The current study explored how fan identification and negative rival perception affect the decision to blast or support the rival in indirect competition in college football. 258 participants (M age=24.15, 51.16% female) responded after being targeted via social media, email, and in person. Fans higher in identification had a more negative rival perception, were more likely to blast the rival, and were less likely to support the rival in indirect competition. A negative rival perception increased blasting and decreased rival support. The results contribute to current literature on rivalry and fan identification and aid marketers in marketing segmentation and targeting new segments to increase viewership and attendance.

No description available.

Title: Comparison of Proposals for Club's Sponsors in Czech League of American Football Targets: The main target of the thesis is to compare the proposals for the club's sponsors in the highest league of American football in the Czech Republic and suggest the recommendations for content of the proposals. Methods: Mixed research was used to achieve the target of the thesis, including an evaluation case study and an electronic survey. Results: The results of the research show the proposal of the Prague Black Panthers is the best processed. A long-term research is needed to prove it, but the results of the research show there might be a relationship between quality of the proposal, budget and the sports achievements of the club. The comparison of the current proposals with the sport marketing theory shows an inadequate proposal processing and lack of essential information which are important for the potential sponsors. Keywords: sport marketing, comparison, sponsorship, advertising, list of advertisement options, american football

<div>Recent advances in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), a noninvasive imaging technique, have spurred the exploration of poorly understood physiological phenomena <i>in vivo</i>. Applications of MRI vary greatly, from anatomical evaluation to complex functional analysis. The body of this dissertation presents four applications of MRI: 1) investigation of a novel traumatic brain injury (TBI) biomarker, 2) analysis of position-specific head acceleration events on neurometabolic profiles in high school football athletes, 3) the first reporting of neurometabolic changes in middle school football athletes, and 4) a novel application of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) to characterize implantable drug-delivery depots (Appendix A).</div><div> </div><div>Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is an MRI method used to evaluate the metabolic profiles of tissues. Certain brain metabolites (N-acetyl aspartate, <i>myo</i>-inositol, choline, creatine, and glutamate/glutamine) offer unique information regarding brain homeostasis following TBI. When coupled with additional metrics, such as head acceleration events recorded during collision-sport participation, the mechanisms of neurophysiological changes can be further elucidated. Here, player position-specific neurometabolic changes were evaluated in high school and middle school football athletes. Striking differences were noted between linemen and non-linemen as well as high school and middle school athletes.</div><div> </div><div>However, in most clinical cases of TBI, information regarding head acceleration events is unknown and baseline scans are not available.Therefore, it is critical to evaluate candidate biomarkers which increase solely in response to injury. Acrolein, a toxic reactive oxygen species, has been shown to increase following injury to the central nervous system in animal models. Hence, acrolein is a prime TBI biomarker candidate and has been investigated using nuclear magnetic resonance and MRS at 7 Tesla.</div><div> </div><div>Applications of MRI are not limited to the brain, or even tissues. Studies have reported that up to 50% of patients fail to take their medications correctly - resulting in disease progression and medication waste. <i>In situ</i> forming implants (ISFIs) offer an alternative to oral dosage regimens but have not been validated <i>in vivo. </i>Using DWI, ISFIs can be characterized noninvasively and their design can be refined, ultimately improving patient outcomes.</div><div> </div><div>Taken together, MRI is powerful tool that can be used to investigate a wide range of physiological questions. Chapters 2-4 will emphasize efforts to improve TBI diagnostics and better understand neurometabolic changes in youth football athletes. Appendix A offers insights into the DWI-guided characterization of <i>in situ</i> forming implants.</div>

