Mediated Spaces

Today the expert group presentation was on mediated spaces. After we counted off into fours, we went to different spots on campus. The bookie, ground level of the cub, main floor of the cub, and the stadium. My group went to the stadium.

In the stadium we went over what we're allowed to do and how that's all mediated. So we first went over what the stadium walk like when its full and usually at football games. We noted that there isn't any formal dress code. At a bar you would be required to wear shoes, shirt and pants and all that. But at a football game people can wear whatever. I've seen girls wear swim suits, dresses, and I've seen guys that don't wear shirts. Something else we noticed was how you can scream in the stadium but it is socially unacceptable to just yell profanity even though I've seen it happen at games. There's also no drinking allowed in the stadium but there is a beer garden in the field behind the stadium. So there are mediated drinking spaces. Then we talked about how the space was organized. We all know the field is in the center and it is to be the main attraction and focus. But something else I noticed now is that in high school there is usually a track around the football field and now in college there is literally just the field as the main stage. There is just the field and the bleachers, lights and TV's are all based around the football field. There are also sections of the field that are marked. For example there's a section 28, 27 and so on. Then the seats are also marked as are the rows. But on a larger and social scale there is the student section, visitor section, alumni and guest seating. There are also box seats where people can sit covered and warm during cold games. The student section isn't assigned seating it's socially acceptable to stand on the bleachers and they aren't really used for the purpose of sitting and watching the game. People usually only sit during down times like half time, and before the game starts. The stadium is also set up with the football complex on the side that was created just for the football players. They have their own gym, huge locker room, restaurant and everything they need to be successful. The audience is the students, alumni, visitors and any football fans. Another audience is the audience watching on TV. The technologies that are used throughout the stadium are the lights, scoreboards, screens, and the audio (speakers, announcer, canon, etc.). These are all factors that contribute to the cougar football experience.