For our second Newhouse Speaks assignment I watched a Tedx presentation labeled “How Sports and the Media Influence our Beliefs” by Jason Peterson, a professor from Charleston Southern University. Peterson is a published author who cites the intersection of the Civil Rights Movement and sports journalism as one of his research passions.
This presentation hit on a subject that I have opined on in a few of my blogs. Sports are larger than life; for millions worldwide the passion we fans invest in our teams takes on a meaning that is simply indescribable to someone who does not watch sports. Peterson’s eighteen-minute presentation covered a lot of ground but drilled home a main point. Sports certainly influence our personal values, and often a local community’s team or teams will be indicative of that area’s values as well.
Peterson discusses that there is a certain romanticism about sports. The classic phrase, “How can you not be romantic about baseball?” immediately came to my mind. And even though fandom may be illogical and not at all rewarding at times, Peterson explained that sports hold massive value to people. His comparison of professional sports to religion struck a chord for me because it is one that I have made myself before. The similarities between sports and faith are undeniable. Peterson described the “functional similarities” between the two, such as congregating together, celebrating and believing in something you have no control over. Immediately I thought of my father describing the Red Sox breaking the Curse of the Bambino in 2004 as a “religious experience” and explaining how he took a photo of his late grandfather to the ring ceremony the following spring.
Sports clearly influence our beliefs in many ways, especially in the way we view athletes as heroes. This is questionable especially when athletes make mistakes, as they are merely humans like the rest of us. Peterson discussed the relationship between sports and the media as codependent, something that has definitely been illuminated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The media is the link between our heroes and the fans. Professional sports in themselves are one industry, but sports media is an entirely separate field. Countless television and social media channels solely devoted to covering live sports have been stripped bare of their content recently.
I thought of my professional aspirations during Peterson’s discussion of sports media and throughout his discussion of values in sports as well. As a public relations practitioner in the sports industry it will be my job to ensure that my organization is reflecting its values through the players and staff’s actions on and off the field. I will always keep in mind that there are millions of people following the team religiously, making it that much more important that I make cautious and wise decisions.
I have referred to sports as the world’s greatest unifier in prior blogs. Peterson’s Tedx talk about sports influencing our beliefs was an illuminating discussion on something I have always been curious about.
Watch Peterson's presentation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAooiEvnqpE
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