SOCIOLOGY OF SPORT JOURNAL, 1987,4,347-362

Putting on the Game Face: The Staging of Emotions in Professional Hockey

Charles P. Gallmeier California State University, Long Beach

Dramaturgical analysis is used in a participant observation study of the emo- tional performances of professional hockey players before, during, and after professional games. The structure for the staging of these emotional displays is briefly described, but much more attention is placed on understanding the social processes involved in the mental or emotional preparation the players undergo in getting psyched up and "putting on the game face. " The staging of emotions is seen to evolve from expectation for emotional experience, to diffuse emotional readiness, and f i l y to quite specific emotional displays. The staging of emotions is shown to be directed by socialization agents (i.e., coach, trainer, teammates) who evoke rapidly shifting emotional expressions for each game day situation.

Several sociologists interested in the study of sport have discussed the func- tions of emotions in that context. The expression of emotions by players or spec- tators has been interpreted as a form of catharsis for personal frustrations or so- cial strains (Ferguson, 1980; Butt, 1976; Elias & Dunning, 1970), as an element in social control (McIntosh, 1971; Snyder & Spreitzer, 1975), as a manifestation of important social symbolisms (Keenan, 1966; Lahr, 1976; Maheu, 1963; Zurcher & Meadow, 1967), as an affirmation of societal values (Luschen, 1967; Edwards, 1973; Krawczyk, 1973; Wohl, 1970; Deegan & Stein, 1978), and as an aspect of the quest for new experience and for role balance (Sloan, 1979; Bernstein, 1975; Steele & Zurcher, 1973; Hilliard & Zurcher, 1978). These studies are primarily concerned with macroissues and with the institutionalized nature of sport and the emotions associated with it.

More recently sociologists have focused on microissues involving emotions and sport. These researchers have used qualitative techniques in order to dis- cover and understand the social processes associated with what Hochschild (1979) has called "emotion-work. " For example, Zurcher (1982) has reported that col- lege football players must work very hard to get mentally prepared, or psyched

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport, October 30-November 2, 1986, Las Vegas, Nevada.

Direct all correspondence to Charles P. Gallmeier, Department of Sociology, 1250 Bellflower Blvd., California State University, Long Beach, CA 90840.

348 Gallmeier

up, for the game. They labor, in a manner consistent with instructions from social- ization agents, to anticipate emotions appropriate for the situation. HiUiard (1986a, 1986b) has demonstrated, through data collected by participant observation, the importance of the staging of emotions in triathlon competitions.

The purpose of this paper is threefold: (a) to contribute to the literature on emotions in sociology and social psychology, (b) to contribute to the litera- ture on emotions in the sociology of sport, and (c) to contribute to the literature on the social processes associated with emotions in the sociology of sport. Fol- lowing Zurcher's example (1982) I use the dramaturgical perspective of symbol- ic interactionism to reveal the manner in which sets of emotions, not just single emotions, can be socially influenced. Dramaturgically considered, the perfor- mance of emotion is enacted by the individual in terms of his or her understand- ing of appropriate emotional behaviors in a particular situation.

Guided by this theoretical perspective, I describe the stages or steps that shaped the sets of emotional responses I observed while witnessing over 82 profes- sional hockey games. However, before doing so, it is important to provide an account of the methodological techniques used in collecting and analyzing the data.

Methods

Data Collection

Data for this article were collected using a triangulation (Denzin, 1970) of qualitative methods. The primary source of data was field notes acquired through participant observation. The field notes constituted a chronological account, as accurate as possible, of everything I could remember: descriptions of the various settings, behaviors, activities, participants, and events. Each page was given a title, page number, date, and the time period in which the observations took place.

