Social Situation Observation (ESR 505)

The social situation that I chose to observe was a co-ed recreational softball game. The game took place on the women's softball field at UIC. There is only one field there with two dugouts and a small bleachers section. The environment is open to the public, but in general the people who attend these games self-select to attend because of personal connections to either of the teams. The field has common attributes: outfield, infield with bases, fencing behind home plate, and lights. There are areas around the softball field that also hold other activities, such as a children's soccer practice. The field is accessible to the public and within walking distance to public transportation.

The main groups of people at the game were, players (from two teams), spectators and the umpire. The spectators were also split in different ways based on which team they were cheering for; the group cheering for Team A were sitting in the dugout with the members of the softball team. Conversely the group cheering for Team B were sitting on the bleachers (found behind home plate, between the two dugouts). I was privy to this information because I was sitting in the dugout and so I knew which fans were cheering for which team. General demographics of participants (without taking an actual survey or census), were mostly in the 21-35 years old age range, with the exception of the umpire who looked to be in his mid-50s. Each team had 7-12 players and were a mix of male and female. The teams are required to have a certain ratio of males to females to play. The spectators were all female and the umpire male. The team I mostly closely observed, Team A, there was a definite leader. A male player who had organized the team (e.g. had the waiver for the team to sign, organized a bar sponsor, had the lineup pre-made, had the field positions pre-established, etc). There were other members of the team who were considered experts, including the pitcher who was a female with extensive prior softball experience. There were also members of the team who were used as ratio fillers and restricted to playing positions where it is commonly known to do the least amount of damage (i.e. right field).

The reasoning for the different groups of people to be there were varied by all were connected to one central theme, the softball game. The players were there because they had signed up to be on the team and paid an entrance fee to play in the league. They showed up to play the game and so their team did not forfeit (automatic loss). The playing of the game included batting, running the bases, pitching, catching, throwing, playing infield/outfield, and also sitting in the dugout when it was not their turn to play (either at bat or on the field). The umpire was there because he is needed to regulate the game. His job is to call the balls fair/foul, strike/ball and to make sure the game is run in an orderly and fair fashion. He is also paid to be at the game. The spectators come to support the team, whether that support is voluntary or if there is some social pressure because of their connection to a person(s) on the team, that is debatable. From the spectators that I spoke with, many were there to support their significant others or to hang out with their friends.