Local Sports Teams and Celebration of Community

A Comparative Analysis of the Home Advantage

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2276387
AutoresMark S Mizruchi (Albert Einstein College of Medicine, autor de correspondencia)
Año1985
Volumen26
Número4
Páginas507-518
Fecha de publicación1985-12-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSociological Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0038-0253 • E-ISSN: 1533-8525
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1533-8525.1985.tb00241.x
OpenAlexW2059047971
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas9
Referencias citadas4

In major sports events between representatives of different cities, the home team has been known to have a major advantage over the visiting team. Drawing on Durkheim, Schwartz and Barsky (1977) have demonstrated that the social support of the audience is the main determinant of this advantage. In their conclusion, Schwartz and Barsky characterize sports events as a “celebration of local community” (p. 658). This article tests the celebration of community thesis by comparing the relative home advantage among 23 professional basketball teams during the 1981–82 season. Three broad variables are hypothesized to affect a team's home court advantage: (1) provincialism and stability of the city; (2) uniqueness of the home arena; and (3) the tradition of the team. Support is found for all three variables. Not only is there a home advantage in organized sports, but the magnitude of the advantage is itself bound by the social context within which the team performs

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