Where are They Now? Featuring: Andrew Demczuk

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Andrew Demczuk

Master of Arts in English, Department of Literature and Language Year of Graduation: 2022

Why did you choose ETSU for your education?

After living in France for 7 years, I returned home with a bachelor’s in creative writing and tons of stories to tell. I applied to the Master of Arts in English program at ETSU because I wanted to learn more about literature and really get a chance to live with stories, poems, and plays; and I wanted to be immersed in books for two years. It sounded like a challenge that would inform my art and writing for the rest of my life, and after having gone through the rigor, I can say that the program has exceeded my expectations.

What is your current position and/or research?

I am currently a first year MFA-Studio Arts graduate assistant in the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP) at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio.

What does this position/research entail?

My research is centered around both practice and academic writing. My fields of interest include intuitive drawing, ambient rhetoric, spatial theory, templates, sound design, and hauntology.

How did your time at ETSU prepare you for this career?

My first classes were cutting-edge. They were taught by some of the best professors I had ever met. My classes led me to experiencing Elizabethan theater, French World War Two literature, and 1920s European modernism through new critical and philosophical lenses that helped me achieve a deeper and more profound understanding of art’s effects in society. All these classes helped me frame my academic writing, fiction and nonfiction writing, poetry, and conceptual art.

If you held a graduate assistantship or tuition scholar position, how did this experience enhance your education?

My GA experience was remarkable. Among the many skills I gained, one of the most memorable was when I conducted research for Dr. Joshua Reid on Dali’s illustrations of Dante’s Inferno! I was also a TA for Dr. Holtmeier’s film class where I got to see the history of film unfold throughout the semester through illuminating discussions and film examples. Finally, during my second year, I taught two classes each semester of English 101 and 102. I am so grateful for having that opportunity. My students have taught me just as much as the classes I took.

What advice would you offer to current or future graduate students?

The best advice I received was from my thesis advisor Dr. Holtmeier when I was stressing about our final comprehensive exams. He just said, “have fun” and at first that seemed all too easy to say, but when I sat down to take the exam amongst the million other things I had going in my life, it worked: “Hey, Andy this is fun. You are having fun.”

Club Vs. Country:

Are Portuguese American Soccer Fans More Loyal to their Club Team or their National Team?

David Antunes

Global Sports Leadership, EdD

Dr. Brian Johnston

Faculty Advisor

Written by Marten Baur

Soccer is the most popular sport in Portugal with millions of fans attending games every season. There are three prominent club teams in Portugal: Benfica, Sporting, and Porto. In addition to the three club teams is the Portuguese national team, which is composed of the best players in Portugal. While most Portuguese fans typically support both the Portuguese national team and one of the three major club teams, split loyalty has many fans prioritizing their club team over their national team or vice versa. The ever-present question in soccer is: Are people more loyal to their national team or their club team? In this Illuminated research feature, David Antunes, an EdD graduate from ETSU’s Global Sport Leadership program, investigates whether Portuguese Americans are more loyal to their club team or the Portuguese national team.

Left, David Antunes, Right, Dr. Brian Johnston

David Antunes, a second-generation Portuguese American from Elizabeth, NJ, graduated with his bachelor’s degree in health and physical education from Montclair State University in Montclair, NJ. He then received his master’s degree in exercise science from Kean University in Union, NJ. David currently teaches health, physical education, drivers’ education, CPR, and water safety at Elizabeth High School in NJ. David sought out a doctorate degree because he wanted to expand his knowledge in athletics and learn more about sport administration. He came across ETSU’s Global Sport Leadership Program, which offers a combined domestic and international approach to sport leadership in a 100% online program. “ETSU’s Global Sport Leadership Program is completely different from what other Universities are offering,” explained David.

When deciding on a topic for his capstone project, David wanted to combine his two loves: soccer and the Portuguese culture. New Jersey is home to a thriving Portuguese community, where “you can go an entire day without hearing the English language,” said David. David also regularly attends the European championships and the World Cup to watch the best national soccer teams compete. David’s love for soccer and love for his heritage led him to asking, “Are soccer fans more loyal to their club team or to their national team?” In addition, David asked, “How does fan loyalty differ between first-and second-generation Portuguese Americans?”

