Super “Soul” Parties: Building Civic Inclusion Through Fandom

Abstract

Despite a widespread belief that sports can build community and help lift people out of violence and poverty, scholars have yet to establish a definitive relationship between marginalized communities and sports fandom as a pathway to social inclusion. In this study, we examine publicity surrounding a series of “Super Soul parties,” Super Bowl parties for people experiencing homelessness, to show how sports fandom can be rhetorically positioned to create a sense of belonging. We argue that Kay’s use of the Super Bowl is a strategic utilization of sports as a tool for rhetorically creating 1) visibility, 2) legibility, and 3) dignity. However, we also find this strategy is tenuous; over time, Super Soul parties’ housed attendees revert from seeing homeless people as fans to understanding them as others in need of service. For sports fandom to successfully provide dignity and inclusion, advocates must find ways to avoid reinscribing traditional service hierarchies.

Keywords

rhetoric of sports fandom homelessness civic inclusion consubstantiality

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Amster

(2003). Patterns of exclusion: Sanitizing space, criminalizing homelessness. Social Justice, 30(1), 195–221. https://www.jstor.org/stable/29768172

Andini

A. N.

Akhni

G. N.

Akhni

G. N.

University

(2021). Exploring youth political participation: K-pop fan activism in Indonesia and Thailand. Global Focus, 1(1), 38–55. https://doi.org/10.21776/ub.jgf.2021.001.01.3

Andrew

(2022, February 10). He threw a Super Bowl party for homeless New Yorkers. Now, his “Super Soul parties” are being held nationwide. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/10/entertainment/super-bowl-parties-homeless-2022-iyw-cec/index.html

Bacon-Smith

(1992). Enterprising women: Television fandom and the creation of popular myth. University of Pennsylvania Press.

Brady

M. S.

(2019). Suffering in sport: Why people willingly embrace negative emotional experiences. Journal of the Philosophy of Sport, 46(2), 115–128. https://doi.org/10.1080/00948705.2019.1615837

Brough

M. M.

Shresthova

(2012). Fandom meets activism: Rethinking civic and political participation. Transformative Works and Cultures, 10. https://doi.org/10.3983/twc.2012.0303

Bruner

(2020, July 25). How K-Pop fans actually work as a force for political activism in 2020. Time. https://time.com/5866955/k-pop-political/Biezen

Burke

(1969). A rhetoric of motives. University of California Press.

Butterworth

M. L.

(2020). Sport and the quest for unity: How the logic of consensus undermines democratic culture. Communication & Sport, 8(4-5), 452–472. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167479519900160

10.

Calvo

Watts

Panadero

Giralt

Rived-Ocaña

Carbonell

(2022). The prevalence and nature of violence against women experiencing homelessness: A quantitative study. Violence Against Women, 28(6–7), 1464–1482. https://doi.org/10.1177/10778012211022780

11.

Chimowitz

Ruege

(2023). The costs and harms of homelessness. Community Solutions. https://community.solutions/research-posts/the-costs-and-harms-of-homelessness/

12.

Clark

M. H.

(2023). The unnerved and unhoused: A rhetorical analysis of save Austin now’s campaign to disband unhoused individuals from Austin, Texas. Argumentation and Advocacy, 59(1–4), 94–107. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511431.2023.2275876

13.

Clifford

Piston

(2017). Explaining public support for counterproductive homelessness policy: The role of disgust. Political Behavior, 39(2), 503–525. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-016-9366-4

14.

Coppa

(2014). Fuck yeah, fandom is beautiful. The Journal of Fandom Studies, 2(1), 73–82. https://doi.org/10.1386/jfs.2.1.73_1

15.

Coscarelli

(2020, June 22). Why obsessive K-Pop fans are turning toward political activism. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/22/arts/music/k-pop-fans-trump-politics.html

16.

Côté

P.-B.

Frésard

Blais

(2023). “I didn’t want to be noticed”: Discrimination and violence among LGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness. Journal of LGBT Youth, 21(1), 180–199. https://doi.org/10.1080/19361653.2023.2185337

17.

