Three academic researchers investigated the idea
that, in American sports, there are two segments
with opposing views about the goal of competition
(i.e., winning versus self-actualization)
and the acceptable/desirable way of achieving
this goal.7
Persons who believe in “winning at
any cost” are proponents of sports success as a
product and can be labeled new school (NS) individuals. The new
school is founded on notions of the player before the team, loyalty
to the highest bidder, and high-tech production and consumption
of professional sports. On the other hand, persons who value the
process of sports and believe that “how you play the game matters”
can be labeled old school (OS) individuals. The old school emerges
from old-fashioned American notions of the team before the
player, sportsmanship, and loyalty above all else, and competition
simply for “love of the game.”
New School/Old School was measured by asking agreement
with ten attitude statements. The scores on these statements were
combined. Higher scores represent an orientation toward old school
values. For purposes of this case study, individuals who did not
answer every question were eliminated from the analysis. Based on their
summated scores across the ten items, respondents were grouped into
low score, middle score, and high score groups. Case Exhibit 22.1–1
shows the SPSS computer output of a cross-tabulation to relate the
gender of the respondent (GENDER) with the New School/Old
School grouping (OLDSKOOL)