content analysis

I have to say, I’ve always been somewhat skeptical about the notion of culture as an independent variable. Like many sociologists, I tend to think primarily in terms of the structural forces that shape social behavior. For example, how race/class/gender shape life chances. However, a fair number of scholars working within sociology’s “cultural turn” are interested in the independent effect of culture. To be perfectly honest, such arguments often baffle me.

But last night I came upon a great example of how culture can affect behavior independent of structural factors. As one of the five American soccer fans, I was doing my part and watching ESPN2’s MLS Primetime Thursday, the one time per week when games from our national soccer league are shown on basic cable (several other games are shown on Fox Soccer Channel and Telefutura). The match-up was between the ever-disappointing New York Red Bulls and the red-hot Toronto FC. The game, played on a cold, windy, rainy night in Toronto, benefited from the enthusiasm of the wildly supportive and vocal fans, who sang and hurled streamers all night. A great description of the crowd by soccer writer, Ives Galarcep, is available here.

Toronto FC is an expansion team founded last season. Unlike American soccer clubs which have struggled to fill their stadiums at times, TFC has sold out of season tickets in both of their first two years. Nearly every game draws a wild capacity crowd. The only possible structural explanation for this disparity is that BMO Field is in downtown Toronto (or on its outskirts), unlike the other stadiums, which are usually hidden in the suburbs. Nonetheless, given the enthusiasm of the TFC fans, I’d guess they’d show up even in the suburbs.

It seems to me that the strong cultural imprint of British culture on Canadian culture has led to the huge base of fanatical Toronto fans. Many would be tempted to point to the fact that Toronto is a city of immigrants and, given that soccer is a global sport, the immigrant population might explain the high level of support. Of course, several other MLS cities have large immigrants populations: New York, LA, Houston, Dallas, among others (moreover, I saw mostly Anglo-Saxon faces in last night’s crowd). I’d guess that Canadian culture, more than American culture, (well, sporting culture at least) is derived from British and European sources. This cultural similarity leads to a greater understanding of and support for soccer among Canadians. This phenomenon seems to me a pretty good example of culture having an effect on behavior independent of structural forces.

Then again, there are well-armed forces that keep American crowds from acting too much like English supporters. Galarcep writes,

Seeing stadium security toss pass unrolled streamers to the crowd was amazing. Imagine seeing that at Giants Stadium. Not only would that not happen, if you tossed a streamer at a player at Giants Stadium you would get tackled by two state troopers as a state police dog mauled your leg.

I’m not convinced of either the widespread interest or the sociological value of this story, but it’s too damn interesting to me to not mention it here. Several weeks ago, Henry Abbott, the author of the NBA-focused blog True Hoop, writing under feverish conditions, suggested that The Cheesecake Factory was the favorite restaurant of NBA players. He writes,

[NBA players] talk about a massive spectrum of things, of course, from AAU to Zydrunas Ilgauskas. But sprinkled in there among the things players talk most frequently — you hear it again and again — is the Cheesecake Factory.

Nowadays, if ever someone tells me that they bumped into an NBA player out in public, I like to stop them mid-sentence and guess: “Was it at the Cheesecake Factory?” It can make you look like a freaking genius, because once in a while, you’ll be right.

For those of who not in the know, TCF is a vaguely upscale chain restaurant (heavy silverware, lots of buffalo sauce; entrees run about $14-$28). Abbott hypothesized there were main reasons for the popularity of TCF among players. The first two sound very much like Weber by way of George Ritzer’s McDonaldization of Society: a) standardized products and b) enormous portions. While Ritzer points to the larger trend of emphasizing quantity over quality, the need for huge portion is particularly important for NBA players with high metabolisms and big appetites. Secondly, much like traveling businesspeople, players who regularly spend time in unfamiliar cities, it is nice to find a predictable meal. The third reason — most surprising to me — was that many NBA players are on a budget (say, $100/day), having wisely linked up with money managers. Ordering room service at the hotel would easily push them over their budgets. This week, Henry provided an update, saying that he’d heard more response from that post than any other. E-mails and phone calls poured in from fans, journalists, and players confirming his observation.

This whole discussion put me in mind of Bourdieu’s fantastic charts in Distinction (which I couldn’t find a good reproduction of on the Internets). To simplify, he claims that the lived experience of class is structured by three forms of symbolic capital (which are both created by people, but also impose themselves on people): a) economic capital ($, cash money), b) social capital (social networks), and c) cultural capital (tastes, values, skills, knowledge, and so on). Thus, by knowing about the total amount of capital an individual has and the balance of it between the various forms of capital, we can predict something about not only her/his occupation, but also tastes in entertainment, food, cars, etc. Or as it actually works in life, from people’s tastes, choices, and behaviors, we can tell much about what class space they occupy.

Thinking about NBA players, they are very high on economic capital (although probably not as high as some captains of industry), but often not particularly high on cultural capital (despite being college graduates for the most part). In many ways, they occupy the opposite end of the chart (moving horizontally) than college professors, who are presumably very high on cultural capital, but moderate to low on economic capital. So, while college professors enjoy their wine (in the correct glass), farmer’s markets, and Beatles albums, NBA players tend toward Cadillac Escalades, Hollywood blockbusters on their portable DVD players, and, yes, The Cheesecake Factory.

Probably not a stunning revelation, but here’s what’s interesting: it strikes me that we often see class primarily through the lens of cultural capital, but that economic capital has far greater capacity to make one truly elite. A young college professor making even mid-40s might be seen as upper middle class. Yet, NBA players, though often lacking in cultural capital, are far more elite. They are far more sheltered from the general population. Blogs on the internet spend time thinking about where they eat. Let’s put it this way. Who would you rather meet: a) the most famous living sociologist (e.g., Peter Berger, Doug Massey, Dalton Conley, Eric Klinenberg?), or b) an even moderate NBA star (e.g., Tony Parker, Lamar Odom, Greg Oden)? Nevermind LeBron or Kobe, it would be far more exciting to meet any NBA player (no offense to famous sociologists). But even as removed as NBA players are, their culture tastes make them more accessible than those of cultural elites (i.e., you’re more likely to meet Kobe at TCF than Peter Berger).

I’d love to have some more comments, so if I’m totally missing the boat on class here, please let me know.