Problem
Video: "Not Just a Game".
1) What would Zirin argue is the media-perpetuated imagined community around which U.S. sports fans rally? What are the national characteristics of this community?
2) What from the video (especially from his general discussion in the first segment) are some examples of media-presented "invented traditions" in our biggest sporting events that might support our national identity?
3) How did Tillman and Ali both challenge the "dominant narrative" about our identity? What did they have in common?
4) Zirin argues that a story was fabricated around Tillman's death to shield the United States from a story that "didn't fit the dominant narrative." Are sports fans willing to tolerate athletes who speak out or who act in ways that don't fit our dominant narratives about our imagined community?