The Game Plan for Winter Break

My goals for my thesis project over break are numerous but are achievable. First, I plan to make adjustments to make my literature review. I received feedback from my professor and both advisors. Secondly, I want to start writing my actual thesis paper. Since I no longer have classes and work until January, I have plenty of free time to write. I hope to finish the 20-page paper by the end of the break. I know I will have to make several corrections to my paper over the spring semester, so ahead starts on writing will benefit me. I need to find a few more sources, especially Buffalo’s newspapers articles. Also, I plan to meet with both my advisors to look over my revised literature review and look over my first draft of my thesis. Lastly, I want to conduct three surveys at three different Buffalo sports game (preferably Bills, Sabres, and Bandits). If I have extra time, I will start on my building a diorama of my desired museum along with a creation of a ten-year plan.  

So here is the game plan, three days a week will be spent on writing my thesis, correcting my literature review, and doing some more research. I want to find a comfortable coffee shop where I can work for three hours. I want to meet with advisors once a week depending on their availability during the holiday season. More towards the end of my break, I plan to start constructing my diorama. Lots to do but I'm excited to dedicate a good chunk of time to my thesis finally.

Happy Holidays,

Alexandra M. Dwyer

Blog #6

 My thesis project has not changed drastically, just a few minor adjustments. Originally, I wanted to research the process of creating a new museum. Applying what I learned from my sources to my museum about Buffalo Sports. The museum was going to be solely about the history of Buffalo Sports and famous athletes. I’m still going to continue this idea but enhance it. I became curious about the impact that this museum would make on Buffalo’s community. I found some readings that praise major renovations within the city and how it provided social, economic, and political benefits. I began to think that the creation of my museum could have that same effect. Slowly include the role of sports fans into my museum, such as community collaboration.

As you can see my project isn’t just going to be a museum retelling the sports memories but also how this institution will celebrate the fans, as they help create Buffalo’s community. I still wish to incorporate artifacts from Buffalo’s famous athletes as well as mementos from Buffalo Sports History, but after talking to several members of the community and listening to their suggestions, I would like to add another aspect to my museum. It should be a gathering place. A place for celebrations, both past, and present. For this reason, I would like to incorporate a restaurant and sports bar. 

    This not only allows for young children to learn about the history of their teams while watching them in the present, but it also brings a sense of nostalgia to the older generation of fans. I feel as though the combination of both past(through artifacts) and present(through watching live games), will give Buffalo Sports fans a sense of comfort and overall happiness upon visiting. Based solely off the opinions of other fans since the commencement of my research, it seems as though a multi-purpose museum such as this would be the ideal spot to gather and watch as one, as Buffalo continues its quest for a championship.

Progress Report

Hello everyone! As some of you may recall, my thesis questions are: Why build a sports museum in Buffalo, New York? How will a museum add to the city of Buffalo’s revitalization project? I wanted to provide a brief recap of my senior thesis topic and the progression of my research process. I began my research by studying the history of Buffalo, New York. Then I dove into reading materials that reminisced about various sports teams that developed in Buffalo over the years. Lastly, I will look at studies that were conducted on the topic of regional identity through sports. 

    So far I have learned that Buffalo was a mega-industrial city in its prime, due to its natural harbor, the power source of Niagara Falls, and the construction of the Eire Canal. The features previously mentioned turned Buffalo into a major merchant/transportation hub, because of its role in international trade with Canada and connection to the mid-west. Industries flourished under these conditions such as Lackawanna Steel, Larkin Soap company, George N. Pierce’s automobile company, and several flours, cereal, and beer companies throughout the city. While reading a book called The Golden Age of Buffalo Sports, I found out that Jackie Robinson played in Buffalo frequently and people were quite excited to see him play. Also, Buffalo’s baseball team, the Bisons, had two uniquely deaf players. I have just begun to read about the case studies that were conducted on sports fans, stay tuned for updates. 

    What I still need to research on, is the sports teams, the Sabers, the Bandits, Braves, and the FC Buffalo. I want to conduct a survey where Buffalo Sports fans answer questions pertaining to a possible creation of a Buffalo Sports Museum. The survey will be a collection of 5 questions available on both paper and online. I plan on attending the Bills and Sabers tailgate parties that happen before home games. Then I can add this survey to my research paper!  

Blog Post #3

Alas, I have decided on a topic for my Senior Thesis. I’ve decided to follow my passion for Buffalo Sports History. My working research theme is “Why build a Sports Museum in Buffalo?: The Importance of Sports Tourism”. As I began the process of looking for peer-reviewed journals and book publications I realized, research takes time. Not every journal that I initially thought would be helpful ended up being useful in supporting my thesis. After, reading “Viewpoint: When Tourism is History: Travel and the Construction of the Past in Cooperstown, New York,” I realized this topic focused more about the revitalizing of the village of Cooperstown rather than the construction of the Baseball Hall of Fame. It is time for me to find journal dedication to the sports hall of fame and museums, such as “Developing a Sport Museum: The Case of Tennis Australia and the Tennis Heritage Collection” by Kellett, Pamm and Anne-Marie Hede. 

