ISSN: 2320-5407 Int. J. Adv. Res.

10(12), 481-494

Journal Homepage: -www.journalijar.com

Article DOI:10.21474/IJAR01/15865
DOI URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.21474/IJAR01/15865

RESEARCH ARTICLE
FROM EXPERIENTIAL DRESSING OF SENEGALESE WRESTLING GALAS TO EMOTIONAL
CONSUMPTION OF SPECTATORS

Ibrahima Fall1 and Gary Tribou2

1. INSEPS in Dakar, Cheikh Anta Diop University.
2. Strasbourg University.
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Manuscript Info Abstract
……………………. ………………………………………………………………
Manuscript History The objective of this research is to report on the emotional experiences
Received: 10 October 2022 experienced by the direct audiences of the wrestlinggalas, in order to
Final Accepted: 14 November 2022 take stock of the means to be implemented for the experiential dressing
Published: December 2022 of events. To better identify the consumer experiences at stake during
the strike fighting shows and in addition to a documentary research, we
Key words:-
Marketing, Experiential Dressing, carried out a qualitative and ethnographic approach. The results show
Emotional Consumption, Senegalese that the organizers of galas have ceased to have a purely sporting vision
Struggle, Spectator of the event, to offer a strong dose of entertainmentwithin the stadium
hosting the galas, thus, creating an experiential environment that allows
viewers to experience moments of emotional consumption.

Copy Right, IJAR, 2022,. All rights reserved.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………....
Introduction:-
While the issue of emotions is traditionally in the realm of psychology, it is also an area of marketing research. In
fact, in the early 1980s, research into consumer behaviour was influenced by the positions taken by Zajonc (1980)
and Holbrook and Hirschmann (1982) showing the importance of affective behaviour in purchasing decisions.
Subsequently, the recognition of the importance of affective factors (versus cognitive factors) became widespread
and led to the development of a new approach known as experiential. More recently, Pons and Richelieu (2004)
Support the idea that orientation towards a sporting event is based on satisfying an emotional need. The emotional
experience thus appears to be an essential component of the consumption of a sports show in so far as it will prevail
in the benefits sought by the spectator consumer viewer (Leroux-Sostenes et al., 2012).

What about the Senegalese wrestling with striking? This last one generates passions and mobilizes large crowds,
feeds debates and arouses a lot of enthusiasm among the Senegalese population. It is ubiquitous on the screens, and
no other sports activity competes with it in terms of media audience. It is the only sporting event in Senegal that is
the subject of a marketing of television rights and its retransmission continues to mobilize the major local media
groups that give it a prominent place in their program schedules (Chevé et al, 2012). For example, of the 39 sports
programs on Senegalese TV channels seen in 2016, 18 were exclusively devoted to wrestling (over 46%). Thus, it
seems important to us to ask ourselves about the emotional treatment of this sport activity exclusively practiced in
Senegal, by placing us successively on the side of the event supply of providers and on the side of the demand of
spectators.What are the experiential offers proposed by the gala organizers? What is the nature of the emotional
experiences of the spectators?

The objective of this research is to report on the emotional experiences of direct audiences of the wrestling galas, in
order to assess the meansto be implemented for the experiential dressing of events.

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Corresponding Author:- Ibrahima Fall
Address:- INSEPS in Dakar, Cheikh Anta Diop University.
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Literature Review:-
The consumption experience: an attempt at a definition
The concept of consumer experience is the recognition of the role of the affective in the study of consumer
behaviour. In their work, Holbrook and Hirschman (1982:132) defined it “as a personal and subjective experience,
often emotionally charged” (as) a subjective state of consciousness with a variety of symbolic meanings, hedonistic
responses and aesthetic criteria”. The consumer experience is also defined by Filser (2002) as the set of positive and
negative, objective and subjective consequences that the consumer derives from the use of a good or service. It
constitutes a subjective social construction (even if it mixes a part of objectivity in relation to the utility of the
product), and it is the result of an interaction between an individual (or a group of individuals) and a practice of
consumption in a defined place constituting a context of influence (Bouchet, 2004). In this respect, it is treated as a
global experience which certainly takes into account the rational elements of consumption but also emotional, that is
to say of a sentimental nature and the order of pleasure felt by the consumer at the point of sale (Holbrook and
Hirschman, 1982). Dubet (1994:92) adds that the experience is “a way of experiencing, of being invaded by an
emotional state strong enough, so that the actor does not really belong while discovering a personal subjectivity”.