To increase the accuracy and completeness of the field notes and to claim some statements as verbatim, numerous notes were taken while in the field in a small, pocketsized notebook. These notes consisted of key words indicating specific incidents, their nature or sequence, and verbatim phrases jotted down within 5 to 10 minutes after they occurred. These notes were made in private places; toilets appeared particularly handy for such activities, as well as the press box where reporters and broadcasters were in the habit of taking notes or writing something down while watching the action on the ice. Notes were never taken in the subjects' presence. Typically, upon arriving home from a day or evening of observation, I immediately outlined these notes, working them out into full field notes.

Participant observation was continuous (7 days a week) in that regular contact with the various settings and actors was maintained over an 8-month period, or one complete hockey season. To gain entry to this unique occupational world I made use of a research strategy that Riemer (1977) calls "opportunistic." I took advantage of a unique circumstance by enlisting my father as a "gatekeep- er." Because of my father's role as sports editor and his reputation as the dean of hockey reporters covering the league, and because of my father's long per- sonal and professional relationship (a period spanning 25 years) with the owner of the team, I was granted permission to spend the 1981-1982 hockey season traveling with the team. Although I wrote formally to the owner asking his per-

PUTTING ON THE GAME FACE 349

mission and explaining my interests and intentions, it was largely my father's efforts that opened the gate to the lives of the players and the multiple settings of their occupational world.

Though my father's efforts helped secure official permission from the owner and his general manager and coach, I still faced the arduous and uncertain task of developing a rapport with the players themselves. Space limitations pre- vent me from providing a detailed account of this part of the field experience, and I direct the reader to an earlier paper (Gallmeier, 1986) wherein I describe the "natural history" (Becker, 1970) of the research process. In short, although it took time and considerable effort, I eventually gained access to the multiple settings of this occupational subculture. I made over 55 trips on the team bus, or what the players called the Iron Lung. I was able to enter and leave the team's dressing room with no restrictions, attend team meetings, practice sessions, and team parties or booster club social affairs.

After 2 months in the field I was "initiated" (see Gallmeier, 1986) by the team and received a team nickname. After this incident I received complete access to a position behind the bench, directly next to the coach, during all home and road games. From this point on I participated in all the activities that the players were involved in, with the exception of actually playing the game. In the literature on participant observation my role closely approximates what Gold (1958) called many years ago the "participant as observer. " In all, the study involved approximately 800 hours of participant observation.

The team played in a minor league that the players called the Core and I will call the Midwestern League. The team, which I name the Summit City Rockets (a pseudonym, as are the names used for players in the following pages), was located in a medium-sized city in a midwestern state. The Midwestern League (the Core) represents the third level of what are essentially four levels of profes- sional hockey. The National Hockey League (NHL) represents the pinnacle of success for professional hockey players. That is the major leagues and anything below is called the minors. The Rockets of course have their own terms for this stratification system: the Big Apple (NHL), the Crab Apple (AHL), the Core (IHL), and the Burial Ground (ACL; Gallmeier, 1987). Throughout the &month field period I came in contact with approximately 75 hockey players, although 1 gained intimate familiarity with only 25 players, or one third of the total sample. The players ranged in age from 19 to 30 years. The majority were Canadian with a few French Canadians and even fewer American-born players. Almost all were from blue-collar backgrounds with only 10 having some college experience and only 5 of the 10 possessing a college degree. All of the players were, as Roger Kahn might say, "good enough to dream," and as of this writing 5 of the Rock- ets are enjoying successful careers playing hockey in the Big Apple.

The second source of data involved use of what Zimrnerrnan and Wieder (1977) call the diary interview method. A key informant was asked to keep a chronologically organized diary, or log, of his activities with the team. I chose a player I named Crawdaddy as the diarist because he was one of the few college- educated players and he had received a B.A. in sociology while attending college on a hockey scholarship. The completed diary served the same function as field notes, and in this way the diarist served as an adjunct ethnographer of his own circumstances. The diarist, having furnished an initial record of potentially in- teresting activities to this investigator, was then recast in the role of informant.

