Makes me wish Americans loved soccer more. Now why the hell would people kill each other over a rivalry that has nothing to do with their own country? without free and fair elections, a vigorous free press, and engaged citizens to reclaim power from those who abuse it. For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis, the election, and more, subscribe to the, please join us in this mission with a donation today. FF: One of the striking things about that ugly rivalry, between the Protestant club and the Catholic club, is that it takes place in Scotland, which, to an American, looks like the ultimate global city — it’s advanced, it’s capitalist, it’s Western. That FIFA has more affiliated members than the United Nations is proof enough of the global reach and impact of the beautiful game. ), The title is completely misleading. If you believe Franklin Foer, then soccer is one of the few true cosmopolitan, multicultural sports, whose fans and players come from all corners of the world. In each chapter, the author follows different football clubs from different countries and cultures. Aside from the misleading title, this is an excellent book. How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization has been on my shelf for years and it was the mention of soccer that kept me from reading it. While it's unlikely that soccer will ever get its hooks into American culture the way it's done in most other countries, it's worth thinking about why the US is so globalized in terms of people yet so insular in sports, and what our own half-embrace of soccer says about our attitudes towards the world. As a recent college graduate, unemployed, and slightly depressed during the summer of 2006, the World Cup in Germany was my. I also think that popular culture gets neglected in each of these debates, or only superficially treated — you’ll hear about David Hasselhoff and Hollywood movies corrupting the rest of the world, which is no doubt true, but it’s a richer, more complicated phenomenon than that. Copyright © 2020 Mother Jones and the Foundation for National Progress. FF: Compare European soccer with American sporting teams. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that, when the Iranian team plays a World Cup game, people take to the streets and shout very political, anti-regime slogans against the ruling clerics, because the secular nationalist impulse has been stirred by the soccer team. MJ.com: It also seems that some clubs, like Barcelona in Spain, function almost as what Marxists might call “harmless” venues for fans to express their frustrations towards their government. The foreigners come in with all their marketing ideas about changing the color of the jersey, and adding advertising.