However, the study of emotions in consumer experiences remains an outstanding issue in marketing (Richins, 1997).
Indeed, there is no consensus on the definition of this notion which is often used in a generic way to designate a set
of affective reactions mixing indistinctly feelings, emotions, and attitudes of judgment or conjunctural moods
(Derbaix, 1995). To speak globally of “affect” or “emotional reactions” refers to a set of mental processes that are
difficult to address in the field of operational marketing (Derbaix& Pham, 1989). In addition, talking about feeling
rather than emotion evokes a complex emotional state, fairly stable and durably linked to mental representations
more suited to an approach to consumption (Derbaix and Poncin, 2005; Derbaix and Filser, 2011). Emotions, on the
other hand, are considered to be more intense but of short duration and therefore weakly controllable and especially
reproducible. Delay and Pichot (1967: 122) evoke emotional states, usually occurring in us abruptly, in the form of
more or less violent but more or less temporary crises. Fear, anger, anxiety meet this definition.”

The inclusion of emotions in consumer behaviour has changed the marketing paradigm for products and services.

From the cognitive paradigm to the experiential paradigm in marketing

For a long time, research in marketing and mainly in consumer behaviour has been confined to a utilitarian visio n of
consumption. She saw the consumer as a rational person, optimizing her budget and making thoughtful choices. This
behaviour was exclusively cognitive and was designed as a process of collecting and processing information to find
an optimal solution to a decision problem associated with a need to satisfy (Bourgeon and Filser, 1995). Schmitt
(1999) argues that traditional marketing based on the cognitive paradigm, focusing on the characteristics and
benefits of a product, no longer meets current consumer expectations. The latter have become demanding are asking
for offers that are out of the ordinary.

The study of consumption has therefore gradually moved away from this utilitarian angle of analysis to favour an
approach that takes into account the meanings of the products consumed and the complexity of a symbolic field of
exchange (Levy, 1959; Baudrillard, 1970). Because, beyond the tangible and material benefits obtained from its
consumed products, the individual is also in search of entertainment, escape, pleasure, emotions, encounters and
multiple interactions. Marked by postmodern theories, the experiential approach envisages “a consumer more
embodied than rational being presupposes in information processing models and postulates that the individual seeks,
in the consumer experience, pleasures, emotions and sensations” (Roederer, 2012:19). In this perspective, the
consumer is also considered as an emotional being, in search of sensitive experiences (Maffesoli, 1990), of a
hedonistic gratification in the act of purchase also finding part of his sensibility in a social context (Hirschman and
Holbrook, 1982). This new approach, described as experiential, has allowed for more emotional use in relation to
more emotional behaviours (Derbaix&Filser, 2011).

The experience produced by the brand

Filser (2002) believes that experiential perspectives enrich the positioning of the offer, whether tangible goods or
services, shaping its subjective components and proposing a product enhancement continuum incorporating
increasing experiential content (picture. 1). Hence the metaphor of experiential dressing to mean that the offer has a
panoply of attributes to cover the product with effects bringing it meaning; from the bare product reduced to its sole
use up to the product dressed in successive layers of clothing giving it increasing value in the eyes of the consumer.

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In addition, the author identifies three components of experience production: (1) the setting of the place of sale and
the design of the product that contribute to a dramatization of the offer; (2) the plot that corresponds to the story
offered and told by the product and its sales environment; (3) product-consumer interactions that enrich the lived
experience. At the end of the process, the product – good or service – thus acquired more value (picture. 1).

Picture 1:- The concept of experiential dressing in the continuum of experience production.

Lowexperitential Strongexperitential
content content

Functional content Experiential Dressing Products Functional content

product product
Scenery Intrigue Actions

(Source:Filser, 2002, p.20)

To do this, it becomes essential to reimagine the offer and its distribution from a dramatization of places and
moments of purchase (OhletTribou, 2004). Pine and Gilmore (1999) discuss the transformation of the production
company into a theatrical director of its products with the sole aim of emotionally involving the consumer.