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PUTTING ON THE GAME FACE 351

groups are the properties of the category. For instance, in many observations the players were concerned with demonstrating the proper display of emotion (seriousness, nervousness, anger, disappointment, happiness, etc.). These ob- servations gave rise to the category of mental preparation. In these observations the players expressed various meanings the concept mental preparation held for them. These subgroups of observations, expressing different meanings of mental preparation in this occupational world, constituted the properties of the mental preparation or emotion-work category: category-mental preparationlemotion- work (properties-being nervous, angry, happy, etc.) .

The actual process of category generation consisted of segmenting the field notes and transcriptions of interviews into individual observations that expressed opinions or meanings (through acts, activities, andlor verbal statements) about the process of mental preparation.

Theoretical Sampling, Saturation, and Isolation of Patterns

The initial data collection was an attempt to provide an account of all that there was to see. Categories and properties were then generated and validated, and reliability procedures were carried out. After these processes, data collec- tion became more focused. Without violating the principles of a naturalistic methodology, I started to pick and choose with regard to whom I would talk, about what and to what extent to probe, and about where I would go for further data collection. These decisions were made in order to saturate certain categories and properties, which seemed of greatest signiticance relative to the scope of previ- ous knowledge and to the amount of subject's behavior they explained. Glaser and Strauss (1967) name this picking and choosing theoretical sampling.

At a certain point, certain observations occurred again and again, and I decided that the category or property was saturated. In other words, collecting more observations would only have added bulk to the data.

While collecting data to saturate categories and properties I started looking for relations between them. Relations between categories and properties can form behavior patterns in the data. In looking for the frequency and distribution of such patterns I was concerned with what Wiseman calls total patterns and data clusters (1970:278). By total patterns Wiseman is basically referring to the ex- pression of collective belief systems or the group's world view. Data clusters refer to a compilation of specific events or activities occurring inside a given group under study. For example, data clusters utilized in this report concerned the stages involved in the process of emotion-work, such as before the game: game day, team meeting, 60 minutes to showtime, and the warm-up.

The Game as 10% Physical, 90% Mental

The Rockets all agreed during the interviews that their work involves a mental or emotional aspect that is considered to be just as important as the physi- cal skills necessary to perform their occupational roles. Bronco, a 7-year vete- ran, points out,

Ten percent of this game is physical; 90 percent of it is mental. You have to be ready mentally and emotionally before you go out there. If you're not then it's going to show, I don't care how good you are.

For the Rockets, this mental preparation includes the enactment of behaviors that correspond not to one but to several discretely labeled emotions. The label- ing is provided by the audience and by the actors themselves, and is consistent with their self-perceptions and with their accustomed modes of self-expression. As the following sections demonstrate, the Rockets are influenced by others to get into the appropriate mood for the game, that being a comparatively serious state of diffuse emotional readiness. They are instructed to concentrate on the forthcoming game, to get psyched up for it, and to put on their game faces.

My examination of the Rockets' emotional expressions during hockey games is not directly concerned with institutional or organizational forces except for some attention to their effects on emotional stage setting. As Zurcher explains (1982), dramaturgy is not the best conceptual tool for analyzing those forces at the macroscopic level. However, dramaturgy is helpful for revealing how emo- tional expression is socially influenced and constructed within the immediate situa- tion of groups of people who have assembled in accordance with institutional patterns.

I will present the findings and interpretations of the Rockets' emotion-work in three sections: before the game, during the game, and after the game (See Zurch- er, 1982). In order to understand the mental or emotional aspect of the Rockets' work, I invite the reader to accompany me into the backstage regions of this oc- cupational world.

Before the Game Game Day

For the Rockets, emotion-work begins on the morning of each game day. Primary to early game mood is location; will the game be played at home or on the road? Environmental conditions can be paramount, particularly if some con- testants are more familiar or comfortable with the surroundings than others are. The Rockets are familiar with the condition of their home ice, the relative com- fort (in comparison to visitor's dressing rooms) of their dressing room, and the support of the home-town fans. Here we come upon the elusive but ubiquitous home court advantage (Adler & Adler, 1978). Playing the game in "your own barn," clearly provides an advantage in mental or emotional preparation. As Gib- by, a veteran defenseman, explains,

It is easier to get up for a game when we are playing at home. You know the rink, the condition of the ice, the angle of the boards . . . you're in your own dressing room . . . playing in front of your own fans . . . it relaxes you, makes it easier getting psyched up when you're playing in your own barn.

