Author: KendallG
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Women in soccer
When people think of soccer, they often think of men playing the game. But at least in the U.S, they talk about the U.S women’s team often. And that is talking in modern terms. The thing is that although women’s soccer is talked about today, nobody seems to care about the history of women’s soccer. Which is very unfortunate because they also played a part in the development of popularity in the sport. Although no credit is given to them, based on the readings, it brings to light the history of women’s soccer. And helps bring a new perspective of the sport.
In chapter seven of From Football to Soccer, it talks about some of the history of women’s soccer in the United States. After the 1893 San Francisco games, there was really no women’s soccer around or at least documented about for the next ten years. But it did talk about how women played in High school and college. Plus it was a much softer sport on the gridiron. There were even women referring to the game. But what is being revealed is how important women were to the sport around that time frame. It is something that should be talked about more.
Women’s soccer is also not talked about enough in Latin America. In The History of Women’s Soccer in 1900, women’s soccer was present in Chile and there is even a possibility that it was way before that. There are even photographs in the Chilean National Historical Museum. And photos of futboleras are shown playing, but they are wearing school clothes and not athletic wear. Basically it shows how women were always present in the sport of soccer. Despite the fact that the majority of people only associate soccer with men. But it does reveal more of the history of the sport.
To conclude, the sport of soccer has always had women present. Even though it is more common to see women now in the sport. It is important for those who came before. These readings help bring that to light. And finally, in modern society, women are getting recognition in the sport.
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The goal
Both the interview and the reading were very insightful. They both seemed to have a direct goal in mind when it came to the purpose of winning. Although neither of those goals are the same. The difference between the reading and the interview is how focused on the goal of the collective. While the other one focuses on the goal of the individual. Typically, people automatically assume that the goal or purpose of winning is the same. But it is the complete opposite. In the interview, Lamine Yamal’s goal was to bring joy to the fans. When it came to the team, the goal was to focus on winning for the Spanish Monarchy. Let’s go a little into detail with the article first.
The article is focused on the Copa del Rey formally known as Campeonato de Espana. It is the oldest championship in Spain. But the league itself has seen many government system changes throughout the years. It went from monarchy, republic, civil war, dictatorship to democracy. Yet what is interesting, despite all those changes and with it now being a democracy. The goal of the game being played for the Spanish monarchy. But that is where the team is winning together as a collective. Now let’s talk about the interview.
During the interview, Yamal is asked many questions. From talking about his first car, to talking about his goal for winning. The interview revealed how humble he was. He revealed that his goal was not to be the best person in the field, but to bring joy to the fans who came to watch. It was quite a surprising response because most players today want to be the best on the field. Yet Yamal revealed that that was not his goal at all. Maybe there are many players who like him, or at least should strive to be like him.
What can be concluded is how both goals are completely different. That does not mean that one brings joy and the other is not. It simply means that as a team, there is a clear objective. But when it comes to an individual the goal is a lot more personal.
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Villians and Liverpool
Based on the two articles that were read, they are not that much different. One focuses on storylines and personas, while the other focuses on the personal view and story of the writer. In many ways, they can be different. But in other ways they are very similar. Although the objectives from both may be very different. The first article is called Working Class Ballet, the writer talks a little bit about himself and the soccer team Liverpool. The second is called Ranking the World Cup, the writer looks at twenty occurrences that have happened in a world cup. But for the sake of the blog, only one will be talked about.
In the first one, the writer talks a little bit about his childhood. He gives some background on the relationship he had with his dad. But the real attention was on the Liverpool football club. He talked about coach Bill Shankly. He believed that Shankly was a good coach for Liverpool and believed that during his tenure, Liverpool was unstoppable. He did not hold back to mention that Shankly was a lifelong socialist. Shankly believed that to be successful, that it was a collective. As the article continued, he mentions how the team was brought by capitalists named Tom Hicks and George Gillet. During their tenure, the team played their absolute worst. It seems in the article, it brings to light collective effort and individualism. In the article it mentions that these ideologies, specifically socialism, was not political, but a way of living.
In the second article, it goes by rankings. The first ranking going to be mentioned is number 25, Mark Balotelli. He is seen as a villain in soccer fans due to controversies. Yet fans from Manchester City didn’t mind too much as he scored the winning game point against Azzurri. But what is being revealed here is that he is still able to be viewed as a villain whether he is lead scorer or not. People are not fond of him because of his bad boy attitude.
What can be concluded is that both articles focus on the view of people. Both try to go into detail and both reveal some interesting points. They do not hold back any information and keep the reader interested. And finally, both try to understand the controversies that are occurring at the moment.
