7.26.2011

Ethnography of the Los Angeles Dodgers

Recently, I went see the Los Angeles Dodgers on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.  I haven't been to a game in over 15 years, so I thought it would be a nice place to be able to sit and observe the environment.  The perception of being a Dodger fan is very different from twenty years ago.  Since winning the 1988 World Series, the Dodger's disappointing scorecard and constant instability have made loyal fandom a difficult task.   In the 1980's and early 90's the Dodgers were easily in the top 2 of attraction (with the Lakers and that’s with TWO NFL teams and the current college teams).  Game tickets were highly coveted and Dodger games were a collective interest of Los Angeles residents.   The grandeur of the team was enough to sell tickets.  Now I find that the team has resorted to gimmicky marketing, including Internet and YouTube ads, to sell tickets that were previously so highly valued.  The Dodgers went from being in the top 5 of attendance as recently as two years ago, to in the bottom 5.  Some home games have as few as 9 thousand people there.  That’s only about 18% full!  
I went to only a few games before the Dodgers experienced this drastic decline but I do remember the playoff feel of the games.  The rivalries with the Giants and the Atlanta Braves were highly talked about events, covered in local and national media.  Everyone appeared to have a strong opinion about the Dodgers and the experience of attending a home game further enforced the hype.  Loud roars of the crowd, Dodgers dogs, peanuts and ice cream being sold in the stands, fans cheering and clapping in unison often made Dodger stadium the place to be.  Now, with the Dodgers having to be owned by Major League Baseball, then Fox Sports for a while and now currently Frank McCourt, the organization has made bad move after bad move.  It feels that the Dodgers are now just another sports team, only surviving in the dimming light of its past glory.
This particular game I attended was a Sunday afternoon game on July 17th. Fans still cheered, but not as fanatic.  Food and Dodger merchandise is still sold, but it’s not as cool to wear outside of the stadium.  Beer and Margaritas are even still there, but with extreme limitations and safety being a huge problem since a Giants fan was almost beat to death on opening night.  The entire Dodger stadium is in a current lull waiting for a good product to come and wake the sleeping dragon that is Dodgertown.  I sat in my seat in the direct sunlight observing fans that really seemed not to care anymore.  Empty seats outnumbered the fans and with the lack of an active audience, people didn’t even converse with each other.    The announcer was very dull and lethargic.  The very few loyal Dodgers fans left in attendance appeared bored and pessimistic.  The old hype and hope for a World Series win were memories of the past, while the current aura of the stadium was one of frustration and disdain for the team.
The Dodgers were actually winning and I could only gage a lukewarm response from the crowd almost waiting for the team to give back the lead.  During the 6th inning, I went walking around the stadium to see how the vibe was around this beautiful day.  It was pretty robotic how people walked in a ho hum way.  Lines were fairly short everywhere.  Staff appeared bored and disconnected from the game.  They were no longer part of the Dodgers team but instead a group of transplanted customer service workers waiting for the game to end.
Ferdinand de Saussure's Theory of the Sign, Signified and Signifier really hit home to me being American and growing up in such a culture to where many signs (language, music, art, etc.) that can trigger different things.  Saussure states, “Some people regard language, when reduced to its elements, as a naming-process only- a list of words, each corresponding to the thing that it names” (pg. 77).  Dodger fans of the past are going through the most frustrating years and basically having the Dodgers as a sign signify something that is only a shell of their past glory.  The only similar part of the old Dodgers and the new Dodgers is the name.  The sportsmanship, morale, and energy they had in their heyday have disappeared.  1988 is over twenty years ago and a whole generation of fans have arrived and their sign has changed.  The psychological character of the Dodgers is now one that is marked by losing and underachieving.  Los Angeles residents expect the Dodgers to be the West Coast version of the New York Yankees. The Yankees have won 5 World Series titles and have been in the playoffs 15 times since 1988.  The Dodgers have no titles and have been to the playoffs only 6 times in that same time span.  I hope that the Dodgers organization can be saved before it is too late.  
The Dodgers are one of the few sports franchises that transcend international culture and language.  All over the world, you don't have to be a sports fan and know who the Dodgers are.  The Dodgers have placed Los Angeles on the map as a team that not only is successful in baseball, but successful in unifying a diverse population through sport. Saussure stated, "From even a conceptional viewpoint, value is doubtless one element in signification, and it is difficult to see how signification can be dependent upon value and still be distinct from it."  The Dodgers don't depend on their monetary value but more having a culture and identity of a respectable franchise. This organization can't depend on the faithful fans to keep it relevant but realize its importance to Major League Baseball.  It helps everyone for the Dodgers to be good.  The attraction of Hollywood alone shines throughout the world as a place of making dreams come true.  A successful team validates their existence.  There is a different glow in the city when the Dodgers are good.  Businesses are more prominent.  The blue collar working class of Los Angeles (which is often forgotten) has a voice again, even from the six dollar seats.  The pride of this team brings everyone together more than any other franchise (carrying a torch passed on by the Lakers).
French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu states, “Culture is a way of distinguishing between positions in social hierarchy".  I agree with this statement in that it is human nature to want to associate oneself with a winner.  To many, being a Los Angeles resident can be a great source of pride and culture when a sports team can show qualities of strength, determination and vigilance. I'm willing to believe that society will support you if you don't win all the time but at least be willing to try and give the perception that you really care and want the best.  I feel that the Dodgers are letting down their fans in Los Angeles by relying only on their name to continue their existence.  Growing up with the Dodgers is a fond memory to me.  In a way, it was a part of my childhood identity.  Other companies like 76 gas stations, Farmer John Meat Company and Fox Sports West have also become successful staples in not only California but America thanks to the Dodgers.  This further illustrates the immense financial and cultural power the Dodgers possessed.  I understand that being in such a closely watch demographic really puts the pressure on any team to be champions but, I think it’s time for the Dodgers (even if I’m not a fan) to become a worthy adversary.

No comments:

Post a Comment