In contrast, an excerpt from Crawdaddy's diary describes his emotional state before boarding the Iron Lung for a road game:

I really hate this trip to River City. I've got to get into a better mood but I really hate that rink . . . the place is so depressing, the rink is much smaller, the condition of the ice is brutal, and the fans are animals. . . . They throw chairs at you, toss cups of beer in your face, and spit at you . . . always trying to egg you into fights, they just harass you, being totally obnoxious assholes and we have to put up with that.

PUlTlNG ON THE GAME FACE 353

Team Meeting

Whether the Rockets are playing at home or on the road, the first episode of emotion-work occurs during the team meeting. During home games this meet- ing always takes place at 10 A.M. on the morning before the game, with the time varying slightly when the Rockets are traveling to another city for their even- ing's work. The meeting takes place in the dressing room, and the players are fined heavily if they are late or are not displaying the proper attention during the proceedings. The players are quiet, subdued, and businesslike while sitting in their stalls waiting for the coach to arrive. The coach usually posts a sign with some thought or slogan for the players to read and contemplate while awaiting his arrival. One such sign spelled out in bold red letters reads,

Mental attitude is the crucial difference between winners and losers. So to win you have to be tough. Physically tough and mentally tough.

Snyder (1972) has shown elsewhere that coaches use dressing room slogans as a means of socializing athletes into accepting the attitudes and values believed to garner success on the playing field. The coach walks in and points to the sign above the chalkboard and, without any introductory comments, crisply orders, "Let's review the game film." The lights are dimmed and a film of the Rocket's last game is flashed on the screen. The coach highlights segments of the film and briskly asks individual players what they were supposed to do in particular play situations. The players respond only to the questions asked of them. Other- wise they remain attentive and quiet. Their answers are precise and brief, usual- ly punctuated with "got it, coach." Their tone is businesslike and they avoid eye contact with each other, staring directly ahead, concentrating on the screen in front of them. As Parksie the veteran goaltender explains,

The team meeting is not the place for rah rah displays or the time to be hyper, eh? It's a time to be cool, to be thinking about the game, a time to be quiet and listen, watch, pay attention. You know, it's a time to be getting it up, start thinking about the game but not getting carried away, eh? It's time to start working on the game mood; you haven't got your face on yet, but you're getting in the mood.

The term mood suggests an interactionally derived, though rather privatized, diffuse emotional state which, if appropriately cued, can be channeled by the in- dividual into very intense behavior (Zurcher, 1982). Throughout the team meet- ing, the Rockets are expected to act serious, be quiet and thoughtful. It is a time to ask questions, clarify work expectations, and begin thinking about the even- ing's work. As the coach told me during an interview,

At team meetings the playe~s are supposed to be concentrating on the game . . . they should be in the proper mood, the proper frame of mind. It is a serious time . . . this is no time for idle chatter or bullshitting.

The conversation at team meetings is always hushed, almost like whispers. No one speaks loudly or at length, with the exception of the coach or the team

354 Gallmeier

captain on those few occasions when the coach asks him to provide a leadership talk. After the meeting is over the players return to their homes or apartments where they are expected to relax and contemplate the evening's game. As the coach says, "We want them to go home and be alone for a little while and get the adrenalin pumping." However, if the Rockets are playing on the road they immediately begin packing their equipment bags afker the meeting breaks up. Once aboard the Iron Lung the players are again reminded to rest and think about what they are going to do:

Moe walked to the back of the bus making the head count. "All aboard Bussy ," he called out to the driver, and we were off to College City, a short 3-hour trip. . . . The coach started passing out the meal money and telling the players, "Get some sleep now, you've got a job to do tonight." Baldy and other veterans were urging the players to "get some shut-eye, get your rest, we got a big one tonight. Let's be serious now." The bus radio is pur- posely turned off and within an hour from Summit City most of the players have curled up in their seats and fallen fast asleep. The bus is completely quiet except for the snoring and the rhythmic, soothing sound of the engine as the Iron Lung carries the Rockets to "Showtime."

