Author Archives: Seth Browner

About Seth Browner

First-Year student at Trinity College.

Victory in 1991 (Seth Browner TIFO 1/17/14)

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American victory in 1991

As this TIFO is the last, I want to post something cheerful. The United States experienced a galvanizing triumph in transnational soccer in 1991. However, the individuals that thrust the U.S. forward were women. Obtaining an international athletic title in a sport that is not historically valued in the United States, the American team set precedents for the popularization of soccer in this country. The team also paved the way for the elevation of the women’s game in ways previously unheard of. May the 1991 team’s male compatriots feel the a similar glorious victory this summer in Brazil.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJClOqKTrIQ

Acculturation and Racialization (Seth Browner PCQ 1/16/14)

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Racialization and the Last Temptation of Zinedine Zidane

I enjoyed this article because I felt it touched on several points that are salient to the study of global football. For example, the author in great detail elaborated on the influence that the media plays in the spread of global soccer more than ever before in the game’s history. It also delves into the 20th century advent of investigative journalism.

The media has incredible power over how audiences come into contact with sports. More than simply reporting, I believe the explosion of the mobile device era is equally as potent in information’s spread. I really give specific credit to the iPhone and iPad. The ease of using them, the accessibility of international news, and the almost uninterrupted internet connection makes them especially worthy of note. The iPhone popularized the smartphone craze. They are so widespread in the rich world. Even in the semi-peripheral tier of countries, Apple’s technology is influencing culture there.

Most significantly is the impact that globalized media wields over culture. Culture is being re-shaped and broken down. New trends and fads are materializing. I would say that soccer’s prominence in the United States is part of that materialization.

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Women’s Football in Victorian Britain (Seth Browner TIFO 1/16/14)

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Women’s Struggle for Athletic Equality stems to the Victorian Age

The obstacles facing women in sports are nothing new as this article illustrates. As football began to evolve in Great Britain during the end of the 19th century, the same patriarchal systems of sports-playing followed the birth of football. Women’s right to compete was quickly curtailed as it was considered unseemly for ladies at that time. This era was the deep inhalation before a time of social turbulence in the early 20th century. As women’s voting rights were realized and traditions of fashion and behavior were broken, soccer had yet to come to that point.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13573322.2013.721576

The Nature of Nationalism (Seth Browner PCQ 1/15/14)

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Imagined Communities in the Global Game: Football and Dutch National Identity

The article begins by introducing this notion of the Dutch playing soccer the right way. This idea is therefore linked to the feeling of superiority in playing. A style develops. I find it hard to understand how one determines what exactly is a style and on what basis, other than games won, can it be determined that it is the right or better way. However, there is a notable perception of others as inferior. As stated before, the author points to the fact there is a high degree of myth-making in Dutch soccer. I believe this outlook is romanticized.

Historically, romanticization and nationalism have been found in conjunction to one another. It is this pivotal relationship that helped to spark some of the failed revolutions of 1848 and contributed to a nationalist foundation that led to Germany’s and Italy’s unification in the 19th century. To focus on soccer, this perception is a personalization of a passion for a sport in the Netherlands. The writer notes that this is an attempt to give the sport a unique flare.

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The US Exception (Seth Browner PCQ 1/14/14)

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US Ambivalence Toward the World Cup and American Nationalism

Soccer has popularly been heralded as the world’s favorite sport. However, that iconic phrase ought to be amended to to exempt the United States. Football enraptures the hearts and zeals of the most of the world, yet that same passion has not taken root in America. This phenomenon is not unexplainable; explanations can be reasoned.

Firstly, one must point to the fact that the US and the rest of the world differ in more than one way than in the world’s countries’ preferences for sports. The United States has a unique system for spelling certain English words. The language written in United Kingdom, as well as in Australia, New Zealand, India, and South Africa, adhere to the British spelling. Additionally, the US has a distinct system of weights and measures. I believe I am correct in saying that we solely use miles over kilometers and Fahrenheit over Celsius. It is unsurprising that Americans’ athletic appetites differ from that of Europeans, Africans, and South Americans.

Of course, this is very general. One must acknowledge the steps soccer has taken towards popularity in the US. The sport is becoming more watched, particularly by young people in the young adult and adolescent age group. Many individuals in this bracket follow soccer more closely than they do any other sport. This rise is partly due to easier access through widespread television usage. More importantly, the smartphone and internet craze accelerates football’s ascension into sports pandemonium. The iPhone allows for connections to sports non-stop. Worthy of note, this germinal craze is among young adults. As this generation matures, soccer will be carried through to older age groups; the probability of its adoption among another generation of Americans is high with this discussed trend. I predict that this phenomenon will occur.