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Cathedrals and el pibe Wk 9
Both readings had many similarities in them. They both seemed to have focused on symbolism in the game of soccer. What the readings did was use symbolism with one being used for economic purposes. One reading focuses on a song while the other focuses on how the stadiums were viewed as cathedrals. Even though both go into deeper details and other topics, these two topics are what ended up getting attention. Golazo! Focused on “El sueño del Pibe” and The World Cup as World History focused on how people religiously viewed the stadiums. And they do not hold back on how politics played a part in it.
In The World Cup as World History, It goes over how the people were excited for the matches. During the reading it reveals how certain terminology was being used to describe the stadiums. It mentions places like the Maracaña in Rio de Janeiro and Wembley stadium in London. Terminology like the cathedral was being used as religious imagery to describe the emotions of the fans. In 1930, Uruguay would build stadiums that would show how economically well they were doing. As shown here, they did not withhold the opportunity to show Uruguay was doing apart from the game of soccer.
In Golazo! It goes over how a 10 year old kid during a soccer match impressed the crowd with his ball juggling skill. A reporter later approached him and asked him what his dreams were. In his response he said, first, he wanted to go to the world cup and second was to actually win the world cup. Years later, a nostalgic appearance occurred when a song, written by Ronieldo Yiso and Juan Puey called “El sueño del Pibe.” It tells a story about how a kid was called up to play for a soccer club.
To conclude, these readings do a good job in bringing an image to the readers. It reveals how powerful these symbols were for soccer fans. And it did not fail to bring nostalgia to the crowd. It solely does not just talk about soccer, but actually puts the focus on the fans of the sport. And finally, it allows the reader to understand what goes on behind the stands.
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Xenophobia and political power
What stood out to me from both readings were two completely different things but I personally believe are very interesting. I do have many thoughts from the readings. The first came from chapter six of Golazo! I understand in this time period how xenophobia was prevalent. But why? It is obviously self explanatory. Its racism and a superiority complex. With The World cup as History, I see a transitional period from war to seeking economic power. And that is what Brazil was trying to do. It sought to not only take over the game of soccer, but also economic and political power.
To briefly explain, there were already conflicts of Anglo saxon attitudes towards the Argentinians. Charles Buchanan, who was an editor of Football Monthly, believed that referees from England should come over and officiate the games. He believed that those with latin blood were hostile. To his point, the English referees did not have pistols in games like the Argentinians. But this was incredibly xenophobic and racist. Because that would have meant that Buchanan already had a disposition of how people were in Latin America. It seemed also to be an attempt to glorify those of Anglo-Saxon ancestry. But let’s fast forward past World War II and look at Brazil.
After World War II, Brazil sought to not only dominate in the sport of soccer, but also economically and politically. They had decided to do this through the sport of soccer. The Brazil government had decided that they were going to do this by investing in the sport. So in 1950 they had decided that they were going to host the world cup. They had also decided that they were going to build another stadium called Maracana. This was a testament to the significance of growth for Brazil globally.
What I can conclude from this while trying to tie down both together is this. Both seemed to push for some power and superiority. While one was doing it through xenophobia, the other did it politically. They both wanted something out of the sport of soccer. The question is by what means? They seemed to want to have their investments through those who supported the game. But at what cost? And the cost was revealed as the readings continued. Which involved a lot of propaganda.
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1916: A year to remember
Between the two readings, they were both about the 1916 event. One specifically talks about the 1916 event in Buenos Aires. The other article talks about the Unification between rivals and how the Conmebol organization came to be. It reveals the excitement at the time when both are preparing for the games. It also reveals how far the sport has come and proves how the game of soccer continues to progress. This week’s writing assignment will go into detail about these two stories. Hopefully it can be explained well in this week’s blog and bring a better understanding for the reader.
In 1916, 25 Uruguayans were prepared for games in Buenos Aires. They were also talks of centenaries during the time. At this time they were still very much haunted from the 1910 games. This was also the first event of South American supremacy. This was because Uruguay, Brazil and Chile had joined together for the event. This was something extraordinary and new. It was something that had never happened before and for sure brought much excitement. Many people were for sure ready for it, including the players and the organizers running the event at the time. But this is where the second article intertwines with the first one.
On June 18, 1916, representatives of Brazil, Chile and Argentina had joined together. This also led to rivals working together. This was something that brought excitement. It was a new chapter in the sport of soccer. On December 16, 1916, it was ratified and the creation of the confederacion Sudamericano de football also known as the Conmobel was official. This led to resolved conflicts and was something in hopes of a better future. It is very interesting how both of these things happened at the same time.