Sixty Minutes to Showtime

The Rockets arrive at the arena 1 hour before they are expected to be on the ice for warm-up. The players call this Showtime, and although some players will occasionally arrive earlier, none of them ever arrives any later because "you need at least 1 hour to get it together, eh?" There were a few times when incle- ment weather delayed the Rockets' arrival for a road game, and the coach insist- ed that league officials delay the start of the game at least 1 hour, "so my players can take the time to get themselves ready ." As the coach confided during an in- terview,

It's so important to stick to the routine. Time is so important in getting your- self mentally prepared to play. . . . I want them here a full hour before they go on, getting ready, thinking about the game. . . . I need to get them up for it . . . so much of this game is to be in the proper frame of mind at the right time.

Upon arriving, the Rockets enter the dressing room and quickly attend to the task of donning their pads and uniforms. They are animated but still business- like. Interaction among them for the most part is limited to requests for help with fastening or centering padding. The following segment from my field notes is provided to illustrate:

The players were all getting dressed for warm-up. They put on all kinds of equipment, shoulder pads, chest pads, shin guards, padded short trousers, white jerseys with an R on the front, helmets, and recently sharpened skates . . . the Rockets go about all this in a businesslike fashion, barely paying attention to each other unless they need some assistance with a piece of equip- ment. . . . The players are obviously very tense, several appear nervous and

PUTTING ON THE GAME FACE

fidgety but there are no overt displays of emotion . . . the coach told me, "The tension is pretty high right now. This is the hardest time. All that ener- gy and adrenalin pumping, but they have to wait. They can't do anything with it yet."

In fact, the players are not yet supposed to do anything with the tension and energy. The script does not call for overt displays of emotion. Their emo- tional cues are being directed by the coach, the trainer, and other staff members (stickboys, statisticians) who move among the Rockets, softly spealung with them individually or simply patting them. "They're a little uptight right now," com- ments the coach. "I want 'em wound up some until the horn blows, eh?" The right time, of course, is the game itself. The coach and his staff are carefully guiding the Rockets in their emotion-work.

The Warm- Up

At exactly 6 5 5 P.M. the trainer announces that it is time for the Rockets to take the ice for the pregame 15-minute warm-up. Now, for the first time, the Rockets begin to exhibit overt displays of emotion:

It's showtime guys, you're on in 5 minutes-The players, now fully dressed, rise and begin to move towards the dressing room door. Kotsy and Baldy, the team co-captains, who moments before had, as the other players, appeared tense but cool suddenly exploded with exhortations, "This is it, let's do it!" "Put on your game faces!" Some of the Rockets responded with "Yeah, we can do it" and similar boasts like, "Let's show 'em they belong to us," "Let's show 'em who we are," and other exclamations of agreement. These independent slogans are usually followed by a collective roar of "Let's Go!"

Now the script permits, indeed demands, an overt display of excitement. The diffuse emotions experienced by the players up to this point-feelings height- ened by emotion-work-are now released. On the ice the players go through their drills and openly show their excitement, loudly and exuberantly. They slap each other, pound each others' helmets and shoulder pads, and scream encouragements to each other. They slap each others' shin guards violently with their sticks. The crowd cheers them on and the organist plays the Rockets' theme song as they skate rapidly around the rink, occasionally raising their sticks to acknowledge the applause of the "homers." The coolness and containment of emotions are gone. Moe, the trainer, explains, "Now is the time for them to get loose. The other team is watching, the fans are watching. This is the time, eh?" Porkchop, a 20-year-old rookie, tells us what the warm-up is for:

During warm-up you never talk to the other team. You are out there to get warmed up, to prepare yourself. Not just physically but to get prepared men- tally. It's okay to show some emotion, to let all that tension loose. It's time to fire up yourself and your teammates. I skate around the ice and I look at the other team, size them up. I show them my face . . . that's what you've got to do, show them your game face.

