Soccer has the power to unify, inspire, and promote peace among nations but it also has the power to cause extraordinary discord within a country and globally as well. Colombian national soccer is a good example. Colombia is divided into thirty-three departments and each department has at least one soccer team for a total of thirty-six Colombian league teams. The Colombian league is divided into two categories, Liga Postobon with eighteen teams and Torneo Postobon also with eighteen teams. Within these two categories, there are rivalries between teams that have reached such extraordinary heights that it affects the way the thirty-three Colombian departments see each other, in particular, Antioquia and Cundinamarca, more specifically, Medellin and Bogota. The rivalry between these two cities is so potent that when their soccer teams play against each other, fans are killed after the game. The violence within Colombia’s league is indicative of the political turmoil and tensions between departments that create greater violence in the country as a whole. However, it is uncanny that when the Colombian National team qualified for the 2014 World Cup, Colombia was not divided into departments: everyone was simply Colombian. This phenomena can only be explained with Bill Shankly’s statement about soccer: “some people believe soccer is a matter of life and death… I assure you it is much more important than that” (Shankly). The relationship between the Medellin, Bogota political rivalry and their soccer rivalry is so similar it is close to frightening. There is a strong rivalry between ex-president Alvaro Uribe Velez, Medellin native and President Juan Manuel Santos, native of Bogota due to their over-arching differences concerning the ong... ... middle of paper ... ...d. However, players from Barcelona and Real Madrid play peacefully when playing for Spain on a global level. This has become the norm for most of us who avidly watch soccer, but in reality it is not: how can people who normally hate each other like each other? Soccer unifies a country for a few days or a few months as is the case with the World Cup: why? I think soccer on a global level relieves political tension: it is an opportunity for the country to put forth the best of them and forget about the bad. For example, when Colombia qualified for this year’s World Cup, all I could think of was, finally, our country will be known as the favorite underdog instead of the poor, violent mess it is always portrayed as. Soccer gives leaders an opportunity to demonstrate their country as a united group of persons under one ideal, under one rule, under one national identity.
Foer vowed to show us how the game of soccer can impact different regions and cultures. He indicated us how these relationships (between different nations and beliefs), while there, are hard to apprehend on the global scale. But trough soccer, these relationships reveal themselves in a hesitant fashion.
...will decide how much tribalism they wish to get involved in, even if it is simply wearing the jersey; or getting involved in heavy duty teasing with the rival fans of their favorite football team; or even if they simply decorated their own home with every piece of team collectables available for purchase. Whatever an individual does or decides to continue to do I remain convinced that it is actually the tribalism that is more important that the football and if that tribalism dies, than professional football becomes starved of its founding roots and dies. And that my friends, is the scariest thought of it all. Even though I am a strong supporter of tribalism in football, I do feel as that the extreme football hooliganism violence that takes place in the book “How Soccer Explains The World” is unnecessary and the violence does not need to happen along with tribalism.
Soccer differs in Spain and in America when it comes to attendances and passion for the sport, play style, and the way their players are shaped into professions. The United States is said to play a hybrid form of soccer compared to hispanic countries (Parrish). American soccer athletes are typically taught to emphasize conditioning and possession. Secondly, Americans and Hispanics’ passion for the sport are extremely different from one another. The people in Hispanic countries live for soccer, as they are devoted, passionate, and loyal to the teams. Contrarily in America, football, basketball, and baseball trump soccer making it only the fourth most attended and watched event. No matter how the sport is played or how many people attend the events, soccer is well liked in both the United States and Hispanic
Kaplan, Daniel. "The Soccer Theory of Globalization." Aidwatchers.com. Aid Watchers, 15 July 2009. Web. 04 Dec. 2013.
In the world of sport, soccer and football with respect to demographic has had numerous controversies. Although both sport are known famously around the globe, for many years fans from both sides are known for asking, is American football same as soccer? What’s the time limit on both sports? What’s the game objective? Do they use the same ball? However they both have similarities and differences which I will be talking about in this essay.
It is not like the NBA or NFL in the United States, which suffers from America’s escalated race issues and power structures. Soccer is a sport played all over the world by all races and nationalities and is actually the most popular sport in the world. America might be the only country where soccer is not even in the top 5 and lucky to maybe included in the top 10. This year the NFL topped America’s popularity with 35% of people saying that it is their favorite sport, followed by MLB, college football, auto racing—presumably Nascar, the NBA, the NHL, and finally, college basketball (Rovell). Soccer is not even listed. That being said, American manifestations of racism through their media coverage of minority athletes and their treatment as well as being subject to different criticisms. Globally, though, soccer is the most popular sport with 250 million players across 200 nations and roughly 3.5 billion fans worldwide (sporteology.com). The racism experienced by minority athletes in soccer is very different than sports in America. In America, they are admired by the public as they are included into their world of what is acceptable but thought of as entertainers and many times subject to racial slurs, such as the infamous Donald Sterling case, the previous owner of the Los Angeles Clippers. In soccer, especially in England, they are constantly attacked verbally by fans, which are directed towards black
...n and Spanish. Being forced to be on a team with them made me learn to cooperate with them and I ended up being good friends with most of them. I met two of my good friends Vic and Promise, both African Americans, through soccer and it might not have ever happened had I not been apart of the team. I am not the only person who made friends from different races through soccer. In the article "School sports is a safety net for youths: Less active youngsters often have problems trying to cope with life", Richard Lapchick says "As overt acts of racism and the number of school-based hate groups climb, the survey shows team sports create bonds that cut across racial lines; 76 percent of all white and African American student-athletes say they became friends with someone from another racial or ethnic group while playing sports."
