We have come and entered a new day and age when it comes to Soccer played live in the moment and the accompanying commentary side of things. Now sport has become very well documented through digital and online content. Sport in general has definitely changed a great deal because back in the days of the world cup and older sporting season in the premier league for example, people would tune in, listen, and that would be the end of it. Commentary nowadays extends into the social platforms of many, and pretty much gets around. Every season of soccer would get multiple versions of the events that had occurred, incorporated with a bunch of different opinions/take on things through Twitter, Facebook, Instagram-the list essentially goes on and on!
Even betting houses nowadays such as www.Sportsbet.com.au, have formed a persona via their secondary blog content and social media platforms. This generation of content really does allow and influence over the sport events that have occurred (and will occur), as it allows everyone to have their say to what happens live in the moment of a match for example. This really opens a broad new spectrum, where everyone can be their own source of answers and communication between the audience and sports.
Not only does it empower the sport lovers, it really does form a bond between the sporting clubs and their fans, as they can frequently operate and connect on an everyday basis with their loyal allegiance. Giving fans updates of what soccer players are up to outside of games i.e. a personal insight, brings a stronger dynamic and community cohesion for any sporting club. Moments can easily be captured and kept, discussions about sport politics-especially after controversial matches can actually happen too! If a fan missed even a second of a moment that happened within a match, all they would need to do is check up on the socials, to ensure they are completely up to date!
Fake news has become an increasingly big issue within the social media platforms however. Rumours can accelerate very quickly, especially about players and the sports culture generated from the said sports teams. Reputation can easily rise and fall within the social media world-far more quickly than your traditional media outlets like live news (Sky Sports and BBC for example) and newspapers. The content published on behalf of sport clubs via Twitter for example, is never verified, and anyone can have an opinion really, which is not always a good thing. The maintenance of traditional media outlets, means the sources of information will always be pretty much correct and up to date. Of course, things will slightly differ based on biased opinion, yet it will never be hugely controversial, with a massive spin on the truth.
Many today say that social media if anything has increased rivalry and toxic relationships between clubs. Many of the hard-core football fans will know without us having to mention anything, the large hate that is expressed between Barcelona and Real Madrid for example. Some verbalisations online (which are just a matter of opinion), can really get out of hand and ultimately fuel something on a much deeper level. So just as social media can bring cohesion between supporters, it can cause factions, racism and a hate culture, just as badly.