„Święta wojna” klasy średniej. „Industrialna kultura” kibicowania klubom piłki ręcznej wobec wolnorynkowej nostalgii
A Middle-Class ‘Holy War’: Free-Market-Induced Nostalgia and the ‘Industrial Culture’ of Supporting Handball Clubs

Summary/Abstract: The paper aims to explore the social phenomena of Polish handball fandom. The main hypothesis was that handball fandom provides middle-class supporters an opportunity to release the tensions of daily life, which can take the form of nostalgia. In order to verify this hypothesis an on-line survey was devised and conducted among a sample of 608 active handball fans in Poland. The survey was supplemented by observations at several matches. The fi ndings confirm that (a) handball fans are dominated by members of the middle class; (b) participating in active support during handball games helps them to cope with a variety of tensions and the challenges of working life and c) handball fans are experiencing nostalgia, especially nostalgia for ‘being part of a community’. However there is no direct link between nostalgia and motivations for attending handball matches.

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