Sports are emotionally riveting for their tendency to arouse two human attributes: solidarity and attachment. The enormous level of expressionism in sports in public spaces leads many to form collectivist associations. These associations are based on shared feelings and common zeals. Media plays a role in forming these bonds of “interpersonal interaction.” This sociological observation is keen. Within human nature, there is an inherent instinct to cluster. I argue that this drive is rooted in a need to be secure and a desire for affirmation of one’s convictions. The desire for affirmation builds confidence in oneself and one’s judgment.

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Marta’s Masterful Talents in Germany (Seth Browner TIFO 1/15/14)

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Marta Skillfully Maneuvers towards Brazilian victory in Women’s World Cup

In the Women’s World Cup in Germany, the Brazilian women’s national team was set against the Norwegian women’s team in Wolfsburg. Although Norway has typically been a backwater European football power, the women’s game has enjoyed some success in international tournaments. Brazil, naturally, enjoys much prestige and respect at the very mention of soccer. However, the South American country’s athletic celebrity is a result of the efforts of the individual footballers that compete in canary yellow and vibrant blue. Marta reaffirms this pivotal truth through her talented display of competence over her Norwegian opposition. Her performances not only propelled Brazil to victory in this World Cup game, but caught the attention of the transnational soccer community as a adroit female athlete.

Female Athlete Reports on Treatment of Female Players in Brazil (Seth Browner TIFO 1/14/14)

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Caitlin Fisher Condemns the Portrayal of Women Footballers in Brazil

Caitlin Fisher, a former US soccer player and Santos FC footballer, reports in this short video on the feminization of female players in the Brazilian women’s league.  A graduate of Harvard University, she currently works in collaboration with South American football players in various charity organizations meant to push for the expansion of the women’s game. In her discussion, Fisher acknowledges improvement in the public’s favorable perception of female soccer, yet does not fail to raise points where steps forward have yet to be taken. TEDTalks host a variety of commentators of which she is featured.

Aline Pellegrino Comments on Women’s Soccer in Brazil (Seth Browner TIFO 1/13/14)

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Female Footballer Divulges the Inequalities in the Football-Crazed Nation of Brazil

Brazil, famous for its lush jungles and sunny beaches, is a hub of success international soccer playing. Claiming more World Cup titles than any other country, football is an indispensable facet of its diverse society. However, the hidden side to this athletic fanaticism is that the nation’s love of football is highly unequal. Women soccer players receive little acclaim. The sport has many steps to take before it can catch up to the level it is practiced at for men. Brazilian international player Aline Pellegrino deplores these inequities and succinctly elaborates on her active front to ignite the women’s soccer movement in an article in Public Radio International.

Women’s Soccer Improving in the United States (Seth Browner TIFO 1/10/14)

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How Women’s Soccer has Grown in the United States

There is a universal note in inequality movements where improvement must acknowledged for the growth of any campaign. Women’s soccer in the United States, and abroad, is not any different. Since, the first women’s team played on a field in the United States in 1985, much progress has been made. Title IX legislation has expanded soccer programs for females at the university dramatically. Female soccer players had at one time been as celebrated profiles as athletes like Ryan Lochte and Mariano Rivera. Mia Hamm and Joy Fawcett boasted numerous sponsorships and captured the adulation of a generation of Americans. The US women’s team has never a slot lower than second in FIFA’s international rankings- something the US men’s team would adore. However, there’s work to be done. WUSA discontinued due to low attendance and investors look askance at the worthwhileness of pouring money into a women’s  league in this country, blogger Julian Cardillo reports.  But, headway has been made.

http://www.boston.com/sports/soccer/blog/2013/04/in_100_years_wo.html

Fascism and Soccer in Italy (Seth Browner PCQ 1/9/14)

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Football and Fascism: The National Game Under Mussolini, by Martin Simon

The intrusion of politics into domestic and international soccer is nothing new; many governments lender their support to football to achieve some sort of means. However, Italy under the pre-World War II dictatorship provides a particularly apt example, as the author Mr. Simon notes. By the 1920s, football in Italy had become a national institution that was highly esteemed. Know as calcio in Italian, the game was very popular and engendered much loyalty and fanaticism.

On the other hand, much structural and administration reforms were needed in the game. Many ministerial aspects of the game were inept. One move in attempt to solve this dilemma was to move the structural center to Milan. I found the choice of this city unsurprising. Milan, and other cities in northern Italy, were always the leading centers of Italian industry and economics. While Rome might be the political, and to some degree, the cultural hub of Italian, Milan is the financial heart of the peninsula. The move to Milan caused controversy nonetheless.

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