The Story of an Ethnography: The Experience of Watching the 2002 World Cup in the Pub

Abstract

The ‘story’ of this research is told by two ‘voices’. On the one hand the traditional ‘author evacuated’, third person narrative provides much of the context, background and academic discussion. On the other hand, an ‘author involved’ first person narrative describes the conception, planning and carrying‐out of the research. The author‐involved voice is used where the perceptions and presence of the author are important to the story. The story is of the increasing popularity of the pub as a sports spectator venue, and of the importance of communal experience in that popularity. The experience of watching the 2002 World Cup in the pub is described and conclusions drawn about the nature of the sports spectator experience.