I chose to interview Andy about his viewing of sports chat sites. There are three sites that he visits: two deal Minnesota based teams only and one deals with all professional sports. He estimated that he spent roughly five hours per week viewing the sites. Initially, Andy appeared somewhat embarrassed by the fact that he views chat sites, but as our questioning progressed he seemed to become assured that there was nothing to be ashamed about. Although he sometimes visits the sites at work, he typically views them at home and in the evening. There are seemingly few rules to posting, as long as there seems to be some valid point and the post is about sports or athletes. Andy likes these sites because they contain information that is not readily available through major media sources. There is more of what Andy called “gossip” about players getting traded, players getting into trouble, and even player sightings around the Twin Cities. Andy pointed out that since there are essentially no requirements to document rumors, you may hear about player transactions weeks in advance. Andy said he does not view these sites in order to have things to talk about, but certain topics do lend themselves to outside conversations. He gave the example of Eddie Griffin’s recent run-ins with the law. While he would not choose to view chat rooms with another person as entertainment, he would show the sites to someone if he thought they would find a certain topic interesting. I then asked Andy why he found this method of gaining information intriguing. Andy replied that chat sites were convenient – he can view them whenever and wherever he chooses, as long as he has an internet connection. In particular, he likes watching YouTube and other clips of players that he otherwise would not get to see play until the season starts, players he doesn’t know much about. Andy’s reading strategy consists of searching the sites for interesting discussion topics such as potential signings or trades. There are certain people whose comments he prefers over others and he stated that over time he has formulated opinions of the different posters (some of whom have more intelligent insights than others). Andy does not normally post comments and has rarely done so. He only posts if he feels he has a new perspective or something extremely beneficial to add. He said he would really have to have a strong opinion about a topic in order to post a comment.
A recurring theme throughout this interview was that Andy liked the wide variety of information available – unlike a typical newspaper or sporting magazine. Andy felt as though he was getting insight that he would not have been privy to without these chat sites. He also repeatedly mentioned the ease of finding the information he wanted and ignoring the information he did not care about. I can see why Andy finds these sites intriguing. If it were a topic that I was interested in, I too would visit chat sites for their convenience and the “knowledge” that cannot be found in other forms such as newspapers or news programs. In terms of sport chat sites, I have no desire to know about possible trades, etc, prior to them happening. Thus, I have trouble identifying with the chatters and glean little meaning from the site. Conversely, Andy easily identifies with the sports fanatics who chat and enjoys visiting the sites.