TIFO
This article shows the longest rivalries in the game of soccer in Europe. These rivalries create and bring back nostalgia memories to fans that attend each year. Some of these rivalries started when these clubs were created making these games mean more.
http://listverse.com/2010/08/18/top-10-soccer-club-rivalries-of-all-time/
I chose this article because it is yet another instance of a North, Central or South American player deciding to use the MLS as a league to further his career. It is no longer just retirees and Americans playing. More and more players thought the region are seeing MLS as the league with the most opportunities and exposure.
http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/soccerusa/id/4076?cc=5901
I wanted to post this link that discusses the MLS drat that takes place every year that places some of the best college soccer stars on MLS teams. I thought this post would be relevant because we were talking about the farm system to the MLS that was in place now and how they could continue to improve it down the road. the MLS draft may be the last stop for college athletes hoping to make it.
This TIFO is in response to an early TIFO I submitted, a documentary by the BBC’s Panorama program. After additional research I have found the documentary to be highly controversial, with many accusing it of being incendiary and fear-mongering. While my TIFOs turned towards highlighting the feat of racism at EURO 2012, particularly by Eastern European clubs, for the most part it was a success. Polish and Ukrainian fans, as hosts, acted accordingly and it was foreign fans who caused the majority of racist incidents.
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.
This article discusses the sociology of sport and the relationship between sports, nations, and nationalism in the Dutch soccer community. It acknowledges that nations are in fact imagined communities that come together through a shared experience and pride in the actions of one’s nation. National traditions and reactions to sports lead to this belief that different nations have a certain style to the way they approach the game. This idea however doesn’t seem to be true as many different countries can lay claim to the same style being their own, yet it is impossible to deny that soccer and sporting competitions in generally do not lead to some sort of national cohesion. Because there can only be one outcome in a sporting match a win or a loss when nations cheer on their teams they are experiencing an event as a nation all rooting for the end goal to be their nations team celebrating a victory.
“While the club achievements stirred the passions of soccer fans, the World cup, televised live, produced a truly national emotional outpouring, an ‘orange transformation’ subsequently considered ‘typical’ of the Netherlands. The losers of 1974 were treated to an unprecedented welcome upon their return, receiving the adulation of huge crowds.” (218)
I pulled this passage out because it made me think about the level of popularity soccer has within the US and how it may be linked to the men’s team up until this point not truly accomplishing something of note. While there may be fans that root for the team, they cannot celebrate losses. The achievements of their club and national teams is what spurred passion among fans in the Netherlands, maybe an increase in solid victories for the US could lead to the beginning of a larger fan base. While the 1974 team was still met with praise when they arrived home I feel like this is different in the states because we are not expected to do that well in the first place, therefore when the team gets back there is no reason to celebrate they did just as well as they were expected to.
“The media keep the memory of past achievement alive. In the run-up to any major tournament comparisons with teams past are inevitable, complete with repeat showings of key episodes on television. The Dutch soccer record is now virtually available, a shared ‘memory’ even to those too young to witness the actual games of old.” (219)
Maybe it’s just me because I am not fully aware of the victories of our national teams but I couldn’t help but pull this quote out and think about how the media attempts to bring excitement to international soccer matches. For the Dutch this process is easy they have past experiences that everyone likes to relive that show their dominance within the sport. It only helps strengthen the argument that over time soccer will in fact have a larger impact within the US because we will have more moments to look back on that reinvigorate casual soccer fans to get excited. These moments can also help establish more loyalty towards soccer for a kid which seems to be lacking within our current soccer programs.
This article focuses on the competitiveness of football and nationalism and how fans choose to react towards members of other countries. It somewhat relates back to some of the discussions we have had in class about how sport became a substitute for war in a sense, while people are no longer being killed the same amount of passion seems to be poured out in these games of sport.
“For official sports ideology football creates a civilizing space for national groups to make contact with and to recognize each other below the level of formal political structures. Since the 1984 European Championship in France, fans of national teams attend the Euros in increased numbers, resulting in generally peaceful contact with each other, although fan hooliganism remained a constant concern for authorities” (3)
I wanted to pull this quote out to argue against this idea that football or sports in generally really lead to a civilized space for different groups of people. I know for a fact that people fight during matches between different clubs and in the US when someone’s team is losing and the wrong person says the wrong thing regardless of the importance of the game there is a presence of violence or at least retaliation. I feel like this is only more prevalent on a international level, using the word hooliganism to describe the actions between rowdy fans greatly downplays some of the situations that occur during events like the Euros.
This article describes how French players are being hired to play in the England’s Premier league. They are attracted by higher salaries and the prestige of the league. The article also shows that not only are players migrating from the third world to Europe for soccer but also among European countries.
According to those findings, average yearly salary for a play in Belgium’s top division was $284,300, versus $473,100 for a Dutch peer; and $727,900 in France’s Ligue 1. By contrast, that same survey estimated annual average salary in the Premier League at $2.2 million—not far from the pre-bonus figure of $1.82 million the Daily Mail worked up in 2011.
Lechner’s piece describes the development of the narrative that the Dutch national team and Dutch soccer in general has a distinct style that sets Dutch soccer apart from the soccer of other nations. He looks at the historical records and concludes that this style, in reality, is not an essential part of Dutch play and in fact is a narrative that was invented to create a notion of distinctiveness, superiority and specialness compared to the rest of the world.
The importance of this narrative to Dutch fans could be instructive to proponents of soccer in the United states as a way of promoting the game. Americans have a deep belief in the concept of American exceptionalism and view soccer, and those who support the game, as somewhat foreign. This distrust and disinterest in soccer could be overcome with an invention of an “American style,” whether a true style or fictitious, that could play on American identity so that fans could see the soccer players and teams who practice this style as an embodiment of “true Americans” who will demonstrate the superiority of the American style to the rest of the world.
A few weeks ago, Nicolas Anelka, a french striker in the English Premier League, displayed an anti-semitic sign which is described as a Nazi salute by French Jews. Also, Anelka is of African descent and claims that this was merely a joke, but these types of incidents are examples of how the relaxed disposition of the FA allows players and fans to believe that these acts are acceptable.
Introduction:
-The style in which Dutch soccer was played during the 2006 World Cup was extremely important because it defines the individuality of Netherlands soccer and differentiates themselves from other countries.
-Our way of playing is more important than the result”(Van ’t Schip) Continue reading