Gallmeier

During the Game

Sixty Minutes to Broadway

The warm-up period is quickly over and the Rockets return to the dressing room. They are quite animated now. The dressing room reverberates with their shouts as they adjust their equipment, make minor repairs, and urge each other toward maximum performance.

The players were really psyched up . . . Jake and Truk were facing each other, their noses only inches apart, screaming at each other, "Hit 'em!" "Hit 'em!" Other players were shouting, "Close the door, Parksie," "Six- ty minutes to Broadway, let's get two points!" The wach remarked how they looked ready; "can't be psyched without a good sweat. " The players indeed were perspiring heavily, several were gulping air almost as if they were deliberately hyperventilating.

The diffuse emotions that have been worked before the warm-up were being linked with physical effort, and more important, with specific action. The coach had, in the structured settings of the team meeting and warm-up drills, cued the players to focus their psyched up state on physical acts that might provide victo- ry over the opposing team. It was now appropriate to be more emotionally flam- boyant, so long as the feelings were physically purposive. These particular sets of coach's cues did not by themselves influence the players to link emotion-work with overt emotional display and physical action. The Rockets have been involved during their hockey careers in dozens of games. They all have a previous history of socialization concerning game behavior and a familiarity with how and when they are to focus emotional display (Vaz, 1982). They are influenced by a gener- alized other of assembled scripts learned in previous game settings. That gener- alized other, however, validates and legitimates the cues provided in their current setting and by their current coach.

The Coach's Rap

Approximately 5 minutes before the game begins, the coach enters the dressing room to give the pregame talk. All 17 players, still sweating, their faces flushed, their bodies tense, take seats in their stalls or kneel on the floor. Most of them stare straight ahead, some look at their knees, a few fidget with skate laces, helmets, or their taped hands. The coach paces nervously back and forth in front of the chalkboard, looks at his watch, stops pacing, and speaks urgently but in a businesslike manner:

"The longer I'm around this game of hockey the more I believe that it's mental attitude that wins hockey games. It's the team that wants to win and shows it that wins hockey games. Now are you ready guys, are you ready?" The players respond with, "Yeah, we're ready, coach, we want 'em."

Throughout the coach's pregame talk, the trainer enters the dressing room periodically to give the countdown. "Three minutes to go now." "Two.minutes and counting, guys, just about time now." Finally the horn located inside the dressing room goes off informing the Rockets that the game is ready to begin.

PUlTING ON THE GAME FACE 357

The trainer throws open the dressing room door and the Rockets walk out be- tween the parallel lines of people, heads down, silently, with an occasional nod to a friend or fan they know. The crowd is noisy, its members shouting encourage- ment to individual players and to the team in general. The coach stands by the door and pats each player on the back and offers words of encouragement as each player walks by.

The coach has directed the Rockets to convert diffuse emotion into specific emotional displays and into action. Winners are those who transform being psyched up into displays of courage and pride. The coach had posted another slogan above the chalkboard:

We will beat them mentally with our overabundance of enthusiasm, phys- ically with our tenacious forechecking. We will demoralize every bit of desire they have of winning because we are the best. Show your pride!!

Winners do not show fear of pain. They mobilize courage and pride into victorious action against the opposing team. If the Rockets do not win, then they should be prepared to display the emotion of shame.

Upon reaching the ice, when fully on the stage, the Rockets explode into a display of enthusiasm. All of them begin shouting. Many begin skating rapidly around the rink with their sticks held high above their heads. Some of them pound their teammates on the head or shake their fists in the air. They cluster together for final comments from the coach and then the starters take their positions on the ice. The script calls for an open show of courage and pride. The Rockets enthusiastically comply, loudly supported by the cheering crowd in the stands.

