Between the Headset

In a time long before I was alive, sports fans had only one or two ways to follow their favorite teams: they could buy a ticket to the game, or they could read about it in the newspaper the next morning.

Soon enough, radio and television came along, and fans could follow their games live, as they were happening, relying on the eyes and ears of a professional broadcaster to guide them. But even during this period, fans without access to a radio or television were left in the dark if their team made a last-second field goal to send the game to OT, or if a home run in the bottom of the 13th inning put their team on top of the division.

And trying to play fantasy sports in the historic pre-computer days must have been annoying enough to test the patience of the owner of a fantasy football squad "Ghandi's Gamers."

But the age of the disconnected sports fan is gone, just like the dinosaurs and like Jello. (Does anyone eat that stuff anymore? I never see advertising or those little cups in the grocery store anymore. Perhaps they need a Facebook Fan Page.) Starting with the boom of the Internet, then followed by cell phones and text messaging and now culminating with smart phones and social networking, the ability for a sports fan to stay constantly informed is unprecedented.

So what is it like living in the hyper-connected world as a sports fan? And are there any downsides to having news and scores constantly at your fingertips? Here are some of my thoughts:

- I just bought a BlackBerry today, so I haven't been able to take full advantage of checking scores and setting fantasy teams from my phone. But I will say this: not having to depend on a phone call or text, or waiting until I'm in front of a computer or television, is an incredible feeling. I already know there will be many times that this comes in handy, whether at the airport, on a road trip (not driving, of course) or at a Bar Mitzvah when the candle-lighting ceremony just saw the boy (now a man) rhyme "cat" with "cat," that I'll be thankful for the ability to hop on one of my favorite sports blogs.

- The SEC recently banned social media from college stadiums in an attempt to preserve the value of its own media coverage and contracts. As the Mashable article states, this essentially means no Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. People cannot tweet about the game from the stadium or upload photos of the game. While this may be hard to enforce, the fact that this was even passed as a rule is beyond comprehension to me. I can't count how many times I've been perusing my Twitter or Facebook feeds only to see an update on a great game occurring at that moment. When I see this, do I simply keep hitting refresh, waiting for the person's next update? Of course not. I instead find the game on TV or the radio, or load up the gametracker online. If anything, social media increases the amount of conversation about sports. There's no way that Facebook or Twitter feeds will damage television ratings; in my opinion, they will only enhance them.

- Social media gives fans unprecedented access to the athletes and the reporters who cover them. SportsFanLive covers athletes on Twitter with "Athlete Tweets," but fans can pick and choose their own favorites to follow as well, and can actually communicate with them. Many of these athletes spend more time than you would think in front of a computer or on their phones, tweeting away and answering the questions of fans. This is something that simply could not have happened before the days of social media, but it is now helping athletes get their message out and brand themselves (for better or worse. See: Starbury). The fans, meanwhile, are able to get a glimpse into the lives of athletes that before would normally require a behind-the-scenes special to reveal. The professional leagues should probably monitor these tweets, just to make sure things don't get out of hand, but I think the athletes' new form of communication with fans is doing a whole lot more good than bad.

There are probably a few negatives that stem from the increase in social media and technological use from sports fans. For one, the amount of time spent on computers and phones by kids, whether for sports information or not, is time not spent actually playing sports. We all know about the lack of exercise from which many children suffer. All of this technology definitely won't help.

I don't think social media will keep people from going to games. While all of this stuff is great, there's nothing like being at the stadium or ballpark in person, cheering on your team, heckling opponents and dodging batteries hurled toward the field. But anyone who overdoes the social media/technology aspect of sports should be taken to a game so that they can remember why they love sports in the first place. It should keep their technology binge in check. If not, someone should take their BlackBerry and throw it against a wall.

There are plenty of other ways fans use social media and technology to enhance their sports craze. What are some of the ways you use social media and new technology to get your sporting fix each day, and what are some of the downsides you see to it?