The Popular Anti-Icon in American Sports
Summary
This study analyzes the phenomenon of the popular anti-icon in American sports. Based on case studies of Joe Namath, Dennis Rodman and Barry Bonds the author shows how this phenomenon has become visible from the 1960s onwards because of profound changes within the media and sports, as these fields became increasingly intertwined. These athletes subverted the sports-hero ideology and still became successful on the field but also popular off the field – especially in commercializing their anti-iconic images.
Excerpt
Table Of Contents
- Cover
- Titel
- Copyright
- About the author
- About the book
- This eBook can be cited
- Contents
- List of Figures
- List of Online Video Clips
- List of Abbreviations
- I Introduction
- Sports as Part of Critical Cultural Analysis
- The Phenomenon of the Sports Hero – Teaching Values by Example
- Mediatization of the Sports Icon
- Popular Anti-Icons in Sports
- Structure of the Study
- II The Evolution of the Sports Icon and the Anti-Icon in the USA
- 1 The Beginnings of Organized Sports in America
- The Emergence of Sports and the Discourse about Its Benefits
- A Potent Sports Ideology at the Turn of the Twentieth Century
- 2 The Creation of the American Sports Icon
- 2.1 Walter Camp – The ‘Father of American Football’ as Sports Hero Maker
- Walter Camp’s Role in Football as a Member of the Rules Committee
- Walter Camp’s Novel Views on Football
- Walter Camp as the Creator of the ‘All-American Team’
- Walter Camp’s Vision of the Ideal Athlete – A Model for the Sports Hero
- 2.2 Journalists as the Creators of a Sports Hero Narrative
- Football’s Narrative Formula in the Newspaper and the Heroic
- 2.3 Frank Merriwell as the Prototypical Model of the Sports Hero
- Frank Merriwell’s Roots
- Frank Merriwell’s Success and Influence
- Frank Merriwell as the Prototypical Sports Hero
- Frank Merriwell as an American Sports Hero
- 2.4 The American Sports Icon in the First Half of the Twentieth Century
- 3 Mediatization of Sports and the Increasing Visibility of Anti-Heroic Elements
- Early Anti-Heroic Elements
- TV and the Mediatization of Sports
- The Mediatization of Athletes and Its Influence on the Anti-Heroic
- 4 What Makes Anti-Icons Fascinating?
- Fascination with the Phenomenon of the Anti-Icon
- Sports as a Carnivalesque Field
- III Joe Namath – The Prototype of a Popular Anti-Icon in Sports
- 1 Introducing Joe Namath
- 2 Framework of the Case Study
- 3 Becoming an American Icon – “Broadway Joe” and Super Bowl III
- The ‘Myth’ of Joe Namath – ‘Guaranteed’ Victory
- 4 Joe Namath – Sonny Werblin’s ‘Star’ as a Result of Fabricated Publicity
- Signing Joe Namath – The Beginning of the Image Creation
- The Public Staging of Joe Namath
- The Creation of the Image of “Broadway Joe”
- Conclusion – Sonny Werblin’s ‘Star’ Strategy Accomplished
- 5 Off the Field – Joe Namath’s Anti-Iconic Elements
- Excessive Lifestyle
- Personal Appearance and Style
- Vietnam Draft Controversy
- Conclusion – Joe Namath as Football’s Polarizing Anti-Icon
- 6 Success on the Field as the Prerequisite for Becoming a Popular Anti-Icon
- The Construction of the Early Career – The Odd One Standing Out
- The Build-Up for Super Bowl III – The Path to Heroism
- Post-Super Bowl Years – Perseverance as a Heroic Quality
- Conclusion – Joe Namath’s Heroic Image
- 7 Joe Namath’s Formative Years – The Construction of an Odd Hero
- Living Conditions and Family Situation
- Father Figures and Mentors in the Formative Years
- A Sports Hero in the Making
- Lifestyle – A Rebel with a Cause
- Conclusion – The Construction of an Odd Hero
- 8 Joe Namath and the Media – Namath’s Media-Framed Anti-Iconic Image