Crusco

A. H.

Wetzel

C. G.

(1984). The Midas touch: The effects of interpersonal touch on restaurant tipping. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 10(4), 512–517. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167284104003

18.

Deggans

(2024, February 13). Sunday’s Super Bowl was the most watched telecast in U.S. TV history. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2024/02/13/1231221287/sundays-super-bowl-was-the-most-watched-telecast-in-u-s-tv-history

19.

Eastman

Land

(1997). The best of both worlds: Sport fans find good seats at the bar. Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 21(2), 156–178. https://doi.org/10.1177/019372397021002004

20.

Gantz

Wang

Paul

Potter

R. F.

(2006). Sports versus all comers: Comparing TV sports fans with fans of other programming genres. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 50(1), 95–118. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15506878jobem5001_6

21.

Gent

(2018). “Expensive” people: Consumer citizenship and the limits of choice in neoliberal publics. Communication and the Public, 3(3), 190–204. https://doi.org/10.1177/2057047318794683

22.

Gent

(2022). “Not in my back yard”: Democratic rhetorics in spatial gatekeeping. Communication and Critical, 19(2), 140–157. https://doi.org/10.1080/14791420.2022.2061026

23.

Goodling

(2020). Intersecting hazards, intersectional identities: A baseline critical environmental justice analysis of US homelessness. Environment and Planning: Nature and Space, 3(3), 833–856. https://doi.org/10.1177/2514848619892433

24.

Gottfried

(2024). Americans’ social media use [Report]. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2024/01/31/americans-social-media-use/

25.

Grossberg

(1992). Is there a fan in the house? The affective sensibility of fandom. In Lewis

L. A.

(Ed.), The adoring audience: Fan culture and popular media (pp. 50–65). Routledge.

26.

HanesBrands . (2023, February 22). Super Soul party and Hanes for Good (TM) create a Super Bowl experience for homeless. ACCESSWIRE News Room. https://www.accesswire.com/740375/super-soul-party-and-hanes-for-goodtm-create-a-super-bowl-experience-for-homeless

27.

Harris

L. T.

Fiske

S. T.

(2006). Dehumanizing the lowest of the low: Neuroimaging responses to extreme out-groups. Psychological Science, 17(10), 847–853. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01793.x

28.

Hinck

(2019). Politics for the love of fandom: Fan-based citizenship in a digital world. Louisiana State University Press.

29.

Hocking

J. E.

(1982). Sports and spectators: Intra-audience effects. Journal of Communication, 32(1), 100–108. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1982.tb00481.x

30.

INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence . (2017). The revolution will not be funded: Beyond the non-profit industrial complex. Duke University Press.

31.

Jeffrey

J. M.

(2019, April 18). U.S. church membership down sharply in past two decades. Gallup. https://news.gallup.com/poll/248837/church-membership-down-sharply-past-two-decades.aspx

32.

Jenkins

(1992). Textual poachers: Television fans & participatory culture. Routledge.

33.

Jenkins

(1995). Infinite diversity in infinite combinations: Genre and authorship in Star Trek. In Tulloch

Jenkins

(Eds.), Science fiction audiences: Watching Doctor Who and Star Trek (pp. 175–195). Routledge.

34.

Jenkins

(2006). Convergence culture: Where old and new media collide. New York University Press.

35.

Johnstone

Jetten

Dingle

G. A.

Parsell

Walter

Z. C.

(2015). Discrimination and well-being amongst the homeless: The role of multiple group membership. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 739. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00739

36.

Karp

(2023, January 9). Games rule: Sports events account for all but six of the top 100 telecasts of 2022. Sports Business Journal. https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2023/01/09/Upfront/top-100-telecasts.aspx

37.

Kemter

A. J.

Gomez

R. J.

Matijczak

(2022). Running toward recovery: A sport intervention for individuals experiencing homelessness and substance use disorder. Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions, 24(1), 24–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/1533256X.2022.2073660

38.

