As someone who has been around the beautiful game nearly my entire life there is no denying its importance to the Billions of people around the globe who are immersed in the sport.
This week our readings shifted focus to the fandom side of Soccer. Our readings this week from Golazo! and The World Cup as World History took us through the metaphorical pageantry of the sport.
As much as sport is sport it also mimicks our way of life, our fantasies, our violence, and our prosperity… sport is war. Both on a micro level and a macro level the sport shapes the way that we interact with one another – from the hooligans of English football to the political manifestation in Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil the sport will always mean something to someone.
Although referred to as “Cathedrals” in our text to convey their importance I liken stadiums most to a kingdom (plus who doesnt like a little bit of alliteration in the title). These are the places that are crafted so beautifully to showcase their country/clubs prosperity, its where the people of the kingdom come together to cheer and celebrate. This is where the people come together, sing, chant, celebrate, and fight. I dont think there is anyway to hide how important these places are to the many people who occupy them.
El Sueño del Pibe – The Kings
These are the people who are loved and hated, put on a pedestal or spit on. The text talks a lot about the creation of these kings/legends, the way they fit different archetypes or stories. For so many reasons these people are believed to be the greatest (or overrated). Im not sure why but my inclination keeps going back to a quote from Ted Lasso from Roy Kent “Football is a game you played as a kid cause it was fun” (a little less colorful than the original quote). Maradona was just a pibe who played the game because he loved it – he wanted to win a World Cup for his country and he did, Im not sure it gets much more beautiful than that.
Leave a Reply