The different moments of experiential consumption

In addition, it should be noted that the experiment production process must not be limited to the time of
consumption in the point of sale, but must also take into account the time before and after the act of consumption.
Thus, the consumption experience can be spread over time. Three stages can be distinguished (Arnould et al. 2002;
Kurtz 2008; Tynan and McKechnie 2009).
1. The experience of anticipation or the pre-experience consists for the consumer to research, plan, and budget but
also to dream or fantasize, to have a glimpse of the experience that he will live before he actually lives it. It
includes activities that allow the individual to prepare for the experience he or she is about to experience as he
or she would in a sporting event. Thus, thinking about a future experience can have an impact on the
experience;
2. The shopping experience raises the choice of the product on the shelf under the effect of merchandising,
interactions with the seller and sometimes other customers and the sensory atmosphere in stores. Added to this
is the actual consumption experience, which includes the sensation provided by the product, the satiety or the
desire to renew the experience, the satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the purchase objective;
3. The experience of post-experiential memories such as memorized memories or images to relive the past
experience. It is based on stories, discussions with friends or co-workers, photos and videos.

Setting up an experientialcontext
An experiential context refers to the conditions of occurrence of an experience that can be methodically developed
by a company or be totally random, even accidental. For Carù and Cova (2006:44), it is “a combination of stimulus
(products) and stimuli (environment, activities) suitable for making an experiment happen” (cited by Roederer,
2012:33). They cover purchasing situations on sales and consumption sites and practice sites, and thus go through all
media and non-media means of communication, mobilized by a brand - a company or an organization (Carù and
Cova, 2006).

The points of sale are thus designed above all to give the customer an experience based on the extraordinary beyond
the only ratio of ordinary use to the product. The experiment also relies on the spectacular in that it will be the object
of increased consumption: that of the product plus a supplement of emotion (Kozinets et al., 2002). They then
become, at the same time, a place of exhibition of products, a source of aesthetic stimulation through the staging in

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the shelves (Hetzel, 2000) and a space of interaction between the customer, the seller and the products that give life
to a hedonistic and playful experience (Bonnin, 2000).

The company provides the conditions for the experience in the form of an experiential platform (Carù and Cova,
2006), but the consumer remains the producer of his own experience which he shapes from the elements made
available and his active participation (Roederer, 2012).

For Punj and Stewart (1983), the experiential context corresponds to the Object – Situation dyad, (the Object
product placed in Situation in a place of sale), while the actual experience consists of the interactions of the three
Person – Object – Situation elements. Indeed, lived experience can be defined as an interaction between a subject
and a consumed object, in a given situation and moment, articulated around certain dimensions (Roederer, 2012).
According to the author, these dimensions are related to the pleasure or displeasure of consuming at this precise
moment (a hedonic-sensory dimension), to the meaning of interaction (socio-cultural rhetorical dimension), to the
time of interaction with the consumed product (a temporal dimension) and the actions implemented by the subject
during the experiment (a praxerological dimension). The lived experience is therefore the result of all the
perceptions and emotions felt and the knowledge mobilized by the consumer at that time.

Research Methodology:-
In order to better identify the emotional consumption experiences at play during wrestling shows withstrikingand in
addition to a documentary, we conducted a qualitative and ethnographic approach. More specifically, we collected
data through participating observations at wrestling galas and from individual semi-directional interviews with
spectators.

Observations:-
A series of seven participating observations were made during the Senegalese wrestling galas. As Bernard (2014)
recommends, it was about living with them and like them in order to be as close as possible to their emotions. We
have adopted a participating observer posture (Gold, 1958), but fan groups' knowledge of our research status has
limited our total immersion in them: even if we have participated in many of their activities. Indeed, we mingled
with the fans during the trips they made regularly to support their wrestlers. In some galas, observations began at the
rally in the wrestler’s stronghold before the start, continued during school displacements, continued in the stadium
stands and ended on the return to the neighborhood. Through these observations in the situation, we had all the time
necessary to witness the behaviour of spectator supporters.

