Fanalytics with Mike Lewis

Brooklyn's "all-in" approach to acquiring James Harden has basketball fans debating whether the Nets will finally overthrow the Knicks as New York's top basketball brand. And for good reason: Kyrie Irving, James Harden, and Kevin Durant are sure to draw in more young basketball fans than New York's starless squad.

But with the Knicks dominating the Nets in terms of fan equity, road equity, and social equity after decades of inferior play, Mike and I find ourselves asking this question: what does it take for a city's "little brother" team (Nets, Clippers, White Sox, Mets, etc.) to overthrow its historic brand (Knicks, Lakers, Cubs, Yankees, etc.) in terms of fandom?

In our search for an answer, we explore three sets of sibling teams - each at a different stage in the battle of their city's sports fans:

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Fanalytics is a part of the Professors.fm podcast network - making sense of the world with top scholars.

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Discussion of the weekend's NFL Playoff action leads to a breakdown of the 2018 NFL QB class that featured Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson.

Professor Mike Lewis and his co-host Doug Battle then segway to college sports following the NCAAs postponement of Name, Image, and Likeness legislation. Mike breaks down exactly how the NCAA's eventual adoption of player compensation methods will affect teams such as Alabama, USC, and Notre Dame.

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Fanalytics is a part of the Professors.fm podcast network - making sense of the world with top scholars.

Check out more Fanalytics content at fandomanalytics.com and fanalytics.substack.com. 

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2020 was a year of massive shocks to what was an evolving sports landscape. The economic shock was a brutal short-term blow that will have long-term ramifications. The flourishing social justice movements accelerated a shift away from legacy segments of consumers. And in the background, we have a continuing technology revolution that is changing how sports are consumed and the very nature of fandom.

Sports are part of the culture, and the culture is evolving in dramatic ways. And the evolution of culture is now very much tied to politics. The likelihood that you love the Sarah Fuller story or applaud the social justice messages on the backs of jerseys is related to political philosophy and how you vote. To deny the politicization and polarization of the culture is foolish.

With that said, as 2021 begins, it is an apt time to consider how the major US leagues will fare in the new environment. In order of their respective championships, some quick thoughts on the direction of each league.

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Fanalytics is a part of the Professors.fm podcast network - making sense of the world with top scholars.

Check out more Fanalytics content at fandomanalytics.com and fanalytics.substack.com. 

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While our studies typically pertain to sports, the concepts we apply to sports can also be used to analyze political fandoms, entertainment fandoms, and in this case: the Star Wars fandom.

In our Christmas week episode of Fanalytics, we discuss Disney's The Mandalorian as well as the response of Star Wars fans across the globe. We then discuss the franchise's future, why we can guarantee "Baby Yoda's" (Grogu's) return to the Disney + streaming platform, and what The Mandalorian has taught us about fandom.

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Fanalytics is a part of the Professors.fm podcast network - making sense of the world with top scholars.

Check out more Fanalytics content at fandomanalytics.com and fanalytics.substack.com. 

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Mike Lewis draws from his recent experience as an Illinois Fighting Illini fan to emphasize how hope can rejuvenate one's fandom.

Following a discussion of Illinois' recent victory over Duke on the hardwood, Mike and Doug discuss what caused Lovie Smith to fail at Illinois after leading the Chicago Bears to their most recent Super Bowl appearance.

The two then discuss Nick Saban, Lovie Smith, and why successful college coaches often struggle in the NFL (and vice versa).

In the show's final segment, "mascot expert" Mike breaks down potential consequences of The Cleveland Indians' abandonment of their mascot / team name. This sparks a discussion on "problematic" mascots, the value mascots bring to sports organizations, and the future of mascots in sports.

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Fanalytics is a part of the Professors.fm podcast network - making sense of the world with top scholars.

Check out more Fanalytics content at fandomanalytics.com and fanalytics.substack.com. 

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In this episode, Professor Mike Lewis and co-host Doug Battle talk about the week in sports and dig a little deeper into two stories: one national and one very local.