Kerbaoui

Aronson

(2021). Bleeding through the band-aid: The white-savior industrial complex. In Hunter

van der Westhuizen

(Eds.), Routledge handbook of critical studies in whiteness (pp. 269–279). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429355769

39.

Laker

(2001). Beyond the boundaries of physical education: Educating young people for citizenship and social responsibility. Taylor & Francis E-Library.

40.

Lankenau

S. E.

(1999). Panhandling repertoires and routines for overcoming the nonperson treatment. Deviant Behavior, 20(2), 183–206. https://doi.org/10.1080/016396299266551

41.

Lee

(2020, January 30). A man randomly threw a Super Bowl party for the homeless. 3 years later, he’s hosting 20 across the US. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/31/us/super-bowl-parties-for-homeless-iyw-trnd/index.html

42.

Leibovits

(2020). Homeless women self-advocates: The quest from liminal to full citizenship. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 106(3), 325–333. https://doi.org/10.1080/00335630.2020.1785637

43.

Leibovits

(2023). The homeless civic society: A study in liminal citizenship. Doctoral dissertation. University of Texas at Austin.

44.

Loehwing

(2018). Homeless advocacy and the rhetorical construction of the civic home. Penn State University Press.

45.

Magee

Jeanes

(2013). Football’s coming home: A critical evaluation of the Homeless World Cup as an intervention to combat social exclusion. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 48(1), 3–19. https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690211428391

46.

Maralack

D. M.

(2010). Transforming sport and identity in the post-apartheid South African nation state. Doctoral Dissertation. University of Minnesota. https://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.wisc.edu/docview/840545298/abstract

47.

Meinbresse

Brinkley-Rubinstein

Grassette

Benson

Hamilton

Malott

Jenkins

(2014). Exploring the experiences of violence among individuals who are homeless using a consumer-led approach. Violence & Victims, 29(1), 122–136. https://doi.org/10.1891/0886-6708.vv-d-12-00069

48.

Meir

Kay.

(2018, February 7). Not your typical Super Bowl party—(Super Soul party 2018). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7i9uTcqLxs

49.

Meir

Kay

(2019, February 11). The best kind of super Bowl party in New York City. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS-S4K9Pve0

50.

Meir

Kay.

(2024, February 14). Super soul party 2024. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ_6OgDS4CE

51.

Meir Kay (2017). Throwing a super Bowl party for the homeless. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watchv=2HCXzyyLCsc&list=PLA58PBDfYi6mTs2kF2z-4_DCrjXMvsnzH&index=1&t=135s

52.

Meir Kay (2020). I threw a Super Bowl party in 20 cities for people experiencing homelessness. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watchv=ANcjb4uPH0w&list=PLA58PBDfYi6mTs2kF2z-4_DCrjXMvsnzH&index=4

53.

Middleton

M. K.

(2014). Housing, not handcuffs: Homeless misrecognition and “Safe Ground Sacramento’s” homeless activism. Communication, Culture & Critique, 7(3), 320–337. https://doi.org/10.1111/cccr.12055

54.

Muñiz

A. M.

Jr. O’Guinn

T. C.

(2001). Brand community. Journal of Consumer Research, 27(4), 412–432. https://doi.org/10.1086/319618

55.

Oates

T. P.

Furness

(2014). Introduction: The political football. In Oats

T. P.

Furness

(Eds.), The NFL: Critical and cultural perspectives. Temple University Press.

56.

Oudshoorn

Misener

Richards

Van Berkum

(2023). Support provided through sport: An evaluation of an intervention for people experiencing homelessness. Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Mental Health, 10(2), 167–177. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40737-022-00300-9

57.

Our Approach . (n.d.) Homeless world Cup. Retrieved March 29, 2024, from. https://www.homelessworldcup.org/our-approach

58.

Penfold

Darby

Kitchin

(2024). Disabled people’s experiences of English football fandom: Inclusion, exclusion and discrimination. International Review for the Sociology of Sport. https://doi.org/10.1177/10126902241268097

59.