- 8.1 The Media’s Use of Joe Namath
- Print Media
- Television
- Joe Namath’s View on the Media
- 8.2 Joe Namath’s Use of the Media
- The Beginnings of the Commercialization of Joe Namath
- The Full Commercialization of “Broadway Joe”
- “Broadway Joe’s” Other Means of Commercialization
- 8.3 Conclusion – The Framing of Joe Namath’s Image
- 9 Joe Namath’s Life after Football – From Wild to Quiet Anti-Icon
- The Quiet Anti-Icon
- Health and Alcohol – The Fall of an Icon
- Joe Namath in Recent Popular Culture
- Conclusion – Joe Namath’s Post-Career Legacy
- 10 Conclusion – Joe Namath as a Popular Anti-Icon in Sports
- IV Dennis Rodman – The Second Coming of Joe Namath
- 1 Introducing Dennis Rodman
- 2 Framework of the Case Study
- 3 Dennis Rodman’s ‘Epiphany’ as the Impetus for the Anti-Iconic
- 4 Dennis Rodman’s Heroic Narrative – A Specialized Hero
- Specialization as the Basis of the Heroic Narrative
- Athletic Success as the Visible Expression of the Heroic
- Childhood Construction – The Story of a Child Saved by Fate
- The Continuation of the Heroic Narrative in Oklahoma
- Early Controversies – Larry Bird Comments and Bad Boy Reputation
- 5 The Metamorphosis into ‘Dennis the Freak’ – the Anti-Icon
- Body Art as an Expression of the New Self
- Wild Lifestyle
- The Beginning Commercialization – Madonna as Publicity Mentor
- Sex and Sexuality – Challenging the Concept of Masculinity
- Book Signings – Completing the Transformation into an Anti-Icon
- The Role Model Controversy
- The Polarizing and Mythical Freak
- Conclusion – Parallels between Dennis Rodman and Joe Namath
- 6 The Mediatization of Dennis Rodman’s Anti-Iconic Image
- The Anti-Icon in the Media
- Media Exposure in Sports Magazines and Popular Culture
- Advertisements as a Means of Marketing the Anti-Iconic Image
- Autobiographies as Image Drivers
- Conclusion – The Mediatized Anti-Icon
- 7 ‘Dennis the Menace’ vs. Athletic Success
- ‘The Kick’ – Endangering the Possibility for the Heroic
- Athletic Prowess and Successes as the Savior of the Iconicity
- Conclusion – Substance despite Outrageous Behavior and Style
- 8 Post-Career Life – The Continuation of Being an Oddity
- Wrestling – The Continuation of the Grotesque
- Anti-Iconic Lifestyle and Alcoholism
- Continuing Commercialization of the Grotesque
- ‘The Diplomat’ – North Korea and Kim Jong-un
- 9 Conclusion – Dennis Rodman as the Second Coming of Joe Namath
- V Barry Bonds – The Atypical Popular Anti-Icon in Sports
- 1 Introducing Barry Bonds
- 2 Framework of the Case Study
- 3 Barry Bonds – The Rise of a Patriotic Hero after 9/11?
- The Patriotic Hero and a Symbol for Excellence and Hope
- The Perceptible Anti-Iconic Narrative
- 4 The Creation of the Anti-Icon
- Example #1: “The Importance of Being Barry”
- Strike and Divorce – Solidifying the Poor Reputation
- Example #2: “America will never love Barry Bonds”
- Example #3: “He Loves Himself Barry Much”
- Further Examples of Iconoclastic Coverage after the 2001 Season
- Anti-Iconic Construction in the Biographies
- The Fascination of the Enigmatic and Polarizing Figure
- Conclusion – Barry Bonds as the Anti-Icon
- 5 Barry Bonds – The Superstar of the MLB
- The Heroic Construction of the Formative Years
- Success in the MLB as Proof for the Heroism
- Conclusion – Barry Bonds’ Place in Baseball History
- 6 Barry Bonds, BALCO and the Asterisk
- ‘Totally Juiced’ – Early Steroid Allegations
- BALCO Investigations – Barry Bonds and the Game of Shadows
- The Asterisk – Qualifying Heroic Achievements and Records
- Conclusion – Doping as the Final Entrenchment of the Anti-Iconic
- 7 The Mediatization and Commercialization of the Anti-Icon?