Interviews
Interviews complemented these observations to gain a better understandingof the spectators’experience
ofconsumption. Indeed, the spectator experience of a recurring event, which we regularly witness, is a deeply
personal act, linked to a singular history and passion. We opted for semi-directional one-on-one interviews in order
to take a more in-depth look at the spectator’s life and experience at the venue.

Thus, 23 semi-directed individual interviews of an average duration of 38 minutes were carried out face to face with
spectators of wrestling chosen by convenience (for lack of being able to proceed randomly). The survey was carried
out on the basis of a guide containing only a limited number of items, the survey conditions being given in a noisy
and hectic sporting context. The audience was asked to describe in depth the way they lived their experiences and
the different aspects of the show that gave them emotion. The speeches were collected using a dictaphone and a note
taking. In addition, wetookphotographs of the galas.

Processing
The interviews were transcribed completely and literally in order to be completely faithful to the recordings. We did
not limit ourselves to the terms of speeches describing emotion: but we also took into account emotimots and
emotiphrases (in the sense of Bottineau, 2013), intonation and facial and bodily expressions.

The data processing consisted of a content analysis based on a thematic codification of our observations and
speeches collected from interviewees.

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An inventory of the topics discussed was carried out for each interview and then for the whole, in order to structure
the corpus of data. The analysis was done through a categorization coding process (Bardin, 2007).

Research Results:-
Our research objective was to report on how the galas organizers proceed to make their event a venue for the
production of experiments. We came up with two sets of results: (1) on the supply side, we looked at how to stage
and dress the customer experience; (2) On the demand side, we have clarified what constitutes the experiences of the
direct spectators of the struggle with strikes.

Experiential Dressing of Senegalese Wrestling Galas

What are the means mobilized and the strategies put in place by the promoters in order to transform their wrestling
galas, to go from a show event of a merely sporting character, to an emotional experience?

The experiential context proposed by the organizers

In order to carry out the experiential dressing of their events, the wrestling promoters generally propose a context
more or less tinged with cultural and cult activities: a sonorous atmosphere (songs rhythmic by drums), traditional
dances and choreography performed by wrestlers, a show of false lions, all in a setting where mix tradition and
modernity.

Singing and drumming

Singers and drummers of tam-tams (fig. 2) occupy a prominent place in the organization of Senegalese wrestling
galas. As much as the promoter makes a strategic choice about the wrestlers he engages, he does the same for the
group of singers to animate the event, as well as for the major drums to accompany them. Thus, whatever the
wrestling gala, the sound atmosphere is omnipresent: from the rhythms of music to the songs of the griots, from the
voices of the animators to the hysterical cries of the fans.

Figure 2:- Performers host the gala.

Source : Ibrahima Fall(2022)

The “Simb1” or “False Lion Game”

Generally, the «Simb» sessions are organized in villages, working-class neighbourhoods of large cities where the
show is paid for. In the galas, they are theatrical shows animated by men disguised as lions, called «gaindés» (fig.
3). Traditionally, the «fake lions» are four in number, accompanied by the Goor-Jigeen who is a man dressed as a
woman to arouse the laughter and attention of the spectators. They make the admiration of the crowds for their
talents as dancers.

1
It is a cultural spectacle that occupies an important place in the Senegalese tradition. Some consider that the origin
of this custom dates back to animist and fetishistic times before Islam. Men were then subjected to the spirits that
could take control of an individual in spite of him, as suddenly as unpredictable. Theyfound a therapeuticway in
these “simb” sessions.

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Figue 3:- "Simb" show with a group of fake Lions.

Source:Ibrahima Fall(2022)

Traditionalethnic dance troops

The organizers of the wrestling regularly engage ethnic 2 troops of traditional dances of the Lebbous, Sereres,
Halpoulars, or Moors ethnic groups (fig. 4). Let us mention the example of the troops of Lebbou dancers, dressed in
traditional dress (loincloths, slippers) with tattoos like the Senegalese woman of yesterday. They form two parallel
columns by singing and dancing at a steady pace, aided by the drummers.

Figure 4:- Traditionaldancers.