The Sarah Fuller story keeps coming, but there has been a fork in the road. The major media outlets continue to laud the history-making, glass shattering event while Twitter and Youtube contain plenty of amateur commentators happy to mock Vandy’s alleged publicity stunt. Mike and Doug break down why.

This sparks a conversation on authenticity in sports and leads to a conversation on Logan Paul's upcoming boxing match with Floyd Mayweather.

Then, Mike and Doug take a moment to discuss Doug's personal podcast: The Savage Pads Podcast. This conversation stems from something that Doug said to Mike off-air about how the podcast feels different based on how the Georgia Bulldogs are playing.

The key construct for this discussion is the theme of Hope in sports fandom.

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Fanalytics is a part of the Professors.fm podcast network - making sense of the world with top scholars.

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This episode features discussion on The Legends Only League premiere featuring Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr., insight on branding in the star-driven business of boxing, and multiple perspectives on media coverage of Sarah Fuller's debut as Vanderbilt's kicker.

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Fanalytics is a part of the Professors.fm podcast network - making sense of the world with top scholars.

Check out more Fanalytics content at fandomanalytics.com and fanalytics.substack.com. 

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What differentiates all-time great NFL quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Russell Wilson from former number one picks Matthew Stafford and Andrew Luck?

Do Brady and Wilson just have the "it-factor" - that clutch, intangible quality that separates Michael Jordan from LeBron James in the minds of many sports fans? Are they better passers? Better teammates? Better "winners?" Or have the situations inherited by these "goats" skewed public opinion in their favor?

It's not difficult to imagine players like Stafford and Luck winning Super Bowls for the Patriots in an alternate universe. It's also not difficult to imagine Joe Burrow thriving for a team like New England had he entered the Draft ahead of his breakout 2019 season.

In this episode, Professor Mike Lewis introduces the NFL quarterback database he's creating to better identify what constitutes an all-time great. He also discusses his work on name, image, and likeness in regards to college athletics as well as recent happenings across the entire sports spectrum.

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Fanalytics is a part of the Professors.fm podcast network - making sense of the world with top scholars.

Check out more Fanalytics content at fandomanalytics.com and fanalytics.substack.com. 

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Talking heads have provided endless debate on who will go first in the 2020 NBA Draft, who the Lakers may add via trade, and how the Nets could acquire James Harden on Draft Night.

With opinion pieces and hypothetical debates saturating the media, Mike and co-host Doug Battle provide something unique for the intellectual basketball fan - a critical thinker's primer for the NBA Draft.

In this podcast, Mike discusses how variance and the negativity bias will play roles in Draft Night decision making while Doug provides his analysis of some of the first round's most intriguing prospects. The duo also breaks down highly used Draft Day terms such as "3 & D" and "Draft & Stash."

There's so much more to the NBA Draft than the first pick and trade rumors.

Explore the 2020 NBA Draft's nuances in this episode.

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Fanalytics is a part of the Professors.fm podcast network - making sense of the world with top scholars.

Check out more Fanalytics content at fandomanalytics.com and fanalytics.substack.com. 

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Professor Mike Lewis and co-host Doug Battle discuss the fandom implications of this week's happenings in the worlds of college football and politics.

In the show's first segment, Doug discusses the lack of fan enthusiasm for non-playoff bowl games. Mike and Doug then discuss the Notre Dame fanbase after their biggest win in the Playoff era before discussing Jim Harbaugh's situation in Ann Arbor.

The show concludes with a continuation of last week's election / polling conversation. Doug describes how initial election night results caused pollsters to appear further off than they actually were. Mike then breaks down what may have gone wrong in the polling process.

Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fanalyticsmike/message

Fanalytics is a part of the Professors.fm podcast network - making sense of the world with top scholars.

Check out more Fanalytics content at fandomanalytics.com and fanalytics.substack.com. 

And make sure to follow us on social! 

Instagram: @fanalyticsmikelewis

Twitter: @fanalyticsmike

YouTube: @fanalyticsmike

TikTok: @fanalyticspodcast