- The Effect of the Early Reputation Problems
- BALCO and Its Impact on the Commercial Value
- Conclusion – The Unmarketable Anti-Icon
- 8 Conclusion – Barry Bonds as the Atypical Popular Anti-Icon in Sports
- VI Conclusion – The Popular Anti-Icon in American Sports
- Bibliography
- Acknowledgements
- Series index
Thomas Weik
The Popular Anti-Icon
in American Sports
Bibliographic Information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available in the internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de.
Zugl.: Mainz, Univ., Diss., 2016
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Weik, Thomas, 1981- author.
Title: The popular anti-icon in American sports / Thomas Weik.
Description: Frankfurt am Main : Peter Lang, 2017. | Series: Mainzer Studien zur
Amerikanistik ; Vol. 70 | Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017042602| ISBN 9783631738054 | ISBN 9783631738368
(E-PDF) | ISBN 9783631738375 (EPUB) | ISBN 9783631738382 (MOBI)
Subjects: LCSH: Sports in popular culture–United States. | Mass media and
sports–United States. | Athletes–United States–Public opinion. | Namath, Joe,
1943- | Bonds, Barry, 1964- | Rodman, Dennis, 1961-
Classification: LCC GV706.5 .W44 2017 | DDC 306.483–dc23 LC record available
at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017042602
Cover illustration: © Anna Regenauer
D 77
ISSN 0170-9135
ISBN 978-3-631-73805-4 (Print)
E-ISBN 978-3-631-73836-8 (E-PDF)
E-ISBN 978-3-631-73837-5 (EPUB)
E-ISBN 978-3-631-73838-2 (MOBI)
DOI 10.3726/b12543
© Peter Lang GmbH
Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften
Frankfurt am Main 2017
All rights reserved.
Peter Lang Edition is an Imprint of Peter Lang GmbH.
Peter Lang – Frankfurt am Main ∙ Bern ∙ Bruxelles ∙ New York ∙
Oxford ∙ Warszawa ∙ Wien
All parts of this publication are protected by copyright. Any
utilisation outside the strict limits of the copyright law, without
the permission of the publisher, is forbidden and liable to
prosecution. This applies in particular to reproductions,
translations, microfilming, and storage and processing in
electronic retrieval systems.
This publication has been peer reviewed.
About the book
Amidst the flood of studies on cultural icons as ordering elements of societies and role models, sports icons have been neglected in scholarship despite their significance in the US. Even less attention has been paid to the emergence of popular “anti-icons” who undermine the original sports-hero ideology and its claim of the interdependence of athletic success and moral normativity. This study analyzes the phenomenon of the popular anti-icon in American sports. Based on case studies of Joe Namath, Dennis Rodman and Barry Bonds I show how this phenomenon has become visible from the 1960s onwards because of profound changes within the media and sports, as these fields became increasingly intertwined. These athletes subverted the sports-hero ideology and still became successful on the field but also popular off the field – especially in commercializing their anti-iconic images.
This eBook can be cited
This edition of the eBook can be cited. To enable this we have marked the start and end of a page. In cases where a word straddles a page break, the marker is placed inside the word at exactly the same position as in the physical book. This means that occasionally a word might be bifurcated by this marker.
