ABSTRACT
Some potential traditions, even if encouraged by the coaches, do not occur or continue despite being functional for satisfying team goals or personal needs; they undermine the group’s structure in not supporting the interpersonal network and power relations in the group. A tradition that expresses hostility toward a well-liked or legitimately powerful individual, for example, may be functional (in that hostility may need to be expressed) yet may be inappropriate unless the group structure is altered. This process is clear in the case of nicknames. One team member in Fine’s study by the name of Tom Mayne acquired the nickname “Maniac,” based on a linguistic play on his last name and on his physical awkwardness on the baseball diamond. That year he was an eleven-year-old substitute outfielder. When team members were asked to name their three best friends on the team during the middle of the season, Tom was named by only one of the twelve other boys. The following year, however, Tom started most of the team’s games at third base, was one of the best batters on the team, and was located in the middle of the team’s status hierarchy. He was named by four of the fourteen other players as one of their three best friends on the team. The old nickname, “Maniac,” gave way to a new one, “Main Eye,” with dramatically different connotations.