    The journal I previously mentioned, “provides background literature from both academic and industry research regarding sport museums that must be analyzed to support decisions about the development and introduction of Tennis Heritage Collection." (1)This journal proves to be valuable because it describes numerous fundamental questions in order to start a new successful museum:      Location? Can the museum create an alliance with the existing team? Target market and audience? 

This article outlines the plan that Janice, the Manager of Special Projects, used to start the Tennis Museum of Australia. 

    The second journal I read is titled “The National Hockey League and Cross-Border Fandom: Fan Substitution and International Boundaries” by Brian Mills and Mark S. Rosentraub. The journal collected data that showed the demographics of Buffalo Sabres Fans, especially pertaining to Canadians, about “15% of attendees at Buffalo Sabres home games travel from Canada” (2). What I found most interesting from this article, is that Canadians seems to unaffected by the obstacles of crossing the border such as tolls and possession of a passport (3). Using this data, it is logical to assume that a fair amount of attendees to the proposed museum will come from Canada, and certain exhibits can be catered to them. This paper is useful for my research because museums want to cater to their demographics. It is essential to know the local sports team demographic because they are mostly like going to be the one visiting the museum.      

 (1) Kellett, Pamm and Anne-Marie Hede. "Developing a Sport Museum: The Case of Tennis Australia and the Tennis Heritage Collection." Sport Management Review 11, no. 1 (2008): 115.

(2) Mills, Brian M. and Mark S. Rosentraub. "The National Hockey League and Cross-Border Fandom: Fan Substitution and International Boundaries." Journal of Sports Economics 15, no. 5 (2014): 497.

(3) Ibid, 509.

Senior Thesis Ideas

Hello there, this is Alexandra once again! I have a bit of a dilemma. There are numerous interests that I have within the museum realm. To name a few topics of interest includes exhibition design, collection care, teaching the importance of history, the subject of Anthropology and Archeology. Alas, the time has come to pick a singular interest of mine and transform it into a research paper and project. I have a few ideas, but I do not know whether they are research worthy thus I am inquiring your help. 

    My first idea is the need for science museums all across the country, especially in Western New York, to create a new separate museum dedicated its anthropology collection. Cultural groups are often offended with their representation in a place where science experiments are performed. Many museum exhibitions display these cultures only in their primal state. These permanent exhibitions fail to show the evolution from prehistoric to modern day. This issue damages not only the museum’s representation, but it damages its relationship with it, visitors, near and far. With further research, I will explain the positive benefits for museums to collaborate with its cultural communities. Then I would proceed to create a plan on how the science museums in Rochester and Buffalo can successfully build a new institution dedicated explicitly to Anthropology and History. 

    My last idea revolves around my professional goal to develop a museum from the ground up. As a proud Buffalonian, I understand how important the professional sports teams in my community. The fans have this pure love for the game that we continue to support the team endlessly regardless of poor success. Buffalo has been labeled one of the best fans in America. Therefore, it is in the best interest of the city and the professional team to celebrate their dedicated fans by creating the Buffalo Sports Museum. My research focuses on the benefits of developing a new museum economically, socially, and politically in a city. For the project component of the research, I would create an outline of a 10-year plan. This plan will include finical and funding strategies, building and exhibitions designs, collection management policies, and potential partners. I have recently learned that there is a profound collector that have an impressive collection of Buffalo sports memorabilia that has a “museum” in his basement. Of course, I would reach out to him to collaborate on expanding his vision and make it more accessible for the public.

Buffalo Bills fans dedicated to supporting their football team. #Fortheloveofthegame

Here is the link to the existing Buffalo Sports Museum: 

https://www.buffalorising.com/2018/05/for-any-buffalo-sports-fan-a-trip-to-the-greater-buffalo-sports-hall-of-fame-is-a-must/

Links of Buffalo Fans professing their love to our teams:

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/131737-the-heart-of-the-buffalo-sports-fan

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/buffalo-sports-fan

Why Museum Studies?

When I was in elementary school, the teachers every year would ask us what we wanted to be when we grow up? My response was not the typical career choices like a doctor or a fireman. Instead, I told my fourth-grade teacher that I wanted to be a historian and scientist working for a well-established museum. Funny how life turns out. From a young age, I was fascinated by how museums transformed history into an interactive and educational exhibition for people of all ages to enjoy. Museums are a place where history comes alive through illuminating stories from artifacts. These stories associated with ancient artifacts is where I fell in love with museums. 

Recently, I had the unique opportunity to work abroad for the National Museum of Ireland for the summer. I was assigned to work with the Natural History and Archeology Collections. My boss and I organized, updated, and in some cases reassigning accession numbers to objects hidden in the crypt. Towards the end of my time in Ireland, my boss had me perform a Collections Audit, where a museum personnel goes through the collection and randomly picks out artifacts to see whether it has been updated into the database system. I loved learning about Ireland’s ancient history through the museum’s tremendous collections through performing the audit.