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International Review for the Sociology of Sport
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Globalization American-Style and Reference Idol Selection

The Importance of Athlete Celebrity Others among New Zealand Youth

Merrill J. Melnick

State University of New York, USA

Steven J. Jackson

University of Otago, New Zealand

While there have been significant refinements in the scholarly development of the sport and Americanization/globalization literature in recent years, the individual, psychosocial consequences resulting from the intersection of global forces and local cultures remain largely unexplored. A sample of 510 New Zealand youth (average age = 14.5 yrs) was administered a survey instrument to identify their public heroes and heroines (reference idols), that is, celebrity others who are ‘very important in your life’. Statistical analysis of these data as well as movie and television consumption patterns revealed that these youth are heavily influenced by global media in general and American popular culture in particular. The data suggested that the influence of popular American cultural icons (e.g. Michael Jordan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Morrison, Michael Jackson) extended well beyond simple admiration for some respondents to include impacts on beliefs, values, self-appraisals, and behaviors. It was concluded that focusing on adolescent reference idol choices and their identityrelated consequences is a promising approach to understanding the influence of the ‘global’ on the ‘local’.

Key Words: Americanization • globalization • reference idol

International Review for the Sociology of Sport, Vol. 37, No. 3-4, 429-448 (2002)
DOI: 10.1177/1012690202037004027
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