Hooligan talk- A thematic analysis of #hooligan comments on Twitter

Mike Stocz, Alonzo Maestas, Jong Lee, Peter Loughead, Evan Frederick- University of New Mexico
Stocz, Maestas, Lee, and Loughead are students in the Sport Administration Program, Frederick is an Assistant Professor in Sport Administration and advisor for this study

Introduction
Hooliganism has received much scholarly attention (IE
Poulton, 2008; Radmann, 2014), but mainly within the
contexts of violence itself, recruiting strategies, and the
structure of hooligans as an organization. Scholars agree that
hooliganism cannot generally be defined across research.
Poulton (2008) began to analyze the issue through various
blogs dedicated to specific groups of hooligans (sometimes
referred to as firms). The purpose of this study is to further
Poultons work by examining how individuals are responding
to the term hooligan on Twitter. Rookwood and Pearson
(2010) examined individuals feelings toward the term
hooligan, with some positive reactions to the term. Although
the authors emphasized the lack of significant amounts of
followers of hooligans (AKA hoolifans), there were some
positive responses to the term due to hooligans providing
safety to the general fan at games, hooligans acting as a target
for other hooligan groups, and even as a sense of pride for
hometowns when their hooligan group comes out victorious in
a fight. Radmann (2014) showed how individuals who
exemplified hooligan behavior didnt associate with the term
hooligan, but rather the term firm, or a group of like-minded
individuals who sit in proximity to each other during a football
match. This pilot study was performed to gather general
themes one would find from Twitter through a thematic
analysis. 318 tweets were analyzed for this pilot study.

Results of the pilot study

318 Tweets Analyzed

Themes
Classic Hooligan
Activity: 54 Tweets

Music or TV Reference:
105 Tweets

Interactivity: 79 Tweets

Social Media Background and Method

Butterworth and Kassing (2015) proposed that
communications studies should begin examine new avenues,
which this pilot study did. Thematic analyses are not new to
social media in sport research (IE Sanderson, 2013), but
observing a violent aspect of sport such as hooliganism is.
Similar to Sanderson (2013), this thematic analysis used a
constant comparative methodology to examine how each
individual discussed their interpretation of the #hooligan
through the social media website, Twitter. Individual themes
were established as similar themes were grouped together to
portray what individuals were saying along with #hooligan.
Classic Hooligan Activity refered to tweets which mentioned
popular hooligan activities (drinking, fighting, etc). Music
or TV References included tweets that referenced either
popular music events or celebrities, or television shows.
Interactivity referred to individuals re-tweeting or tweeting to
other users. Non-Violent tweets were tweets which users
included the #hooligan but the content was not violent in
nature (IE pictures of pets). Business Promotion tweets were
tweets that a product or service was trying to be sold.

Non-Violent: 59 Tweets

Business Promotion: 15
Tweets

Not Codeable: 6 Tweets

Examples
References were made to violence
(in or out of the stadium),
alcoholism, or mentioned a popular
firm. Example- Going to my
school's soccer playoff game today.
Hmu if u wanna kick some heads
#hooligan
Tweets that made references to
popular music concerts or songs (by
Motley Crue or Bruno Mars). Also
referenced television shows such as
Peaky Blinders or Chappelles Show.
Example- @Recchi7 Here's my
band's latest cover, UPTOWN FUNK
- Bruno Mars ft. Mark Ronson. Show
some love. #Hooligan (link to
YouTube)
Tweets which are directed towards
certain users or re-tweets. Example@ChrisRokn @TommoR2012 I will
probably have to look after
@TommoR2012 you know what he's
like #hooligan
Tweets that included #hooligan but
were not violent in nature. These
tweets showed babies, pets, or
individuals in new clothes. ExampleAsher stole my phone and took
pictures of me #hooligan (link to
Instagram)
Tweets that promoted businesses,
entertainment, or products. ExampleReady for the show to begin!
#Hooligan #UCLA
#ThoroughlyModernMillie
Tweet was in a foreign language, or
did not contain content outside of
#hooligan.

Conclusion
Although the term hooligan carries a negative, and often violent connotation, this
pilot study would suggest that the term hooligan is now carrying a lesser violent
tone. The introduction of Bruno Mars album Doo-wops and Hooligans seems to
have given the terms new meaning. Individuals were also using the term hooligan
to refer to pets, babies, or new clothes, none of which are related to the classic
examples of hooliganism (IE alcoholism, violence, causing public damage or
defacing buildings, etc). Although there were still instances of classic hooligan
activity present in this pilot, the expanded study will further seek to answer how
individuals are using the term hooligan on social media.

References
Butterworth, M. L., & Kassing, J. W. (2015). Introduction to Mapping the
terrain: Shaping the landscape of communication and sport scholarship.
Communication and Sport, 3(1), 3-7.
Poulton, E. (2008). Toward a cultural sociology of the consumption of Fantasy
football hooliganism. Sociology of Sport Journal, 25, 331-349.
Radmann, A. (2013). Hooligans: Nice guys or the last alpha males? A study of
football supporters self-image. Soccer & Society, 15(4), 548-563.
Rookwood, J., & Pearson, G. (2010). The hoolifan: Positive fan attitudes to football
hooliganism. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 47(2), 149-164.
Sanderson, J. (2013). From loving the hero to despising the villain: Sports fans,
Facebook, and social identity threats. Mass Communication and Society, 16, 487509.