O futebol americano é uma modalidade esportiva recente no Brasil. É regulado e sistematizado pela Confederação Brasileira de Futebol Americano (CBFA). O contexto do futebol americano no estado de São Paulo (SP) durante o período entre 2012 e 2015 foi pautado em uma disputa de poder pelo direito de organização da modalidade. O órgão associado à CBFA era a Liga Paulista de Futebol Americano (LPFA), porém, no ano de 2012, equipes descontentes com a gestão desta instituição romperam relações com a mesma e criaram a Federação de Futebol Americano do Estado de São Paulo (FEFASP). Reforçando a disputa por poder e capital simbólico dentro deste subcampo, principalmente no relacionamento entidade-equipes que se manteve até o início de 2015, quando foi anunciada a vinculação das equipes advindas da LPFA junto à FEFASP, resultando no fim da primeira. Deste modo, emergiram as seguintes questões: Como se organiza atualmente o futebol americano no estado de São Paulo pós-vinculação? Como se deu o processo de filiação das equipes da LPFA junto à FEFASP? Como se dão as ações dos sujeitos em relação à busca por poder e legitimidade social na organização do futebol americano no estado? Quais são os objetivos das equipes e entidades organizadoras da modalidade? Devido à recente inserção do futebol americano no país, à escassez de pesquisas e informações acadêmicas na área e a participação decisiva e protagonista de gestores de equipes em tais processos de divisão e vinculação de instituições reguladoras, o objetivo deste projeto de pesquisa foi investigar e delimitar o processo de organização das estruturas de poder estabelecidas nesta modalidade esportiva no estado de SP a partir de 2015, sob o ponto de vista de dirigentes de equipes. Este trabalho utilizou como referencial teórico para discussão e análise de seu objeto de pesquisa, categorias sociológicas da obra de Pierre Bourdieu. Através da análise de respostas provenientes de seis entrevistas semiestruturadas iniciais, os dados foram organizados e analisados por meio da Análise Temática, de forma que emergiram três grandes temas: a) Início, com os motivos que contribuíram para a vinculação, b) Processo, atuação dos agentes e acordos que resultaram na vinculação e c) Desdobramentos, com as consequências advindas do processo de vinculação, como novas disputas dentro do subcampo, como a disputa entre equipes da capital e do interior, com habitus fundamentados na localização geográfica dos dirigentes de acordo com suas equipes. É possível verificar que as categorias analíticas propostas por Bourdieu auxiliam no desvendar das relações existentes no espaço investigado. Esse trabalho se propôs a investigar um recorte específico do futebol americano no estado de SP, que possibilitou compreender como a vinculação se desenvolveu e o que alterou no subcampo a partir dela. A partir desse trabalho, pôde-se verificar a existência de algumas doxas do campo esportivo brasileiro, como a necessidade da organização burocrática estar relacionada com uma estrutura confederativa. / American football is a recent sport in Brazil. It is regulated and systematized by the Brazilian Confederation of American Football (CBFA). The context of American football in the state of São Paulo (SP) during the period between 2012 and 2015 was based on a power dispute for the right to organize the sport. The body associated with the CBFA was the Paulista League of American Football (LPFA), but in 2012, teams dissatisfied with the management of this institution broke relations with the same and created the Federation of American Football of the State of São Paulo (FEFASP) . Reinforcing the dispute for power and symbolic capital within this subfield, mainly in the entity-team relationship that remained until the beginning of 2015, when it was announced the linkage of the teams from LPFA to FEFASP, resulting in the end of the first. In this way, the following questions emerged: How is football organized in the state of São Paulo? How did the process of affiliation of the LPFA teams with FEFASP take place? How do the subjects\' actions regarding the search for power and social legitimacy in the organization of American football in the state? What are the objectives of the teams and entities that organize the sport? Due to the recent insertion of American football in the country, the lack of research and academic information in the area and the decisive participation and protagonist of team managers in such processes of division and linkage of regulatory institutions, the objective of this research project was to investigate and delimit the process of organizing the power structures established in this sports modality in the state of SP from 2015, from the point of view of team leaders. This work used as theoretical reference for discussion and analysis of its object of research, sociological categories of the work of Pierre Bourdieu. Through the analysis of responses from six initial semi-structured interviews, the data were organized and analyzed through the Thematic Analysis, so that three main themes emerged: a) Beginning, with the reasons that contributed to the linkage, b) Process, performance of the agents and agreements that resulted in the linkage; and c) Developments, with the consequences arising from the linking process, as new disputes within the subfield, such as the dispute between teams of the capital and the interior, with habitus based on the geographical location of the leaders according to their teams. It is possible to verify that the analytical categories proposed by Bourdieu help to unravel the existing relations in the space investigated. This work aimed to investigate a specific cut of American football in the state of SP, which made it possible to understand how the linkage developed and what altered in the subfield from it. From this work, it was possible to verify the existence of some doxas of the Brazilian sports field, as the necessity of the bureaucratic organization to be related to a confederative structure.

