Burns 1

Ryan Burns
De Piero
Writing 2
18 February 2015
Hooliganism: analyzing authorship through fan violence
In America, fans sometimes start fires or flip cars after a contentious win or loss. In
Europe they start riots. Loot, rob, kill. Hooliganism is historically connected with the rise of
football (soccer) in the mainstream media, and the passionate fans from Britain to West Africa
have left a looming, not-so-beautiful shadow over what is referred to as the beautiful game. The
violent actions of the rabid fans around the globe have provoked media responses for decades,
and scholars alike have commented on the haunting culture special to soccer. In both the public
and academic theaters of discussion, hooliganism became a major talking point as a way to
analyze the social aspects of sports throughout the world, and the two theaters offered two
hugely different points of view. Within these two genres of publication, authors are given the
chance to develop their form of self-expression while also presenting information in an
appropriate manor. These discussions of hooliganism offer a fascinating window for one to look
further into the importance of genre awareness as well as personal writing style, including
rhetorical strategiesotherwise known as movesintended to both inform and persuade.
Beyond the racist/hooligan couplet, a research essay published by Les Back, Tim
Crabbe, and John Solomos argues that one of the biggest problems with football is the concept of
hooliganism and its oft racist undertones. The other piece being observed, Fan violence rocks
AFCON semi final, a news article by Ghanan reporter Godfrey Akoto Boafo, summarizes the

Burns 2
hooligan activities at a recent match between the Ghana and Equatorial Guinea national teams.
The two share the same main idea, which is that hooliganism and crowd violence in soccer is a
problem that needs to be addressed. The way that the authors go about sending that message is
very different. The research essay uses empirical data that is followed by in-depth analysis, while
the news article is just a chronological tellings of the games problems with crowd misconduct.
Some of the conventions of the two pieces are different, as well, such as the separate sections in
the research paper and the short paragraphs of the news articles. The separate sections show how
deep into the subject that the paper is exploring, which increases its credibility in the eyes of the
reader. The short paragraphs make the article feel like it is news with the quickly delivered,
simple sentences that appear to have little bias, which is a different way of building up the ethos
of an argument. Both of the authors explore different genres as two of the many ways to
showcase an argument, which is in this case that violence has no place in a football stadium.
Both authors use their own moves in order to personalize the style and dictate the
manor in which they present the information to the reader. For example, Boafo uses a vivid lead
for the short article in order to grasp the readers attention with phrases such as ugly scenes
erupted and threw missiles at players. By using dramatic words while contextualizing the
events within the framing of a big soccer game, the author develops a great hook that in
extremely likely to keep the audience reading. The researchers also use a vivid opening image to
lure the audience in further. They paint a sort of patriotic, loyal picture of fans in a successful
attempt to capture the allure of a football match as a spectacle (Back et al, 419-420). By doing
so, the research paper has already planted the settings feel and appearance to the reader, so
telling the story and the problem becomes easier. One way that an online experience can enhance

Burns 3
the article is by imbedding relevant social media posts. The Ghanan article used this benefit
effectively to provide two images from the actual violence for the readers, which gives the text
more concrete meaning. Both of these pieces conveyed the unneeded aura of messages of hatred
very well, but the two presented this problem in completely different ways.
The purposes of the two pieces each have similar and dissimilar aspects, just like the
styles and rhetorical strategies deployed by the authors. Boafo seems like he is more intent on
quickly turning over the news in a very prompt yet refined way, while the researchers purpose
seems to be to publish their findings in an academic setting. For both of these genres, concrete
evidence is needed to prove the point regarding the dangers of hooligans, and both pieces include
very concrete support in the form of actual instances of this violence taking place. In news
stories, unlike research including empirical data, some evidence is best obtained through direct
interviews (Lunsford 404). Boafa fails to include interviews in his article, which diminish the
amount of credibility he has when discussing the topic; not interviewing relevant figures shows
laziness or lack of knowledge. By using very real evidence, the authors create a more logical
argument through the use of purposeful citations or newly found data.
All of this support is needed to fulfill the expectations of the respective audiences in
addition to improving the argument as a whole. For the Ghanan newspaper the readers are likely
either West Africans or sport fans following the African Cup of Nations tournament. The
research paper is likely presented to a peer review and will be read in a scholarly setting.
According to Dana Lynn Driscoll, author of Introduction to Primary Research, also states that
this research likely passed through an Institutional Review Board in order to ensure that
[researchers] follow ethical guidelines when gathering empirical data (Driscoll 156). Both of