Source : Ibrahima Fall(2022)

The « touss » and the « baak »

The « touss »is choreography, a dance that the wrestler performs when he enters the arena (fig. 5). It is an act of
communication that allows him to greet his supporters and show his athletic and aesthetic abilities. Each team, each
wrestler has its own choreography that the fans take up and imitate in the stands. As for the «baak», it is a
declamation of poems of self-glorification of the wrestler.

2
The lebbous, the sereres, the Halpoulars are, alongside the wolofs, the dominant ethnic groups in Senegal

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Figure 5:- Wrestler’s "touss"session.

Source : Lamine Sow (Wondefull Entertainment)

Decoration: mix of tradition and modernity

The staging proposed by the wrestling promoters can go as far as the implementation of a pyrotechnic display of
fireworks, shortly before the fight, in order to move the spectators (fig. 6). It also goes through the ritual installation
and with great pomp of a throne intended to welcome the royal winner (fig 7), as well as boxing rings to welcome
the «face to face» of the wrestlers. The decoration of the galas is thus characterized by a mixture of tradition and
modernity. Because it goes through podiums trained for the playback of modern music which, for most of them,
have a song title dedicated to the Senegalese struggle. But also and paradoxically the presence of pirogues or other
symbolic objects recalling the tradition of such or such Senegalese ethnic group. Note that some promoters, to make
the show more exciting, behave like super stars by landing sometimes in the middle of the stadium by helicopter.

Figure 6:- Pyrotechic show.

Source : Lamine Sow (Wondefull Entertainment)

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Figure 7:- Throne and crown for the king of the arena.

Source : Kewoulo

“Random” or “co-created” experiences by participants

These are experiences over which the gala organizer has little or no control, both over their unfolding and the
reaction of the participants: even if, somewhere, he can expect their occurrence and provide them a place in the
show. The organizer who more or less undergoes the experience is then lambda spectator alongside the audience
present in the arena.

Wrestlersentering the arena

The entry of wrestlers into the stadium is already a first spectacle. Each wrestler has his way of crossing the
threshold of the stadium which can be different from one fight to another. This entrance is usually dictated by one of
his marabouts. Thus, the wrestler can be carried on his back by one of his “lieutenants”, ride a horse, walk on banana
leaves or on a long red fabric decorated with grey-Climb the wall of the stadium with a ladder to avoid possible
harmful actions of marabouts that the opponent could have put around the gates. These productions are moments of
surprises appreciated by the spectators, because in a wrestling gala, you never know what unusual situation you are
going to face. For its part, the organizer tries to anticipate them, or even framing them so as not to disturb too much
the course of his event.

Magico-religious practices
They occupy a prominent place in a wrestling event. Indeed, wrestlers spend nearly an hour performing rituals of
mystical practices. They are surrounded by an army of followers and marabouts who are activated by pouring on
their bodies dozens of bottles of mysterious decoctions (fig. 8). The spectators carefully follow the unfolding of
these long sessions of magical-religious preparation.

Figure 8:- Magico-religious practices.

Source : Lamine Sow (Wondefull Entertainment)

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Supporters: co-creators of emotional experience

As enthusiastic supporters of supporting their wrestlers, fans are personally and emotionally engaged with their
favourites. They animate the tribune by singing and brandishing the signs bearing the photo of their idols (fig. 9).
They thus participate in the creation of an emotional atmosphere within the stadium, on the visual and especially on
the sound.

Figure 9:- Fan club groups on the stands.

Source:Ibrahima Fall (2022)

The experience of the spectators

Whatever the context set up by the organizers or created by other actors, especially wrestlers and supporters, the
emotional experience generated seems to be particularly important for the quality of the show. Thus, we will clarify
the extent of this emotional experience of spectators before, during and after wrestling galas.

The gala before or the anticipation experience

Major wrestling matchesare always preceded by a series of meetings between the wrestlers and the press. These are
press conferences organized on television sets or in public places (we speak of «face to face»), or in the wrestler’s
fiefdom, his training place (opens press). The «face-to-face» orchestrated by the organizers, desired by the sponsors
and with the help of the media, remain highlights in the promotion of fighting battles with strikes. It is a highly
publicized production (broadcast on several TV channels), where each wrestler tries to impress his opponent with
acts of provocation and intimidation (Tine and Fall, 2016). If this ritual makes the media happy in search of
audience, it remains an opportunity of intense emotional feelings for fans of struggle. Indeed, from face-to-face,
comments are going well, some wrestlers are celebrated or criticized, valued or devalued, encouraged or booed… In
short, the emotional reactions of amateurs are numerous and endless, one causing the other.