Peters

(2012, January 5). Jack Jablonski: The spirit of the hockey family and lessons learned. The United States of Hockey. https://unitedstatesofhockey.com/2012/01/05/jack-jablonski-the-spirit-of-the-hockey-family-and-lessons-learned/

60.

Petit

(2023). Touched by your words: How touch-related vocabulary prompts charitable behavior by reducing the negative effect of disgust. Frontiers in Psychology, 14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1104356

61.

Picardi

(2012, January 12). Hockey’s catastrophic injuries, and worse: Physician seeks “big change.” MPR News. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2012/01/12/hockey-catastrophic-injuries

62.

Putnam

R. D.

(2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. Simon & Schuster.

63.

Reichenberger

Smith

K. A.

(2020). Co-creating communities: Fandoms in tourism spaces. Tourist Studies, 20(2), 166–181. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468797619874504

64.

Reysen

Branscombe

N. R.

(2010). Fanship and fandom: Comparisons between sport and non-sport fans. Journal of Sport Behavior, 33(2), 176–193.

65.

Rosteck

(1999). At the intersection: Cultural studies and rhetorical studies. Guilford Press.

66.

Samimi

J. C.

(2019). Funding America’s nonprofits: The nonprofit industrial complex’s hold on social justice. Columbia Social Work Review, 8(1), 17–25. https://doi.org/10.7916/cswr.v8i1.1967

67.

Sandvoss

(2005). Fans: The mirror of consumption (1st ed.). Polity.

68.

Serazio

(2019). The power of sports: Media and spectacle in American culture. New York University Press.

69.

Sherry

(2010). (Re)engaging marginalized groups through sport: The Homeless World Cup. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 45(1), 59–71. https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690209356988

70.

Smith

(2019). Stand up, show respect: Athlete activism, nationalistic attitudes, and emotional response. International Journal of Communication, 13, 2376–2397. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/10027/2666

71.

Speer

(2017). “It’s not like your home”: Homeless encampments, housing projects, and the struggle over domestic space. Antipode, 49(2), 517–535. https://doi.org/10.1111/anti.12275

72.

Sullivan

Chadwick

Gow

(2019). China’s football dream: Sport, citizenship, symbolic power, and civic spaces. Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 43(6), 493–514. https://doi.org/10.1177/0193723519867

73.

Super Soul Party . (n.d.). Super Soul Party – Party to inspire change. https://supersoulparty.org/

74.

The Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP)—The O’Malley Archives . Retrieved September 27, 2015, from. https://www.nelsonmandela.org/omalley/index.php/site/q/03lv02039/04lv02103/05lv02120/06lv02126.htm

75.

Times of Israel . (2020, February 2). Rabbi hosts 20 Super Bowl watch parties for the homeless. https://www.timesofisrael.com/rabbi-hosts-20-super-bowl-watch-parties-for-the-homeless/

76.

Walker

T. M.

(2022, February 4). Nonprofit uses Super Bowl parties as way to help homeless. Associated Press. https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-rams-cincinnati-bengals-nfl-sports-football-b2738f6c1ab94d95c48bc019bc4c7f76

77.

Wann

D. L.

(2006). Understanding the positive social psychological benefits of sport team identification: The team identification-social psychological health model. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 10(4), 272–296. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2699.10.4.272

78.

Wann

D. L.

Hackathorn

Sherman

M. R.

(2017). Testing the team identification–social psychological health model: Mediational relationships among team identification, sport fandom, sense of belonging, and meaning in life. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 21(2), 94–107. https://doi.org/10.1037/gdn0000066

79.

Weisz

Quinn

D. M.

(2018). Stigmatized identities, psychological distress, and physical health: Intersections of homelessness and race. Stigma and Health, 3(3), 229–240. https://doi.org/10.1037/sah0000093

80.

Willse

(2015). The value of homelessness. University of Minnesota Press.

81.

Zubernis

Larsen

(2018). Make space for us! Fandom in the real world. In A companion to media fandom and fan studies (pp. 143–159). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119237211.ch9