American football sport-related injuries have negatively affected millions of high school students' quality of life. Although there are studies about types, conditions, and psychological effects of injuries, a gap remained in the literature that involved injury prevention from the head coach's perspective. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to fill this gap by exploring how head coaches perceive their role and responsibility in reducing sport-related injury occurrences. Sabatier and Weible's advocacy coalition, Diener and Dweck's achievement goal theory, and Fishbein and Ajzen's theory of reasoned action framed this study. The research questions focused on the lived experiences from high school American football head coaches that will advance effective policy to reduce sport-related injuries. Criterion sampling was used to select 12 head coaches who received the NFL High School Coach of the Year award. Semi structured interviews were analyzed and interpreted according to Moustakas' data analysis methods. Key findings revealed there is an absence of national sport health and safety policy and support for high school American football head coaches as principal contributors and advocates for advancing effective policy to reduce sport-related injury occurrences. Recommendations from the research participants include implementation of standard policies by all state athletic associations to adopt minimum coach qualifications, injury and emergency protocols, and the presence of an athletic trainer/medical personnel at all sport activities. The implications for social change target advancing national policy focused on coach training, development, and monitoring processes for all high schools throughout the United States to support making American football safer.

Sports fandoms can form a key site of identity formation, particularly as they gather and merge numerous threads of identity, including gender, socio-economic status, and civic affiliation. The connections formed between members of the fandom, the fandom and the team, and the fandom and the place in which it is grounded can be a strong force for social cohesion. This cohesion becomes particularly relevant during times of crisis, when some turn to sports as a unifier. However, these relationships can also be fraught with tensions, within the group and without. Forces such as nostalgia and the ‘othering’ of those outside the group become import methods in creating and sustaining these Andersonian “imaginary communities” of fans, mitigating difference. In examining this process of identity creation, two cities were chosen for their intense team attachments: Pittsburgh and Baltimore. Qualitative analysis of discourses surrounding the teams in these cities reveals the complex ways in which nostalgic fantasies about the team and its relationship to the city are created and maintained, hierarchies of space and time are formed, and the identity of the community is shaped by its relationship to team and city. Analysis of the sporting landscape, created through a complex network of material culture, media, and the repetition of certain fantasy themes, reveals how geography is complexly implicated in the production of sporting fandom. / text

Despite evidence indicating negative consequences of repetitive head impacts (RHIs) on the brain, the long-term effects remain largely unknown. Contact sports, such as football, expose players to multiple collisions. Professional sports players have undergone thousands of concussive and sub-concussive RHIs over their careers. In this study we used structural 3T MRI to evaluate cortical thickness of 86 former NFL players (mean age ± SD = 54.9 ± 7.9 years old) and 24 former professional non-contact sport athletes as controls (mean age ± SD =57.2 ± 6.9 years old). Cortical thickness was compared between groups using FreeSurfer. The NFL players displayed decreased cortical thickness in the right temporal lobe and fusiform gyrus (cluster-wise p-value=0.0003, 90% CI=0.0001-0.0005) and the left pre- and postcentral gyrus (cluster-wise p-value=0.0096, 90% CI=0.0084-0.0109). When looking only at NFL subjects impaired in measurements of mood and behavior (n=36) compared to controls, NFL players displayed a similar but more extensive cluster of decreased cortical thickness in the right temporal lobe and fusiform gyrus (cluster-wise p-value=0.0001, 90% CI=0.0000-0.0002) and in the left supramarginal gyrus and pre- and postcentral gyrus, (cluster-wise p-value=0.0002, 90% CI=0.0000-0.0004). Reduced cortical thickness in NFL players is suggestive of the long-term effects of RHIs. Still, future studies are necessary for examining the time-course of damage and the implications of regional cortical thinning.

