Overview
In this assignment you will investigate the similarities and differences of sporting events when
experienced online or offline. There are five sections of this assignment (Attending the
event/Fieldnotes, experiencing the event online, comparing and contrasting, discussion). Be sure to complete each part of the assignment. The questions under each part are to guide you but you do not need to answer all of them. Be sure to use headings, subheadings, and topic sentences to structure your writing.
Part One: Attend the event and write fieldnotes (1.5-3 pages single spaced)
Attend a sports event. You can choose a professional, amateur, college, or social event. Be
mindful to select an event that you think will have a social media presence. The important thing
in this assignment is to find an event with a good amount of social media engagement. If you
must remain 100% online for this class, you are welcome to attend events on Twitch or other
esports platforms.
Write about the experience of the event. Allow the topics to emerge when you are attending the
event. How many people were there? What was there to do? What stuck out to you? What was
the behavior of the people in attendance? What was the mood, style, and venue? Trust your own instincts in selecting what topics to explore about the event. Be sure to use subheadings to focus your notes.
Part Two: Social Media Representation (1.5-3 pages single spaced)
Provide an analysis of the event representation on social media. You can choose to use any social media platform that makes sense of your event (Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram). Discuss how the event is portrayed. Part Three: Compare/Contrast (1.5-3 pages single spaced)
Compare and contrast your experience with the digital representation.
What was different about the experience and the social media representation of the experience?
What was the same? Explain why you think the event was captured online in this manner.
Part Four: Discussion and Recommendation (1-2 pages single spaced)
Provide a discussion about how you would change both the event and the representation of the
event online.
4a) Suggest how the event could have been better in person. Clearly express one
strategy for making the event better.
4b) Suggest one strategy to better represent the event on social media to a specific
audience. Clearly describe what you see as the benefits of implementing your suggestion.
4c) Suggest one strategy to improve online engagement at the event. What could they
have done to get individual attendees to post more?
