Conclusions and Reflections

          This project has taught me far more than I originally thought it would. Through my research, surveys, and interviews, I truly now have a great understanding of the relationship between social media and sports. Going into this project, I thought that nothing would hugely surprise me, and I was absolutely wrong. The first thing that really surprised me was the case study with Lance Armstrong. I beforehand had thought that twitter was strictly a social interaction site. After analyzing the case study, I learned that it was much more. How Armstrong used twitter blows my preconceived notion sky high. He showed that twitter, and social networking sites in general, have the ability to be major sources of information for sports fans. John’s states in one of his responses the gratification he gets from using social media sites is how it is a instant source of information, which proves that social media is used in this way and that sports fans enjoy this characteristic. This is important because it shows that social media is not only a place to socialize, but is a rising provider of sports information. The other thing I learned that surprised me was my discovery that the NBA and its players dominate the social media world more so than any other sport in the U.S. This surprised me because I had originally thought the NFL was the leader. After some research, I had found the reason behind this find. The NBA players are the most active and interactive athletes in the U.S. and because of this they have more followers and fans in the social media spectrum. My survey supported this realization because basketball got the highest amount of selections for sport most followed and posted about in social media sites. The high social media activity and athlete-fan interaction in the NBA is why this is so. The interview supports this because John stated how he enjoys interacting with the athletes and getting direct updates from them as opposed to getting updates from sources like television. So, my final thoughs are the following, based off my research and findings, social media is no longer just a place to socialize, but is a strong source of instant information for sports and is slowly becoming a more used source to acquire sports updates and info. Secondly, the reason why social media has become such a huge part of the sports world is because it has allowed fans to do something that was beforehand not possible. It has allowed collective interaction between all members of the sports community. It provides fans the ability to interact not only with each other, but also with their favorite athletes. And it is for all these reasons that social media and sports complement one another in a way that their connection and relationship are making them stronger by expanding their possibilities and shortening their limits.