Talking fandom: love, loyalty, and a sense of belonging

In the latest episode we discuss ideas of loyalty and fandom - with respect to both teams and individual athletes - and dissect various strands of 'belonging' to an imagined community. Buy Cricket Beyond the Bazaar (recently republished by 81allout) India (hardback) | India (paperback, e-copy); Australia (hardback, paperback, e-copy); USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy); UK (hardback, paperback, e-copy); Canada (hardback, paperback, e-copy) Talking Points: The schizophrenic nature of fandom in the franchise age Do you cheer for Kohli when he plays for India and wish for him to fail for RCB? The idea of imagined communities and the spread of nationalism Why does bandwagoning have a bad reputation? Supporting a team versus an individual - and how the first appears more noble The sacred space of fandom - watching as a community v watching alone The live experience v the TV experience - and the vast difference between them The loss of hope in 2000 - when Azhar and Cronje were embroiled in scandal Participants: Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee); Rohit Naimpally (https://rohitnaimpally.substack.com/); Deepauk Murugesan (@complicateur); Ashoka (@ABVan) * Related: That special whistle: the phenomeon called CSK - 81allout podcast The ins and outs of Fantasy Cricket - 81allout podcast Reviving War Minus the Shooting - 81allout podcast with Osman Samiuddin Imagined Communities - Benedict Anderson - Amazon Rules for Being a True Fan - Bill Simmons - ESPN Page 2 We cheer for clothes - Jerry Seinfeld - YouTube The remarkable rise of the Oakland Roots Is sporting fandom a set of rituals or a relationship - Ahmer Naqvi - ESPNcricinfo Confessions of a bandwagon fan - David Sax - The New Yorker The legacy of Michael Jordan in China - Andrew Gao - chinosity.com Will you watch the World Cup - Siddhartha Vaidyanathan - sidveeblogs