alluring then ever in the midst of its own contradictions and ambiguities. Never does this become more explicit then in the chapter on “attitudes to gender, sexuality, race and disability” contributing to a wider reading of carnival fans in more sociological terms. The last chapter acknowledges the lasting impact of new developments tied to technological advances and their social and instrumental use by football fans, extending substantially their organisational potential as well as their hedonistic, supportive, and mundane exchanges in an endless chain of opportunities.

In the tradition of classic ethnography, Pearson has refrained as much as possible from making moral judgements in favour of “thick description” (Geertz). This might be seen both as strength and weakness, depending on the point of view. Yet the extremely detailed and balanced representation of the events and the dynamics of football carnival can be taken as a privileged starting point to make up our own mind in answering “the ethical question” at the end of an intriguing journey of discovery. This book is about the minutiae of football fandom as much as our current popular culture. As such, it will stand the test of time.