Working Time

A hockey game consists of three separate periods of action, each one lasting 20 minutes. For the Rockets, these 60 minutes are called working time. Every sport or contest has its own special time dynamics (see Weiss, 1969:163, 178; Lyman & Scott, 1970: 189-2 12) when the hands of the clock seem to race or stand still. A common characteristic of early game play is "feeling out" (Goffman, 1959: 191-192), in which both teams begin by playing conservatively. Slowly and gradually revealing their game plan, each puts out feelers to interpret opponents' strategies. No team wants to be the first to show the other their strengths or weak- nesses. Furthermore, tension in the air can influence the play of the game. A coach, an individual player, fans, or the importance of the match may affect this atmosphere, the resultant team mood being charged up or deflated. These descrip- tions highlight the strong elements of rhythm, pace, and tempo associated with playing the game of hockey. Play is either smooth and effortless, participants gracefully gliding across the ice and accomplishing extravagant exploits, or play is unalterably rough and choppy, continuously broken by stumbling blocks of awkwardness. When in the groove one may have control over breathing and exe- cution of action, slowing down to a desired regularity, or dancing across the ice, moving excitedly with great speed. The ability to capitalize on opponents' mis- takes is critical. Good play is more effective at certain times than at others; by following up opponents' errors with successful maneuvers one can generate ad- ded velocity and intensity.

Thus, during working time, one team's capacity to elicit combinations of

outstanding effort and performance is highly meaningful. A team's coach can have a vital role in directing the game toward this style of play. From a relatively detached vantage point, he can orchestrate the play to best fit that of his oppo- nents. Like a symphony conductor the coach dictates the tone of play, knowing when and where to direct his athletes' abilities to their maximum, winning the desired momentum' and the best results (see Adler & Adler, 1978).

The Rocket's coach is concerned throughout working time with keeping the players at a high emotional level:

I want 'em talking to each other on the bench. . . . I want 'em pumped up and paying attention to what's happening out there. If one of our guys is given a cheap shot, I call it to their attention so they get angry, mad, and want to get even. . . . If we are on the road and the homers are giving us the busi- ness then I want them to show up the homers, not just the other team but their fans as well.

From the first face-off to the end of the game, the players on the bench scream encouragement to their co-workers on the ice. Most of these encourage- ments are praise for good performance. Some are urgings to sustain the emotion- al expression of courage and pride. "Keep your head up, Porkchop!" "Don't back away from that hoser, Jeep!" "Let's hustle out there, let's hit somebody out there!" "Come on guys, let's show these bastards who we are, what we are made out of, eh?"

Twenty Minutes to Broadway

When the buzzer on the scoreboard announces the end of the period, the Rockets quickly leave the ice for their dressing room. The Rockets are ahead 4-0 after two periods and they are shouting praises to each other as they enter the dressing room. Baldy, one of the co-captains, yells, "Don't celebrate too much now, we've still got 20 minutes until Broadway." For the Rockets the term Broadway means victory, celebration, success. Baldy is telling his teammates that it is acceptable to show celebration emotions at this time, but not to overdo it. Truk, the Rocket's "enforcer," explains what the expression means:

After two periods of play and you've got the lead and you wanna hold it you say, 20 minutes to Broadway, 20 minutes to go before you win the game. . . . It means hang on, play tough, keep your face on, and then we will be in Broadway! Victory, celebration, time for wine, women, and song, the good times. The reason we all play. The work is over, time to party! Remember you are not here for a long time, just for a good time.

Once they enter the dressing room the Rockets immediately remove some of the bulky equipment, some sit in their stalls, others lie on the floor. Most get

'The term momentum as used in games is a general idea which seems to summarize a perceived combination of mood and action. Adler and Adler (1978) have vividly report- ed and conceptually analyzed how momentum is generated, labeled, integrated, resolved, and lost in sports events.

