Granted, I'm taking this out of context... but not very far out of it. And take my word, even in its context it did little else than reek of hubris while providing a distinct example of nationalistic pride gone askew.
Read from a periodical this evening, in an article that I think was trying to say that the U.S. is learning to appreciate soccer and that soccer's popularity is growing here, becoming more of a priority. It said it like this: "Face it, world: the U.S. is going to play, watch, market, manage and own your sport sooner or later."
Then it quoted someone at the head of the U.S. soccer force, "For good or for bad, America has always been the center of the universe, whether it's sports, culture, politics; so it makes sense that as soccer has exploded to become a true global sport, America would hop on the bandwagon."
I agree that America is hopping on the bandwagon, and a fine bandwagon it is, and a fine squad they have to do the hopping (I'm a big fan of Howard's tending prowess). But, dear me, soccer has not exploded to become a true global sport -- it is the global sport.
And I think that ownership is not determined by purchasing power (through marketing, managing, mass viewing, etc) but by the enthusiasm with which it is played.
Soccer -- the world's football -- is for all of us; possibly the one thing remaining that will always shed imperialistic robes for the sake of its own simplicity. Two goals and a ball. Heart, passion, celebration.
It tends to bring us together. I value soccer for that. Let's let it do what it will.
Hi Aram! I absolutely agree with your response to the USA coach's comments as well as your appraisal of soccer/football as THE global sport. However, the simplicity of the game does not necessarily mean that it is free of imperialistic robes. In many former colonies, the choice of sport itself is a political one - I think of the class differences between football/rugby/cricket for starters. I'm quite certain that I am myself not well-informed enough to fully expound upon this, however my point is simply that while football does tend to bring us together (a quality of which I am also fond!) it is not free of decades of socio-political and economic baggage.
ReplyDeleteDuly noted. Thanks Shaffner.
ReplyDeleteAnd as a clarification, so as not to accidentally blemish any reputations, I don't think it was the US coach that made those comments, it was someone else in the MLS network.
I appreciate you offering this, especially as one who has traveled to and no doubt dribbled around within some of the regions you're referencing.
I guess the spread of football is itself a result of the oft shady process of colonization. Perhaps one of the more enthusiasticaly received results. But, agreed, by no means devoid of the baggage that comes with human interactions.
The political/social classification between football/rugby/cricket is a new concept for me, interesting. Without fully expounding might you perhaps expound a touch or two more? And do you think that there is a mirror situation, with different sports, in the U.S.?
Ahh..yes thanks for the correction regarding my mis-attribution of that quote. My reference was to South Africa in particular where I have heard that rugby and cricket were both sports that were more heavily embraced by the white African population, who held political and economic power at the time. Resources and attention were paid to these sports (leading to ZA becoming global contenders) whilst football was embraced more typically by black Africans in ZA, and has really only starting growing by leaps and bounds since 1994. I'm sure that there are a number of reasons for this trend; I'm just not sure that I know most of them. I think that sports are naturally both unifying and decisive. Certain sports appeal to certain demographics of people, and while often those demographics cross national boundaries, sometimes demographics change drastically from country to country. Here is a perfect application for GIS to represent data spatially. Hmm...perhaps one of these days I'll get around to making a map that overlays sport popularity and population/demographic info and see what I come up with...
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