“The Portuguese community is a very tight group, and they went above and beyond to help me out.”

David’s capstone project followed a quantitative, non-experimental research design that used the Attitudinal Loyalty to Team Scale (ALTS)—a previously developed survey with eight questions. Before distributing the survey, David first translated the survey into Portuguese to make it more accessible to first-generation Portuguese Americans. To distribute the survey, David sought the assistance of Portuguese cultural clubs in New Jersey. Members of these clubs consist of first- and second-generation Portuguese Americans who are avid soccer fans. The president of each club distributed David’s survey to the cultural club members. David’s final sample size was 70 participants (45 second-generation, 25 first-generation).

After analyzing the completed surveys, David found that the sampled Portuguese Americans are significantly more devoted to the Portuguese national team than they are to the Portuguese club teams (p=0.036). While David did not observe significant differences in loyalty between first- and second-generation participants, there was a trend for second-generation participants to be more loyal to the Portuguese national team than firstgeneration participants.

While previous researchers have measured the loyalty of fans living in their country of origin, David’s study was the first to investigate satellite fans. Satellite fans refer to fans who are not living in the same country as their national team, e.g., Portuguese people living in the United States. In previous research, fans in their country of origin showed more loyalty to their club team than to their national team. David’s research, however, showed that Portuguese Americans are more loyal to their national team than to their club teams. Satellite fans, therefore, might assign their loyalty differently than fans living in their home country.

David speculates that the reason Portuguese Americans are more devoted to the Portuguese national team is that Portuguese Americans identify more with being from the country of Portugal than from a specific city/town within Portugal. David explained, “The Portuguese community in the USA tries to find some type of commonality with each other. The commonality between us is that we are all Portuguese. When you meet someone here, we don’t say, “I’m from Lisbon” or, “I’m from Porto,” we say, “I’m from Portugal.” This might differ from people living in Portugal because fans might describe themselves as being from their home city/town rather than from Portugal. David suspects that rivalries may exist between Portuguese cities and towns, which would further support why previous research reported fans having greater loyalty to their club team than to their national team.

David also explained why his results indicated first-generation Portuguese Americans tend to be more loyal to their club team than their national team. “The Portuguese national team was never a powerhouse before year 2000,” explained David. This might have made it difficult for first-generation fans to stand behind their national team. However, after year 2000, the Portuguese national team began winning several matches and even won the European Championships in 2016. This might have made it easier for second-generation Portuguese Americans to assign their loyalty to the national team rather than a club team.

David is grateful to the Portuguese social clubs who were pivotal in distributing his survey. “The Portuguese community is a very tight group, and they went above and beyond to help me out,” David explained. In addition to the social clubs, David spoke highly of his mentor, Dr. Brian Johnston. “Dr. Johnston made research seem easy,” expressed David. In the future, David hopes to replicate his study in Portugal to measure the cross-cultural differences between the U.S. and Portugal. He expects he would find opposite results if he conducted the study in Portugal. In the meantime, David is busy teaching health and physical education to high school students and raising his two children. In the future, he hopes to transfer to the athletic department of his school district to enact changes in sport programs and the Elizabeth community. The club vs. country question is a complex topic with several factors influencing where fans devote their loyalty. David’s capstone research is the first to shed light on how the loyalty of satellite fans differs from fans living in their country of origin. In addition, it also examines the differences between the loyalty of first- and second-generation Portuguese American soccer fans. With billions of soccer fans around the globe spanning multiple generations, David’s research holds several implications to the global sport industry. In addition, David’s research highlights how sport can be an avenue to detect changes in cultural identities across generations. While more work is needed to understand fan loyalty, David’s research serves as an important stepping-stone to identifying both the cultural and social implications of sport.

David Antunes (top, middle) with his cohort at Dollywood. This cohort became very close during the COVID-19 pandemic. The airbrush shirts shown in this photo were made and worn all day at the park, and at graduation.