O futebol americano é uma modalidade esportiva recente no Brasil. É regulado e sistematizado pela Confederação Brasileira de Futebol Americano (CBFA). O contexto do futebol americano no estado de São Paulo (SP) durante o período entre 2012 e 2015 foi pautado em uma disputa de poder pelo direito de organização da modalidade. O órgão associado à CBFA era a Liga Paulista de Futebol Americano (LPFA), porém, no ano de 2012, equipes descontentes com a gestão desta instituição romperam relações com a mesma e criaram a Federação de Futebol Americano do Estado de São Paulo (FEFASP). Reforçando a disputa por poder e capital simbólico dentro deste subcampo, principalmente no relacionamento entidade-equipes que se manteve até o início de 2015, quando foi anunciada a vinculação das equipes advindas da LPFA junto à FEFASP, resultando no fim da primeira. Deste modo, emergiram as seguintes questões: Como se organiza atualmente o futebol americano no estado de São Paulo pós-vinculação? Como se deu o processo de filiação das equipes da LPFA junto à FEFASP? Como se dão as ações dos sujeitos em relação à busca por poder e legitimidade social na organização do futebol americano no estado? Quais são os objetivos das equipes e entidades organizadoras da modalidade? Devido à recente inserção do futebol americano no país, à escassez de pesquisas e informações acadêmicas na área e a participação decisiva e protagonista de gestores de equipes em tais processos de divisão e vinculação de instituições reguladoras, o objetivo deste projeto de pesquisa foi investigar e delimitar o processo de organização das estruturas de poder estabelecidas nesta modalidade esportiva no estado de SP a partir de 2015, sob o ponto de vista de dirigentes de equipes. Este trabalho utilizou como referencial teórico para discussão e análise de seu objeto de pesquisa, categorias sociológicas da obra de Pierre Bourdieu. Através da análise de respostas provenientes de seis entrevistas semiestruturadas iniciais, os dados foram organizados e analisados por meio da Análise Temática, de forma que emergiram três grandes temas: a) Início, com os motivos que contribuíram para a vinculação, b) Processo, atuação dos agentes e acordos que resultaram na vinculação e c) Desdobramentos, com as consequências advindas do processo de vinculação, como novas disputas dentro do subcampo, como a disputa entre equipes da capital e do interior, com habitus fundamentados na localização geográfica dos dirigentes de acordo com suas equipes. É possível verificar que as categorias analíticas propostas por Bourdieu auxiliam no desvendar das relações existentes no espaço investigado. Esse trabalho se propôs a investigar um recorte específico do futebol americano no estado de SP, que possibilitou compreender como a vinculação se desenvolveu e o que alterou no subcampo a partir dela. A partir desse trabalho, pôde-se verificar a existência de algumas doxas do campo esportivo brasileiro, como a necessidade da organização burocrática estar relacionada com uma estrutura confederativa. / American football is a recent sport in Brazil. It is regulated and systematized by the Brazilian Confederation of American Football (CBFA). The context of American football in the state of São Paulo (SP) during the period between 2012 and 2015 was based on a power dispute for the right to organize the sport. The body associated with the CBFA was the Paulista League of American Football (LPFA), but in 2012, teams dissatisfied with the management of this institution broke relations with the same and created the Federation of American Football of the State of São Paulo (FEFASP) . Reinforcing the dispute for power and symbolic capital within this subfield, mainly in the entity-team relationship that remained until the beginning of 2015, when it was announced the linkage of the teams from LPFA to FEFASP, resulting in the end of the first. In this way, the following questions emerged: How is football organized in the state of São Paulo? How did the process of affiliation of the LPFA teams with FEFASP take place? How do the subjects\' actions regarding the search for power and social legitimacy in the organization of American football in the state? What are the objectives of the teams and entities that organize the sport? Due to the recent insertion of American football in the country, the lack of research and academic information in the area and the decisive participation and protagonist of team managers in such processes of division and linkage of regulatory institutions, the objective of this research project was to investigate and delimit the process of organizing the power structures established in this sports modality in the state of SP from 2015, from the point of view of team leaders. This work used as theoretical reference for discussion and analysis of its object of research, sociological categories of the work of Pierre Bourdieu. Through the analysis of responses from six initial semi-structured interviews, the data were organized and analyzed through the Thematic Analysis, so that three main themes emerged: a) Beginning, with the reasons that contributed to the linkage, b) Process, performance of the agents and agreements that resulted in the linkage; and c) Developments, with the consequences arising from the linking process, as new disputes within the subfield, such as the dispute between teams of the capital and the interior, with habitus based on the geographical location of the leaders according to their teams. It is possible to verify that the analytical categories proposed by Bourdieu help to unravel the existing relations in the space investigated. This work aimed to investigate a specific cut of American football in the state of SP, which made it possible to understand how the linkage developed and what altered in the subfield from it. From this work, it was possible to verify the existence of some doxas of the Brazilian sports field, as the necessity of the bureaucratic organization to be related to a confederative structure.

