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I recently finished reading the book "Bowling Alone" by Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam. As I'll elaborate below, track and field spectatorship appears to fit the characteristics of a "bowling alone" phenomenon.
The book is concerned with declining social and civic participation in the United States in recent decades. Whether it's the PTA, the American Legion, or (of course) the American Bowling Congress, participation is way down. Other indicia of staying connected to society such as reading the newspaper also show declines.
This declining participation is NOT an across-the-board phenomenon, however. In other words, it is not the case that all segments of society have been withdrawing from social participation.
Rather, it is a generational phenomenon. People born before 1945 (especially before 1929) have participated at a high level throughout their lives and still do. Both of my parents, who were born in the 1930s, have been very active their entire lives, from my mother participating in the PTA when my siblings and I were in school to currently volunteering at a hospital. My father still has his weekly card game. Putnam calls people of this age the "long civic generation."
In contrast, the baby boom and younger generations have had poor to mediocre participation levels throughout their life spans. As the older generations fade away, younger people begin to comprise a larger share of the total population, thus driving down the overall average rate of participation.
In fact, the book opens with descriptions of groups that had been meeting weekly for upwards of fifty years but collapsed because of a failure to attract new members. As one example:
"The Charity League of Dallas had met every Friday morning for fifty-seven years to sew, knit, and visit, but on April 30, 1999, they held their last meeting; the average age of the group had risen to eighty, the last new member had joined two years earlier, and president Pat Dilbeck said ruefully, 'I feel like this is a sinking ship'" (pp. 15-16).
How does track and field fit in? Well, I've gone on three Track & Field News tours (2000 Olympic Trials, 2001 USATF, 2003 USATF). These years were roughly around the time of my turning forty and, as best I could tell, I was either the youngest person or one of the youngest persons on each of the tours.
The average age of T&FN tour participants is not yet eighty, as in the above example. But, to the extent the tours are representative of spectatorship in the sport at large (albeit at a more intense level), fan support of track and field looks headed for a bowling alone-type demise.
Interestingly, one of the few exceptions to declining social participation described in "Bowling Alone" is live attendance at college football and basketball games, pro sports, and NASCAR. For whatever reason, track and field appears to resemble the American Legion more than other sports.
One obvious difference between track and field and other civic institutions, however, is that the competitors are obviously young and this could be a bridge to potential younger generations of fans. I'm not too optimistic, though.
I'm very curious to see other fans' reactions to this.
The book is concerned with declining social and civic participation in the United States in recent decades. Whether it's the PTA, the American Legion, or (of course) the American Bowling Congress, participation is way down. Other indicia of staying connected to society such as reading the newspaper also show declines.
This declining participation is NOT an across-the-board phenomenon, however. In other words, it is not the case that all segments of society have been withdrawing from social participation.
Rather, it is a generational phenomenon. People born before 1945 (especially before 1929) have participated at a high level throughout their lives and still do. Both of my parents, who were born in the 1930s, have been very active their entire lives, from my mother participating in the PTA when my siblings and I were in school to currently volunteering at a hospital. My father still has his weekly card game. Putnam calls people of this age the "long civic generation."
In contrast, the baby boom and younger generations have had poor to mediocre participation levels throughout their life spans. As the older generations fade away, younger people begin to comprise a larger share of the total population, thus driving down the overall average rate of participation.
In fact, the book opens with descriptions of groups that had been meeting weekly for upwards of fifty years but collapsed because of a failure to attract new members. As one example:
"The Charity League of Dallas had met every Friday morning for fifty-seven years to sew, knit, and visit, but on April 30, 1999, they held their last meeting; the average age of the group had risen to eighty, the last new member had joined two years earlier, and president Pat Dilbeck said ruefully, 'I feel like this is a sinking ship'" (pp. 15-16).
How does track and field fit in? Well, I've gone on three Track & Field News tours (2000 Olympic Trials, 2001 USATF, 2003 USATF). These years were roughly around the time of my turning forty and, as best I could tell, I was either the youngest person or one of the youngest persons on each of the tours.
The average age of T&FN tour participants is not yet eighty, as in the above example. But, to the extent the tours are representative of spectatorship in the sport at large (albeit at a more intense level), fan support of track and field looks headed for a bowling alone-type demise.
Interestingly, one of the few exceptions to declining social participation described in "Bowling Alone" is live attendance at college football and basketball games, pro sports, and NASCAR. For whatever reason, track and field appears to resemble the American Legion more than other sports.
One obvious difference between track and field and other civic institutions, however, is that the competitors are obviously young and this could be a bridge to potential younger generations of fans. I'm not too optimistic, though.
I'm very curious to see other fans' reactions to this.
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