The Slice

Dr. Jamie Cleland, a sports sociologist at Loughborough University, recently wrote an analysis on “The Art of Banner Banter.”

“Being a sports fan carries a unique form of social and cultural identity that is rarely seen in any other form of popular culture. One increasingly prevalent way of expressing this identity is through the display of witty and topical slogans on banners, as this gives fans a voice and a feeling of active involvement in the sporting event they are attending.”

I may be biased, but I do believe tennis fans have some of the wittiest banners. Dr. Cleland continues,

“The fans creating these banners are often well-educated males who are on the cusp of a new stage of their lives; often in their late 20s and early 30s, they are maturing, but still retain a sense of rebelliousness from their youth. The act of creating the banners is naturally a very social occasion and getting together with a group of friends to create witty banners for display at sporting events allows them to express this mischievous edge to their character and have a shared experience that bonds them with others in their social group.”

I agree that creativity is in numbers. The more you have in your group, the more comfortable you’ll be and the more fun you’ll have!

“With the amount of cameras now present at a sporting event, and the growth of social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, the opportunity to focus on this type of expressive behaviour by fans has grown. Now an image of a banner taken at a sporting event could be displayed around the world at the click of a button within seconds of it being taken. In this way, banners will continue to add to the cultural meaning and social significance ascribed to sport for millions of people around the world.”

Tullamore D.E.W is searching for the UK’s best banner writer so tweet yours to @TullamoredewUK with the hashtag #bannerbanter.