PUTING ON THE GAME FACE 359

something to drink (water, Gatoraid, Coca-Cola). Some of the players pour water on their faces, on their heads, or down their backs with little plastic water bot- tles. Moe, the trainer, scurries back and forth from player to player delivering towels, water bottles, and ice bags to soothe new bruises. The coach enters the room and begins to compliment them on their fine play:

You're all playing a hell of a game and I'm proud of you. But we still got work to do. No mental lapses now. Keep your faces on. Now come on, guys, let's get ourselves ready now. We have to hold 'em. No mental letdowns now. We've got 20 minutes yet. Come on, Orange, only 28 minutes to Broadway.

After the Game Broadway

When the final buzzer sounded, the Rockets had defeated their opponents by a score of 5-0. The Rocket dressing room is tumultuous. The players are shak- ing and slapping hands, hugging each other, applauding each other, and shout- ing, "It's Broadway guys, we did it!" "It's party time!" The scripted emotion for the moment is unmitigated joy. Although the players are loudly celebrating their victory, they quickly remove their equipment, start for the showers, and begin to don their street clothes. The floor is covered with twisted tape, bits and pieces of plastic protective foam, and dirty strips of gauze. A segment of my field notes is offered to illustrate:

Kotsy came over and gave me a high five, "Are you going to put my goal in your book? Son of a bitch, it feels good to win!" . . . the players looked tired but they were extremely happy and were loudly congratulating each other and joking back and forth . . . the music was turned on very loud and Crawdaddy and Magic were in the corner playing air guitar while Jeep and Bronco danced around, stopping briefly to put on a pair of socks and other articles of street clothes . . . the coach came in and started circling the room congratulating the players, slapping them on the back, tussling Porkchop's hair . . . "this is your typical winning locker room, Chuck, if we had lost, anyone yelling and looking happy would be out of line. Now they can do almost anything or say almost anything and it's okay. They're winners. I want 'em to feel that way, to show it, eh? When they lose, I expect 'em to show that too. I want 'em to feel ashamed. But when they win, this is what I want to see.

Summary and Discussion

This paper has argued that a unique feature of the Rockets' work involves the importance placed on developing a diffuse state of emotional readiness. Clanton (1978:4) has advised that "an adequate theory of human emotion should specify the nature of the situation which shapes emotional experience and expression."

The activities and events associated with hockey games were presented to illustrate the manner in which sets of emotions can be staged in social collectivi- ties. As Zurcher (1982:18-19) found elsewhere,

360 Gallmeier

The orchestration of emotions in staged events follows a scripted phasing, beginning with the arousal of expectations for an emotional experience. The expectations generate a diffuse emotional state, which finally is directed into a series of discrete and identifiable emotional displays.

Among the Rockets, the phasing was manifest first in their expectations for a challenging game, then in their expression of mood, and finally in their emotional displays during and after the game. They were directed in these emo- tional performances primarily by the coach, but also by the trainer, fans, and by interactions among themselves.

The emphasis in this article on the staged nature of the Rockets' emotional displays was not intended to imply that people are always manipulated in such performances. There are profound differences in emotional experiences and dis- plays across individuals and across settings. Some individuals consistently feel emotional responses more deeply than others; and some individuals are more in- dependent than others of cues in the social setting. The same is true for the Rock- ets. Some players clearly demonstrated more emotion-work than their teammates during hockey games. But these differences are also in some way socially de- rived and represent accumulated learning over time; they are components within the development of the generalized other. However many individual differences may be occurring in a staged emotional setting, the simple fact remains that the participants routinely expect and are routinely provided with scripts for their emo- tional performances. They follow these scripts with a greater or lesser degree of conformity, and with a greater or lesser degree of articulation between felt and demonstrated feelings (Zurcher, 1982: 19).

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Acknowledgments

The author wishes to acknowledge the criticisms and suggestions provided by two anonymous reviewers of Sociology of Sport Jouml.