These are all actions to promote combat that seem very effective. For example, a supporter from a wrestler’s
neighborhood says, I can’t wait for the fight to happen; I’ll be one of the first to get to the stadium. It will be a great
fight with lots of animation, because the whole neighborhood is already mobilizing». This animation thus represents
a kind of preliminary stimulation thatconsists in arousingexcitement in the fans and makingthemexperience the
event in anticipation.

The expericiencethemselves
The emotional experience can come from both the central product, the fighting, and the peripheral offer that
characterizes experiential packaging.

Wrestling is an exciting centerpiece

It is in this that a struggle is a source of emotions difficult to control for the spectators. The more combative the
wrestlers are on the competition floor, the more emotional fervor rises among the spectators who are brought to live
moments of danger, desolation or ecstasy during fractions of a second, and alternately, in a general atmosphere of
great tension. The emotional intensity is amplified by the conflict dimension that gives density to the clashes. It will
be all the more lively as the victory comes at the end of a fight during which the two wrestlers showed high sporting
qualities. The duel, which takes place on the battlefield, demands courage, audacity and resistance from the athletes.
It magnetizes the spectators and plunges them into an atmosphere of excitement. In answering the question about

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their feelings, they quoted many of the emotions they experienced during the wrestling show, as this spectator
testifies: “But when I got there, with the atmosphere and everything, I cried! I swear. I felt “in it”, I thought I was
fighting. I really like fighting from the bottom of my heart”. Negative feelings also appear in the statements of some
fans: “When my wrestler enters the fighting circle I can no longer hold back, there is a lot of tension, I fear that he
will fall”; “I had a pretty traumatic experience two years ago at DembaDiop stadium. I felt a real fear”.

An enchantingperipheraloffer
A soundscape
The sound atmosphere is created by the songs and the drums, the loudspeakers broadcasting continuously the
inflamed comments of the speakers. Some wrestling enthusiasts live these sound sensations positively: “When I go
to the stadium, my pleasure begins to grow as soon as I hear, at a hundred meters, the rhythm of the tam-tams and
the singing of the griots”.;“The songs were more enjoyable than the struggle itself, I swear. During the night, in the
moonlight, with the atmosphere of the griots singing and the others beating the tam-tam, it was something else.”
This sound atmosphere around the consumption of the strikefighting show weighs heavily on the emotion felt by the
spectators.

Magico-religious practices
If the rituals of mystical practices aim to increase the chances of victory of the wrestler, through the protection and
spiritual “doping”. They also give thickness to the theatrical dimension of the wrestling galas. Thus, the staging
created by the wrestlers and their marabouts, under the gaze of a curious and participatory audience generates a lot
of emotions among some spectators: I always follow carefully the mystical baths of my wrestler. Through this, I will
know whether he will win or not. So imagine the tension that dwells in me during this moment». Besides, how not to
be moved by a public bath, of bark and eggs, in the presence of animals of all kinds (pigeons, cats, snakes): When I
saw wrestler AmaBaldé with a python around his neck, I shivered all the way through the gala. “Hoouuu! I’m afraid
of snakes”.

The folkloric and aesthetic dimension of the show

If the wrestling with strikes interests all the layers of the population, it is thanks to its dramatization that mixes
aesthetic, poetic and artistic effects generating many emotions among amateurs. The aesthetics of the struggle with
striking goes through the choreography of local traditional dance troupes. It’s also the cough sessions that elicit a lot
of feedback from the choreography of the wrestlers and their companions, “Oh, I like to see the wrestlers when they
do their choreography, it’s beautiful.… There are people who only come for that”; “I like the “coughs”, the dance
steps and the tams-tams that accompany them (…) really there is a lot of atmosphere and I like it”.