Bakgrund: Amerikansk fotboll är en sport under tillväxt internationellt. I Sverige finns tre herrligor i dagsläget. Styrketräning är, nästintill, nödvändigt för spelare inom amerikansk fotboll för att optimera prestation samt reducera risk för akuta- samt överbelastningsskador.  Syfte: Kartlägga styrketräningsdosering samt skade- och sjukdomsläget hos spelare i Sveriges högsta och tredje herrliga under fyra veckor i tävlingssäsong. Metod: Ett frågeformulär formades riktat åt studiens syfte, och förmedlades ut till organisationer i ovan nämnda ligor. Data gällande antal styrketräningspass per vecka, antal övningar per styrketräningspass, antal set per övning, antal repetitioner per set samt skattad utmattning (RPE) i genomsnittligt set samlades in. Även data gällande sjukdomar och skador som begränsat träning senaste fyra veckorna togs in. Data delades in i subgrupper enligt liga samt spelarens position. Resultat: Insamlad data visade följande: 41 % av deltagarna styrketränade ett till två pass per vecka och 37 % tre till fyra pass. Tjugoen procent utförde tre till fyra övningar per pass, 48 % utförde fem till sex och 27 % utförde sju eller fler. Åttioen procent utförde tre till fyra set per övning. Fyrtio procent utförde fyra till sju repetitioner per set och 52 % utförde åtta till tolv. Medianvärdet (kvartilavstånd) för RPE skattningar per set var 7 (2). Andelen som begränsats i träning av skada under de senaste fyra veckorna var 42 %. Motsvarande andel gällande sjukdom var 13 %. Slutsats: Denna studie visar att hälften av deltagarnas styrketräningsdosering var i linje med rekommendationer för att bibehålla styrka och kraftutveckling samt inverka på risk för akuta- samt överbelastningsskador under tävlingssäsong. På grund av stickprovets begränsade storlek behövs vidare studier i detta område samt kring optimal styrketräningsdosering hos spelare inom amerikansk fotboll. / Introduction: American football is a growing sport internationally. In Sweden there are three leagues of men’s American football. Strength training is thought necessary for American football players to perform well and reduce the risk of acute and overload injuries. Aim: To describe what the dosage of strength training were among the players and, further, the number of injuries and illnesses of players active in the first and third Swedish league during the competitive season.  Method: A survey was created for this aim and sent to organizations in targeted leagues. Data on weekly number of sessions, number of exercises per session, number of sets and repetitions and ratings of perceived exertion as well as injuries and illnesses was collected and analyzed for the entity and subgroups, determined by league and position. Results: The collected data showed the following: 41 % of the players performed one to two weekly sessions and 37 % performed three to four weekly sessions. Twenty-one percent performed three to four exercises per session, 48 % performed five to six and 27 % performed seven or more. Eighty-one percent performed three to four number of sets per exercise. Forty percent performed four to seven repetitions per set and 52 % performed eight to twelve. The median value (inter-quartile range) of the rated perceived exertion per set was 7 (2). The amount of players limited in training by injuries during the previous four weeks was 42 %. The equivalent for illnesses was 13 %.  Conclusion: Approximately half the sample of players performed a total strength training dosage thought to retain strength and power and, further, to have an effect on the risk of acute and overload injuries during the competitive season. Because of the small sample size, optimal strength training dosage for American football players needs further study.