As human beings grow up we begin to develop interests in certain things. Hobbies are a big part of our lives, it normally is a past time that allows us to unwind and relax, forget about our everyday problems. It gives us something to enjoy doing. Hobbies can range from many different activities, whether it is knitting, reading a book, surfing, running, shopping, painting and so forth. There are so many different types of activities that one can do. These hobbies are usually done on a casual basis; there is no obligation to do them. However one hobby that is not taken lightly is the love of Spanish futbol. Now this is a hobby that is taken very seriously, we are talking about a sport that can be compared to a religion that is how closely people follow the games. Now some people may find this a bit weird that people take Spanish futbol so seriously. To some Spanish futbol is just a game, you win some you lose some. But to the fans futbol is a way of life, some people eat, breath, and dream futbol. People are willing to miss Sunday service to go watch a game, and it is something that the whole family enjoys doing. But why is there such a massive phenomenon with futbol, especially in Spain? This is not to say that only the people of Spain are the most dedicated “futbolistas”, but they are pretty intense about their love of soccer. A question that definitely comes to mind that fuels the idea of passion is the rivalries between F.C. Barcelona and Real Madrid. Does this have anything to do with why people are so passionate about the game? What is really behind the rivalry, there must be more to it other than the clubs being from two different cities. Why is it that futbol is considered almost a religious pastime, how does it portray th...
Miguel Herrera, coach of Mexico’s national team, states his opinion on the World Cup: “In the end we're in the World Cup, which is the most important thing because for Mexico, [soccer] is part of life -- part of the social, cultural and political spheres. So we're solid. I think we have a good team"(Nusbaum 56). Vicente del Bosque, coach of Spain’s national team says: “Spain the country deserves this triumph, this reward, this World Cup. I think this goes beyond sports. We have been supported by all the people in Spain, and we are delighted to be able to offer this victory to Spain” (Wahl 46). This goes to show that the World Cup brings national together in an all out brawl for the
Soccer is more dangerous than American football. Many believe that soccer is mostly safe compared to american (gridiron) football, but evidence shows otherwise. If soccer is not addressed as being just as or even more dangerous than american football, then more unexpected soccer players could be seriously injured due to unprepared safety equipment or rules. It is true that unlike in soccer, you can’t tackle someone to the ground, guaranteed chance of colliding with your opponent, or having the highest rate of injury than any other sport. However, there are also factors that contribute to the dangers of soccer unlike football such as a lack of protective gear, different causes of injuries, and the difference
as Football has it wouldn’t make a difference let them have their game of “handball” and give me the real Futbol. The true footballers all over the world can watch “the beautiful game” we love so much. Soccer influences football as well. Interviews have said that talking about the subject over which sport is the best seems to talk more of Soccer being bigger than football and is rising in the U.S.(Future of Soccer vs Football) Both sides have their arguments and point of view but one thing is for sure that Soccer is growing all over the world. The world will see how big of an impact Soccer will cause in the realm of sports.
Did you know Soccer is the most basic game with 11 players on a field including the goalkeeper and you try to score in a net without using your hands. Soccer is one of the most played sport around the world. FIFA says there is approximately 265 million people in the world playing soccer. Which is about 4% of the world. On another hand most sports like baseball and football are played and watched in one country. Soccer is one of the oldest sports and was played around 3,000 years ago. That's why Soccer is the best sport, It's the most popular, it has the oldest history and it is the most diverse sport.
I don't consider soccer a sport I play; I consider it a passion of mine. I come from a family that’s not a big fan of any sport except for soccer. This made soccer the most important sport in my life. I grew up in an environment enthusiastic about soccer. I have loved soccer ever since I can remember which can be since I took my first steps. If I was not playing soccer with my dad and brothers, I would watch games with my grandpa on TV. My dad was a soccer coach and, I grew up going to practices and watching him coach many teams until I was old enough to play on one of his teams. He always told me he wasn’t my dad during the game, he was a coach first and a dad second.
...s between fans at local and national levels, the striking feature of the research is the high degree to which football unites people from varied backgrounds across the whole of Europe, and undoubtedly beyond. The prevention of football hooliganism requires a concerted and continuous response. Cross-national and cross-local dissimilarities in the patterns and forms of football hooliganism reveal that, despite important transnational resemblances, football hooliganism is nested within particular (local) fan cultures. Prevention strategies should therefore be designed to fit local needs. The good practices discussed in this paper may help to promote a more profound understanding of possible strategies for the prevention of football hooliganism. To advance such an understanding, the transnational exchange and dissemination of local knowledge and practices are required.
Watching the sport or playing the sport, Soccer, popularly called football, is a sport that is captivating to the eye. If I was asked to describe soccer to a person with no knowledge about the sport well this is what I would say, the game of soccer is more sophisticated than the average sport. This is the only sport where physicality is not the only factor that influences the game. Not only that, soccer is the only sport apart from the Olympics that makes the world put aside their difference and unit for a cause. Moreover it is among the few sports like running that does not discriminate based on financial status, because a ball is the only equipment used in this sport.