In just half a year, the Tokyo Olympics and the Beijing Winter Olympics have been held successively, and many "top-notch" sports stars have been "out of the circle" with their excellent results. Many netizens said that "this is the star worth chasing".

However, while the athlete group has become the "new idol of the whole people", bad "fan circle" behaviors such as follow-up, door-to-door live broadcast, private message harassment, and mutual tearing of fan groups have gradually emerged, which violated athletes' personal privacy and interfered with athletes' training and competition operations. potential risks.

It is worth thinking about not only letting athletes "out of the circle" but also preventing the "fan circle" from eroding the sports field.

Olympic Games Revise Aesthetics, Athletes Become New Idols

  In recent years, Chinese athletes have always achieved better results in major events, and public attention has increased significantly.

Especially since 2021, entertainment stars have frequently "turned over", and the comprehensive management work in the entertainment field has continued to increase. Enterprises and platforms have turned to seek "safer, more mainstream, and more upward traffic", and the commercial value of the athlete group has become increasingly popular. attach great importance to.

  During the Tokyo Olympics, there were 3,462 hot words related to the Olympics on the list.

The healthy and sunny image has made the athletes "new idols of the whole people", and netizens commented that "the Olympic Games have severely revised my aesthetics".

  At the Beijing Winter Olympics, after Gu Ailing of the Chinese national team won the first gold medal in the history of the Chinese women's snow event, 26 of the 50 topics on Sina Weibo's hot search list were related to Gu Ailing, almost "contracting" the whole day's top Internet traffic.

  "We encourage the emergence of sports stars, who have attracted many fans with their high-profile performances in the stadium." Peng Keng, general manager of Ali Sports, believes that star players can build a sense of belonging for the home team's fans and attract more people's attention Exercising, watching the game live, and even participating in sports in person are all welcome.

Bad "fan circle" habits are surging, athletes encounter cyber violence

  Athletes gain attention for their outstanding performance, but also attract fans beyond sports fans, whose focus has shifted from the sport itself to the athlete's appearance, business endorsements, and private lives.

  Athlete lace topics that have nothing to do with sports competitions have ignited the popularity of sports events and frequently grabbed the hot search list on the Internet.

There is a trend of "fan circle" in the comment area, and online violence against athletes has also increased.

For example, athlete Zhang Weili was attacked by irrational netizens after failing to defend her title, and shooter Wang Luyao posted a selfie online after her defeat at the Tokyo Olympics, but was criticized by netizens.

  Behaviors that violate the personal privacy of athletes such as follow-up photography and live broadcasts also occur from time to time.

At the Tokyo Olympics, after diving athlete Quan Hongchan won the gold medal, some fans and Internet anchors flocked to Quan Hongchan's home to "check in" or even live broadcast, which not only affected the normal life of the athlete's family, but also caused Quan Hongchan's psychological pressure.

In the subsequent interview, Quan Hongchan once said that she was afraid that she would not be liked if she could not dance well.

  In September 2021, table tennis player Fan Zhendong was surrounded by fans at the airport, and the scene was out of control for a time.

Facing the crazy behavior of some fans, Fan Zhendong called on the public on social media to only pay attention to his performance on the field, not to pay attention to his daily life off the field, and to spy on his normal training, and said that fans will not be fans of stars For the support team, the expression "fan circle" does not apply to athletes.

  Soon, the Chinese Olympic Committee issued a statement calling on all sectors of society to respect the individual rights and interests of athletes, pursue stars rationally, avoid inappropriate words and deeds, and resolutely prevent the spread of "fan circle" chaos to the sports field.

  The "fan circle" fan behavior is also disgusting for sports fans.

Some sports enthusiasts said that they were frequently harassed and abused just because they analyzed the reasons for the loss of the athletes in the forum, and the environment for rational and objective discussion of the competition was polluted.

"Some 'beautiful fans' don't know sports knowledge, and if the athletes they support perform poorly, they say that the referee's score is unfair; if they perform well, they will step on other athletes and introduce the phrase 'step on and hold one' into the game. ."

  "Fan circle culture" is very exclusive. Fans need to support idols unconditionally, and they cannot tolerate any criticism. They can only "guard" themselves and do not allow others to speak their minds. ” and “Squad.”

  "The trend of 'fandomization' in sports cannot last for a long time." Zhang Qing, founder of Beijing Key Way Sports Consulting Co., Ltd. believes, "The star-making model in the field of entertainment is not suitable for the field of sports. Athletes rely on performance on the field rather than packaging. ."

Let athletes "get out of the circle" and "expand the circle"

  Fan power is a double-edged sword. If it is not used properly, it will cause all kinds of chaos. If it is used properly, it can provide strong momentum for the development of sports.

"Fans are active disseminators of information and play a pioneering role in the popularization of sports." Hu Cencen, a teacher at the School of Journalism and Communication, Beijing Sports University, said that correctly guiding the combination of fans and sports stars is conducive to promoting sports to the public .

  At present, the sports authorities and sports operation teams are adapting to the new changes, encouraging athletes to open Weibo, Douyin and other social accounts with an open mind to share training routines, competition experiences and interesting life stories.

  Zhang Qing believes that the current domestic sports industry's exploration of promoting athletes "out of the circle" and preventing the invasion of "fan circle culture" reflects problems such as the imbalance of supply and demand in my country's sports industry, the lack of professional brand building, and the need to improve experience in event operation.

Some platforms, media, etc. have a weak ability to mine the content of the competition itself, so they turn their attention to lace.

Therefore, if sports broadcasters and media can provide more professional information release and event interpretation, it will help protect athletes and reduce disputes and attacks by extreme netizens.

  The domestic sports industry has long neglected to cultivate the ability of athletes to deal with the public and the media, which also makes it easy for athletes to be at a loss when they suddenly become popular.

"Compared to the decent and fluent expressions of foreign elite athletes off the field, I really hope our athletes can also calmly face the camera and the public's attention." Some sports enthusiasts interviewed said that the current industry situation requires athletes to master the skills of dealing with public relations. The ability to not only interact positively with fans, but also guide fans to express their attitudes reasonably.

  As one of the main channels for fans to chase stars, online platforms should also increase their self-management efforts to provide a clear environment for online community event discussions.

  Banyuetan reporter: Wu Yanxia, ​​Li Xiaoting, Zhao Yufei (intern Wang Hanyi also contributed to this article)