Both of these events had been monumental. It was a new era, one focus on the games while the other was focused on a new creation. 1916 must have been a year for the sport of soccer. And with these stories from both articles, it must have honestly been something around that time in soccer history.
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the beginning of politics and propaganda in fifa
In chapter two it gives a brief history of Fifa. It first starts off with the President of Fifa and gives a brief summary of his background. Fifa was officially created in 1904, but the first world cup did not occur until 1930. When it first started, it was mainly continental European countries that participated. British teams on the other hand had opted out from those games. In the first years of Fifa, it primarily consisted of organizing procedures before it sponsored any teams. The national and regional associations were the ones that primarily had sponsored the teams before Fifa did.
It is quite interesting how this all started, though this brief summary does not go into deep detail of Fifa. It does lead into the right direction on where it was going to be in the future. This especially is important to note because Fifa is an organization that has the best of the best and does not fail to provide that to fans. It gives fans this sense of belonging because their home teams are representing them in front of the whole world. And also it brings others from other nations to come together and enjoy the world cup.
Things did start to change eventually. Earlier, it was the regional associations that would sponsor the teams. But in 1930, the men’s team were finally starting to get sponsored by Fifa. Rimet, who was the president at the time and Henri Deluany had to convince many of the teams to attend the Uruguay inauguration of the 1930 world cup. Eventually in both 1934 and 1938, many important teams had joined the tournament. These games were appropriated for political purposes, which aimed for Fascists propaganda. This would also be true for Benito Mussolini. Sadly, in 1942, when the games were supposed to take place, the second world war would break out and would halt the games from happening.
To conclude, it can be clearly seen that the organization of Fifa started to develop and become an important event. A sudden change happened due to politics and propaganda. It would be until 1950 in Brazil when the organization and tournament was reestablished. But for that time, and especially today, politics would be playing a part of it.
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Soccer and its southern roots
This article directed its focus on soccer in the South. Reading this article brought some eye-opening points and things that I would never have thought about. In the introduction it starts off with how soccer started to expand in the United States. Typically, efforts for the sport to expand was focused on the Northeast and Midwest regions of the United States. Reasons behind why the sport was not taking off in South was because of how rural it was and segregation. Also, a lot of its major cities lacked European immigration where the sport could have taken off. The sport only started to take off through the seaports of the region. The sport first took off in New Orleans in the nineteenth century since it was the largest city in the south at the time.
In 1908, the first recorded match in Atlanta took place. It was the newly formed Atlanta club against a new team from Lithonia, Georgia. This was a union affiliated team and most of the players were Scottish and Welch players. Although it was not really the first match between the two since the first game took place in 1907. This game took place in DeKalb County.
There is so much I can write about, but I am only giving out some of the information provided from the article. This article as a whole shocks me because I never once thought about sport and its history in the south. What I can reflect on from this reading is how important sport is in U.S history. I never realized its rich history in the region. I honestly believed that its history was more recent. But the fact that it dates to the nineteenth century is astounding. I hope to learn more about in the U.S and it influence.
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Fifa
From what I have read, it seems that both tend to focus on money. To be more specific, it seems that they are both aiming for profit. In the first article, the president of Fifa seems to be focused having strong ties with world leaders. In the second article, it is focused on the issue of ticket prices. Why is this important? Fifa is already known well around the world, and many people are willing to pay as much as they can to be present for the games. The organization recognizes and it is obvious that they are doing for profit. It seems that it is no longer aimed towards people who genuinely love the sport. As controversial as it seems, politics has played a role. From a quote from the first article it states, “In a way Infantino’s masterstroke has been to shield Fifa from charges of shady back-door dealing by conducting its power games entirely in the open.” and in the second article a statement from a fan said, “”Everything they’ve done so far seems to be just concerned about maximizing profit and nothing, absolutely nothing, else.” These statements that have been made points out the issues with the organization. It exposes what might really be going on. Even though the organization will not admit that. These articles have revealed the issues with organization. The question is what will happen from here on out. That is one that cannot be answered but only have the fans wondering. With the world cup around the corner, one can only imagine how much profit will be raised from it since it is going to held in three different countries. Especially in the United States because the last time it held Fifa, a lot of revenue was made from it. And with the president of Fifa creating strong ties with President Trump, the amount of money that will be made from this event is going to be massive. What can be concluded from this is what is going to happen next? How will this event affect the sport, especially in the United States.