Contents
Sports as Part of Critical Cultural Analysis
The Phenomenon of the Sports Hero – Teaching Values by Example
Mediatization of the Sports Icon
II The Evolution of the Sports Icon and the Anti-Icon in the USA
1 The Beginnings of Organized Sports in America
The Emergence of Sports and the Discourse about Its Benefits
A Potent Sports Ideology at the Turn of the Twentieth Century
2 The Creation of the American Sports Icon
2.1 Walter Camp – The ‘Father of American Football’ as Sports Hero Maker
Walter Camp’s Role in Football as a Member of the Rules Committee
Walter Camp’s Novel Views on Football
Walter Camp as the Creator of the ‘All-American Team’
Walter Camp’s Vision of the Ideal Athlete – A Model for the Sports Hero
2.2 Journalists as the Creators of a Sports Hero Narrative
Football’s Narrative Formula in the Newspaper and the Heroic
2.3 Frank Merriwell as the Prototypical Model of the Sports Hero
Frank Merriwell’s Success and Influence
Frank Merriwell as the Prototypical Sports Hero
Frank Merriwell as an American Sports Hero ←5 | 6→
2.4 The American Sports Icon in the First Half of the Twentieth Century
3 Mediatization of Sports and the Increasing Visibility of Anti-Heroic Elements
TV and the Mediatization of Sports
The Mediatization of Athletes and Its Influence on the Anti-Heroic
4 What Makes Anti-Icons Fascinating?
Fascination with the Phenomenon of the Anti-Icon
Sports as a Carnivalesque Field
III Joe Namath – The Prototype of a Popular Anti-Icon in Sports
3 Becoming an American Icon – “Broadway Joe” and Super Bowl III
The ‘Myth’ of Joe Namath – ‘Guaranteed’ Victory
4 Joe Namath – Sonny Werblin’s ‘Star’ as a Result of Fabricated Publicity
Signing Joe Namath – The Beginning of the Image Creation
The Public Staging of Joe Namath
The Creation of the Image of “Broadway Joe”
Conclusion – Sonny Werblin’s ‘Star’ Strategy Accomplished
5 Off the Field – Joe Namath’s Anti-Iconic Elements
Conclusion – Joe Namath as Football’s Polarizing Anti-Icon
6 Success on the Field as the Prerequisite for Becoming a Popular Anti-Icon
The Construction of the Early Career – The Odd One Standing Out
The Build-Up for Super Bowl III – The Path to Heroism
Post-Super Bowl Years – Perseverance as a Heroic Quality
Conclusion – Joe Namath’s Heroic Image ←6 | 7→
7 Joe Namath’s Formative Years – The Construction of an Odd Hero
Living Conditions and Family Situation
Father Figures and Mentors in the Formative Years
Lifestyle – A Rebel with a Cause
Conclusion – The Construction of an Odd Hero
8 Joe Namath and the Media – Namath’s Media-Framed Anti-Iconic Image
8.1 The Media’s Use of Joe Namath
Joe Namath’s View on the Media
8.2 Joe Namath’s Use of the Media
The Beginnings of the Commercialization of Joe Namath
The Full Commercialization of “Broadway Joe”
“Broadway Joe’s” Other Means of Commercialization
8.3 Conclusion – The Framing of Joe Namath’s Image
9 Joe Namath’s Life after Football – From Wild to Quiet Anti-Icon
Health and Alcohol – The Fall of an Icon
Joe Namath in Recent Popular Culture
Conclusion – Joe Namath’s Post-Career Legacy
10 Conclusion – Joe Namath as a Popular Anti-Icon in Sports
IV Dennis Rodman – The Second Coming of Joe Namath
3 Dennis Rodman’s ‘Epiphany’ as the Impetus for the Anti-Iconic
4 Dennis Rodman’s Heroic Narrative – A Specialized Hero
Specialization as the Basis of the Heroic Narrative
Athletic Success as the Visible Expression of the Heroic
Childhood Construction – The Story of a Child Saved by Fate
The Continuation of the Heroic Narrative in Oklahoma
Early Controversies – Larry Bird Comments and Bad Boy Reputation ←7 | 8→
5 The Metamorphosis into ‘Dennis the Freak’ – the Anti-Icon
Details
- Pages
- 406
- Publication Year
- 2017
- ISBN (PDF)
- 9783631738368
- ISBN (ePUB)
- 9783631738375
- ISBN (MOBI)
- 9783631738382
- ISBN (Hardcover)
- 9783631738054
- DOI
- 10.3726/b12543
- Language
- English
- Publication date
- 2018 (December)
- Keywords
- Joe Namath Dennis Rodman Barry Bonds Iconicity Image Creation
- Published
- Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Warszawa, Wien, 2017. 406 pp., 14 coloured ill.
- Product Safety
- Peter Lang Group AG