Framing Sports Nostalgia: The Case of the New York Islanders’ Fisherman Logo Revival Across Broadcast and Social Media
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Sports teams increasingly use nostalgia-based marketing to spark fan engagement and boost merchandise sales. Yet these efforts can also provoke backlash, especially when they resurrect contested imagery. This article examines how one such campaign—the New York Islanders’ 2015 revival of their controversial fisherman logo—was framed across team broadcasts and interpreted by fans on social media. Drawing on a qualitative textual analysis of television and radio coverage alongside a quantitative content analysis of 563 tweets, the study reveals a divide between institutional messaging and grassroots reaction. While team broadcasts emphasized charity and sentimental appeal, fan discourse was notably more critical, mocking the jersey’s design and recalling past failures. By positioning nostalgia not only as a branding asset but as a reputational risk, the article contributes a novel perspective to debates about commercialization, mediatization, and fan co-production in sports. It also demonstrates the value of mixed methods for analyzing how branding narratives are negotiated in real time.
Source: Histories
Authors: Nicholas Hirshon, Klive Oh
Institutions: William Paterson University, Pepperdine University
Language: English
Topic: Sports, Gender, and Society
Subfield: Gender Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,207
OpenAlex ID: W4413350686