Burns 4
these audiences go to the essay and article in order to gather information about hooliganism, so
neither source can be entirely filled with analysis and personal opinions. The arguments need
support in the form of news content or empirical data in order to hold any weight in the eyes of
the audience and to achieve their purposes.
Perhaps more importantly than the style or conventions that the reader expects is the
content that is promised by headlines, introductions, or titles. If the reader does not feel satisfied
with the fulfillment of their expectations, they may feel less inclined to pay attention to the issue
on hand or even more likely to disagree with the argument. Specifically, a peer review group for
the research paper is told what to expect in the Abstract section (Back et al 419), and the
logical order of the essay would not be in sync if it failed to discuss the advertised points.
Likewise for the online news source regarding the AFCON hooligan incident, the headline
Fan violence rocks AFCON semi-finallures the reader to click on the link to the article and
read more about the issue. Further on the expectations of the audiences, both sets of readers
expect professional writing style with zero tolerance for spelling or grammatical mistakes as well
as professional style when it comes to presentation. Details as minor as fonts can deter a reader
from viewing the author as a credible source of information and opinions. Like any textual work
of merit, the presented argument must adhere to the audiences expectation of logic and
professionalism in order to send a message most effectively.
There are some benefits to presenting information in a less formal manor, too. The
Ghanan article, for example, is able to be published as a form of mass media while the British
essay is too formal to be presented to the public, and is best suited floating around scholastic
circles. By looking at the publication venue (Rosenberg 214). Because the article is found on a

Burns 5
Ghanan sports website, identifying the primary audience is self-explanatory. More importantly,
identifying the audience allows the reader to set their expectations and reading style, which
should be rather casual with the purpose of staying updated on current events. For that reason,
the article would be the best way to present the violent images of hooliganism to the masses: in
the form of a rather sensationalist news story that is more likely to garner large-scale attention
than a department-specific-language-filled essay written by scholars for scholars.
That being said, scholarly publications offer their own set of positive traits, including
providing a prime setting for the discovery of empirical data. This is in contrast to the formation
of news stories, which are filled with recent occurrences followed by occasional analysis,
depending on the subgenre. These scholarly research essays offer the best place for the smartest
people to collaborate on a given subject to find out new information or to discuss previous
findings. All things considered, research papers are very specialized in terms of audience and
purpose, but still contain positive aspects not found in the more commonly read form of news
articles.
In order to evaluate effectiveness of either piece, the audience, message, and execution
must be taken into account. Both articles properly address the expectations of their audiences, as
the two pieces are presented in an intelligent, organized fashion that implies some sense of
credibility for the reader. Although the messages of the article and essay remain very similar, the
actual shape of the argument differs greatly. The research paper offers twenty-five pages of
empirical data including newly observed content analysis filled with citations and scholarly
collaboration. The shorter news article, on the other hand, offered a quick peek into one instance
of crowd violence at a football match as a window for viewing the facts of the real problem faced
by world football: hooliganism, violence, and racism in the theater of competition. The more

Burns 6
formal essay is very well executed in that it comprehensibly offers a new set of research findings
as well as formal analysis of the issue at hand. Similarly, Boafa succeeds in delivering a set of
important facts about the violent outbreaks at the African football tournament. These messages
are successful because they are well thought out and delivered while taking all aspects of
audience, purpose, etc into consideration.
Back et al and Boafa both offer great opportunity to look at hooliganism as one of the
premier issues in the international sporting world. The well-crafted ideas and arguments included
in the two works make for an ideal setting for discussion of rhetorical strategies, writers stylistic
or argumentative moves, as well as the relationship assumed between writer and audience.
Effective argument stems from providing solid information as a stable foundation for analysis,
and said analysis is much more interesting and thought-provoking if it is original, avoiding
overused thoughts. These writers all excellently present their logical reasoning in credible,
factual, and fascinating ways through a sense of individuality to their overall ideas and key
points of discussion.

Works Cited

Burns 7
Back, Les, Tim Crabbe, and John Solomos. Beyond the racist/hooligan couplet: race, social the
ory and football culture. Goldsmiths College, 1999. Print.
Boafa, Godfred Akoto. Fan violence rocks AFCON semi final. allsports.com.gh. All Sports
Ghana, 6 Feb. 2015. Web. 8 Feb. 2015.
Driscoll, Dana Lynn. Introduction to Primary Research: Observations, Surveys, and
Interviews. Writing Spaces. Dana Lynn Driscoll, 2011. Print.
Lunsford, Andrea, John Rusziewicz, and Keith Walters. Finding Evidence. Everythings an
Argument. Bedford/St. Martins, 2007. Print.
Rosenberg, Karen. Reading Games: Strategies for Reading Scholarly Sources. Writing Spaces.
Karen Rosenberg, 2011. Print.

Thesis Statement
Use of Evidence from
Articles
Use of Course
Readings
Analysis
Organization/Structure
Attention to
Genre/Conventions and
Rhetorical Factors
Sentence-level Clarity,
Mechanics, Flow

Did Not Meet

Expectations

Met Expectations

Exceeded
Expectations

Burns,

Other Comments

I like how you pick topics for your papers in this courseat
least from what I can tellthat youre interested in. Thats

Burns 8
huge, and the energy/enthusiasm has a way (its a very
intangible, magical feeling) of coming across for readers.
To follow-up on that: there are a few really interesting pieces
in this paper that I thought you could have elaborated more on.
The peek example, for instance. Consider running with that
some more and using it to enhance your argument. Youre not
a dry guy, so I think youd benefit from injecting as much
energy/enthusiasm/interesting-ness to these papers.
Id also really like you to use your topic sentences to
your advantageuse them to key your reader in to what,
exactly, the paragraph will analyze.
Lastly, Id like you to be crystal-clear in your thesis statement.
Hook me up with what, exactly, youll be arguing in your
paper and what youll be using to base that position on.
Keep up the good work, RB.
Z
B