I really can’t pinpoint the time in my life when I became a soccer fan. But, I remember at a very young age watching soccer games with my father and his friends in the village that we were in. We didn’t have much, but we were one of the few families that had television in the village, and that means that whenever there’s a soccer game on tv, a lot of people will come to our place to watch the game. Soccer was all everybody talk about in terms of sports, and to be honest I didn’t know other sport existed apart from soccer until we moved to the United States. So growing up, all I hear about when it comes to sports is soccer. The boys would talk about it and play it bare foot on the playground, my father and his age mates and up will not stop talking about it, and most women, if not all, will bring …show more content…
It never cross my mind to research about soccer, where it originated from, its history, and its impact on people, countries, or even region as a whole until this class. When I saw futbol, Why soccer matter in Latin America listed as one of the books we’ll be studying this semester, I …show more content…
I thought it will be one of those books on soccer and its success in Latin America and I was set on it. I wasn’t expecting nothing more than that. But reading this book transformed and challenged my perspective on soccer, it was above and beyond what I expected, and I cannot look at soccer as “just” a game/sport anymore. When it comes to Latin America though, the author, Nadel Joshua, did an incredible job in incorporating the stories and the histories of each country in Latin America to demonstrate why soccer matters in Latin America and to support his argument that: there is no other place in the world that “soccer redefined national identity as it did in Latin America” (pg.242), no other place that “soccer elucidates the major issues that face the region” (pg.243). The
Soccer is a culture in where I was literally born into. Playing since I was six years old I grew up learning every position of the sport. I was playing against the best in my school and all the way to the best in the state and even nation. IT showed me a lot of values and I know it will show me more as I grow up. This is an everyday thing in my life, but many others have their own culture and social structure where they learn a lot of values. The main point I believe is learning those values because that is what will make our social society
Soccer has a important place in the history of several countries. It is the most popular sport in the world. I will be exploring soccer’s place in American history and how it has been growing in America throughout the years. I will explore how soccer got to America and how it has spread across the nation. These questions and more will be answered as I explore soccer in America.
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.
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).
To what extent has international soccer influenced the world politically and socially? This research question will be investigated using different books pertaining to the subject. The investigation will cover the impacts of soccer in the 1930s during the First World War, the 1940s during the Second World War and the 1970s during the Cold War. The effect of soccer on a country’s nationalism will be researched as well. Soccer had a great impact on people’s lives socially; it gave people hope when in a time of need. It did not matter whether there was a war going on, or if there were prisoners in camps, soccer was a popular activity to help people survive in the hardest of times.
Pretty much every men in my family plays soccer, and being the only girl who plays soccer in the family is a little intense. My uncles were thrilled to see that i am the only girl, out of so many, to like playing soccer. Soccer is something that we are all passionate about. That is what we do for entertainment and fun. When we hear the word soccer we are all eager to hear what’s next. We connect together through soccer. It brings us all together, like a keychain that holds many different keys in
“All in one rhythm” is the official slogan of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which seeks the unity of people from all around the world through soccer. I cannot wait until this summer when the universe’s biggest soccer festival begins. Steven Gerrard, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Lionel Messi are the world's best soccer players with outstanding abilities. At the same time, they achieved a great success in life by devoting themselves to soccer. They are so popular that even those who do not follow soccer may have heard of these names. Soccer is more than just another sport to them and me as well, which resembles our life and gives us important principles of life.
Owens, Thomas and Helmer, Diana Star. The History of Soccer. New York: The New York Times. Rosen Publishing Group, Power Kids Press, 2000.
The definition of soccer: “A game played by two teams of eleven players with a round ball that may not be touched with the hands or arms during play except by the goalkeepers. The object of the game is to score goals by kicking or heading the ball into the opponent 's ' goal.” When I think about the thing I’m most passionate about, soccer pops into my head right away. Soccer represents more than just a game to me. The sport gives me an outlet distract me from the real world, it taught me to overcome a battle that shaped my character, and my teammates bring out the best in me.
In many occasions and instances where either religion or politics have filed to foster national unity and cohesion, soccer has succeeded tremendously. In fact, more often than not, instances of which religion and politics have instigated violence, soccer has been one of the most used avenues to bring the people back together. More so, there isn’t a single instance in history that soccer instigated bloody wars and violence in a certain state. As a means and mechanism of avoidance of eruptions of political divisions with the potential of erupting to become full-blown civil wars, international bodies such as the United Nations have been at the forefront of using soccer as a mechanism of integrating the people and thus fostering national unity
Gifford, Clive. Soccer: The Ultimate Guide to the Beautiful Game. London: Kingfisher, 2004.
No other country can compare to the great nation of Brazil when it comes to the beautiful game of soccer. Since their entrance as full member of FIFA, or Fédération Internationale de Football Association, in 1923, the country of Brazil has accounted for numerous trophies as well as individual awards for its players (“Brazil”). Brazilian futebol, or soccer, has reached international stardom because of its history consisting of ground breaking teams, revolutionary players, and winning performances in competitive tournaments.
Football, undoubtedly being the world’s game, has a long history of politicization. Since the dawn of the organized game, world leaders and governments have found ways to manipulate the game for their own benefit, whether it be promoting a national identity or suppressing marginalized minorities. The games immense popularity has made it an easy avenue for politicization, both by governments and by resistance groups. It has served as a means of communication, propaganda, and organization. Matthias Marschik argues “football really was non-political because the attempts at both resistance and manipulation balanced each other out.” While governments and citizens have both politicized the game, the extent is far from equal in terms of the
Soccer is a game where it would take time to learn and accept the game. There are many rules to understand and heartbreaks to endure. But if we looked at the game as a whole, we would understand that the game is truly like all others. It’s a game that binds people together and brings peace to parts of the world. For many it is a way of life, and people go to their church, temple or mosque every Saturday or Sunday and even during the week. If Americans gave this game a chance, it would possibly become the most popular game in every nation. But until then, Soccer will need to take time to catch on. Only then can the world most popular sport truly become the Beautiful Game.