A physicalexperience for fans

The body of the wrestling fan literally accompanies the movements of the wrestler that unfolds in the arena. Thus, in
the stands, the bodily expression of emotions experienced by fans is manifested through the imitation of the
choreography of their idol during “touss”During the fighting; the body of the supporters is also mobilized. It is part
of the non-verbal register of emotional expression of spectators. The link between body state and emotional flows is
reflected in the attitude of wrestler fans that fall into trance after the defeat of their idol, jump with joy and
intertwine to manifest his victory. The body of the supporter is therefore not a passive body. It transforms an internal
emotional boiling into physical manifestations, in the image of what these spectators experienced: “I was shaking so
much, I couldn’t stand, when the two wrestlers hung on, I didn’t see the rest, I looked away, I couldn’t stand it,” “I
couldn’t feel my legs. At one point I thought I had paralysis”. During the fight, the body of the wrestling fan literally
accompanies the movements of the wrestler that unfolds in the arena. In addition, in the galleries, the bodily
expression of emotions experienced by fans is manifested through the imitation of the choreography of their idol
during “touss”.

The After-Gala Memory Experience

The post-fight is usually marked by endless discussions, comments and stories allowing the spectators to relive the
show and the emotions it has aroused. From the end of the fighting, the conversation is engaged in every street
corner, in every public space, in the homes so as to prolong the sensory and emotional immersion of the wrestling
gala. Enthusiasts talk about it during the hours, days, sometimes months that follow this emotion and they often feel
these moments with more intensity than the initial emotion. The role of the conversation is fundamental within the
experiential device because the spectators will be able to discuss what they have just seen, exchange their opinions
and their feelings about the show. The emotional experience of the spectator is thus renewed, with a lesser intensity,

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aided in this by the television channels which, in their numerous programs exclusively devoted to the wrestling with
strikes; do not cease to broadcast the event.

Some Elements Of Discussion:-

• Wrestling : an exciting central product
A wrestling fight, like many sports competitions, remains a confrontation whose outcome is uncertain. The uncertain
character of the performances benefits the production and intensifies the emotional experience of the spectators,
their feelings of hope, joy or disappointment (Leroux-Sostenes et al., 2012). Indeed, uncertainty gives sports
competition a sensational dimension that makes it “a vehicle for emotions” (Desbordes and Richelieu, 2011:131).
Thus, the wrestling galas are apprehended as a sport show of very high body level likely to create emotional
reactions commensurate with the stakes. And, further to the analysis of Madrigal (2003) on the emotions
experienced by the spectators, it should be noted that the speeches of the interviewees express as many positive
emotions as negative ones. In this regard, Bourgeon-Renault and Bouchet (2007) noted that a sporting event can
provoke a whole range of emotions in spectators: excitement, joy, surprise, suffering, hatred, anxiety, admiration,
relief, So, contrary to the misconception that only positive emotions guarantee the success of a sporting event, we
can argue that it’s the intensity of the emotion in itself-Even, whether it responds positively or not to the partisan
commitment of the spectator, who v make or not the success of the show.

While strong emotions are generated by the fight itself, they can also come from peripheral services.

 Cultural and folk activities as experiential dressing

In wrestling, the performance of a champion far exceeds the only sporting performance. Wrestlers are also admired
and adored during the cough sessions, which “is both an ethnically and/or regionally charged dance and a rite of
entry into the place of confrontation” (Wane, 2012: 81). The wrestling gala is a complete event that includes not
only fights, but also songs and folk dances punctuated by tam-tams that keep the audience in suspense.Chevet et al.
(2014: 54) talk abouta spectacular and communal dimension of mythical drama with a hybrid character, mixing
laudatory songs (baak), dances, acrobatics, with a choreographic dimension (touss) and gymnic songs, declamations
and music at dusk, Drum calls and magic rituals».

In conceptualizing the experience in the form of a continuum, Filser’s (2002) experiential dressing “scenery” might
fit into this form of struggle dramatization in galas. But also a «folkloric» dimension that highlights themes related
to the history, culture and body practices of different communities. This aesthetic atmosphere often transports the
viewer and plunges him back into the kingdom of his childhood, in his native village.

The narrative can be understood in the form of speeches about wrestlers. Indeed, the comments of traditional
communicators have fundamentally fed the universe of the Senegalese struggle by functioning as stories, staging
heroic characters (Ohl, 2000). An update of this ancestral mode of communication currently goes through the very
active social networks in Senegal. Further research could address the question of whether the younger generations
still feel concerned by these events with a very local reputation and that they aspire to modernize their
communication aspects in the relevant stages.

 Multi-sensory excitement for body experience

The spectators cannot be indifferent to the sonic, visual and tactile stimuli perceived during the galas except to be
deaf, blind and insensitive. Following a struggle fight with a punch, it is the sonic excitement created by the frantic
cadence of the tam-tams, the song of the griots mixed with the hysterical cries of the spectators. And as Bognon
(2012: 108) states, sound amplifies emotions and remains “an indispensable part of the excitement that competition
creates”. A wrestling show is also wonder at the choreographic performances of wrestlers and fan groups. It is also
close body contact of other fans and smell smoke. This context reminds us that a forum is “noises, smells, human
warmth, and an angle of view. It is a physical experience…” Berteau and Le Guilcher (2011: 18). The spectacle is
therefore truly a bodily experience – jumping, hugging or jostling, shaking, screaming, crying – that can go as far as
trance when the body escapes the consciousness of the bearer.

It thus appears that the body is a central element of this emotional device since it is a “vector of mobilization of the
senses” (Ohl and Tribou, 2004: 61).

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 Social interactions
The atmosphere of a sporting event is also marked by social factors. Because it attracts the participation of several
types of actors: spectators, athletes, service providers, media representatives. Among these actors, the spectators in
general, the committed fans in particular, remain the most decisive in the creation of the atmosphere in the stands.
They are the object of all eyes and seek to produce a visual effect through their banners, signs, clothing and
sometimes the smoke they wave (Bromberger, 1998). The action of experiential dressing (Filser, 2002) could be
placed at the level of the interactions that the fight encourages in spectators, thus enriching the experience of their
consumption.

Spectators go to wrestling galas to experience personal emotions but also shared emotions that are amplified by
crowds (Richelieu and Pons, 2005). Rimé et al. (1991) also showed that an emotional experience is generally
followed by a social sharing of that emotion, that is, by verbalizing the experience of each and its exchange with
others (Rimé, 2009; Kotler &Scheff, 1997). For an experience that would remain interiorized and imprisoned in the
consciousness of each one lost much of its social sense of bringing together its actors.

This leads us to emphasize the importance of communication networks so that the experience can reach its end, that
is to say the exchange. If traditional social networks remain very present in Senegalese society, those of verbal
comments in places of community gatherings of neighborhoods and villages, Or in the family, the place of social
networks has become equally central, especially for the younger generations. The physical community then splits
into a virtual community without any geographical constraints, which will exchange stories but also videos and
photos, thus extending the experience of the show. Over time, the narrative will take its autonomy and distance from
the reality of the event. The comments will romanticize, idealize, sweeten or even forget who bothers through a buzz
of exchanges where everyone bounces back to the preceding comment by adding his additional subjectivity. An
experience of spectacle does not cease to be built when the doors of the stadium close.

Conclusion:-
The Senegalese wrestling or wrestling with strikes is a “sporty” show, that is to say, relevant to sports and culture. It
is marked by a central sport offering (combat proper) and related peripheral activities with a strong cultural
dimension. This hybridization between sport and culture makes wrestling galas primarily experiential shows. The
organizers understood that a close sporting vision of the event limited its audience and therefore its commercial
scope. Thus, they add a strong dose of animation in the stadium, creating an experiential context favorable to live
moments of emotional consumption. As we have seen, the emotional experience of the galas is very present in the
speech of the spectators invited to express themselves. Attending a wrestling gala is above all a convivial
entertainment activity allowing you to experience a range of emotions (both positive and negative) and to live multi-
sensory experiences. Thus, it is now essential to take into consideration this quest for experiences as it appears that
the interest of most spectators is no longer based solely on the sports show, But also on a range of peripheral
elements able to provoke an emotional atmosphere. In this regard, let’s highlight the important role played by fans in
creating atmosphere in the stands. In this, they can be considered as creators of their own experience and valuable
innovators able to evolve the organization of galas.

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