Soccer and the poor

[nadinbrzezinski]

well every four years we have our crazy right wing screaming THEY ARE TRYING TO JAM SOCCER DOWN OUR THROAT!!! It is football, so there, but why do they react this way?

Well, watching the games it sort of dawned on me... if you are really poor, like the kids in the Ciudades Perdidas who's eyes gleamed when we showed up with just soccer balls... all you need is a ball. A few cans can serve as goal posts, and around the world people who are very poor play the damn game. They play with shoes and without them, they play down narrow streets, and dirt fields, and semi pro fields. IN fact, many of the top "stars" and stars in the game grew up poor. A few even have personal foundations sharing the wealth, as it were.

Hell, some of the European teams that you'd expect to be lilly white, see the Netherlands and the French Prima Donas, are not exactly all white. And if you heard the story of the South African team, well soccer is the game of the townships, while Rugby is the game of the white Afrikaneer. Though BOTH games were used to unify the country by Mandela.

Yes, I have plaid the game wearing tennis shoes and combat boots, and nothing at all on my feet. I have played the game with kids of the upper classes in Mexico, as well as the kids in the Ciudades Perdidas who's distraction from hunger was dribbling that ball, and one of them made it all the way to pro pray, yes he is part of the team, if he is the same kid we pushed and prodded.

Well, think about it, think of OUR inner cities, where kids go to school and fielding a descent American Football team drains crazy ammounts of resources and kids hope to make it to the NFL... well we could have these same schools field soccer teams for worst case 1\8th of what it takes to field that American Football team. what money for the MUSIC and ART PROGRAM TOO... who'd thunk? I am thinking that perhaps soccer scares the Glen Becks of the world, and not because it is a furiegn game... but because it is very democratic, and it allows people to play, even in the depth of poverty. And yes, it gives people some joy, and we all know the poor should have none of that.

Oh and sadly I am not kidding.

Oh and to those of you who like hockey but have no clue of what is happening on the pitch... well the formations are the same, and except for a few rule differences, and not that many fist to cuffs, (unless you are hooligan on the stands in England)... they are very similar in tactics and strategy.

As to the hooligans, when I was in Hawaii, we had the cable system show the English Premiere league and the funniest thing I ever saw was a game between Manchester United and Liverpool. The rivalry makes the Dodgers and Yankees look like kid's play... you knew it got bad, when at the end of the game fans for one team (who were still at the stadium) were on one end, while the others were on the other end, with a solid line of bobbies in-between... now that is hard core... stoopid... and why there is a long list of these hooligans who are not allowed at world cups any longer. And that is NOT what scares Glenny, but the fact that a five dollar ball is all I need to play a game... which speaks loudly about our right wing.

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. I know that most folks don't care about soccer

but think of what it tells us of OUR RIGHT WING.

[aikoaiko]

35. whoops...wrong spot.

[HipChick]

2. Why would the European teams be lily white?

There are several million 1st,2nd,3rd generation non-white Europeans..

As for hooligans...its a lot better now, after several measures were introduced...I grew up in a Division 1 town, and if there was a home match that day, I knew not to be caught in town, especially if they lost...

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. Think of oh ... Limbaugh, or Glenny

and what they think of Europe... a WHITE continent... I am talking about their racism, and seeing a black player is not what THEY expect.

Now we can talk about the issues with absorption, but that is not what this is about. But about how this scares our Right Wing.

[enlightenment]

3. I don't know if I'll go all the way to a political analogy, but

I certainly agree that footie is the people's game. It always has been - from it's early beginnings in the muddy fields of English working class neighborhoods, a game so rough that it was outlawed by many communities for fear that it would lead the masses to riot . . . to the rules and regulations that formed the first Football Association and the legitimization of the sport. And that was something that happened not just because the people who played wanted to regularize the game, but because the PTB realized that they were not going to make it go away.

It is absolutely true that footie requires nothing but a ball and a will to play; it is not surprising at all that it is a much more popular sport than gridiron football.

Are you familiar with Street Child World Cup? A fantastic organization that is using footie to improve the lives of children who have nothing else - not even a roof over their heads.

http://streetchildworldcup.org/

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. And the masses have rioted

after some matches... but so have ours...

They used to riot inside the stands, ours tear down the city.

:-)

[Odin2005]

24. LOL, that reminds me of how chariot-racing fans in Medieval Constantinople rioted all the time.

There were 4 teams and hooligan-ish supporters of each racing team got into nasty riots constantly. The most famous riot almost lead to the ddethroing of the emperor Justinian.

[SoCalDem]

15. Many sports have humble neighborhood beginnings

It was not all that many years ago, when local kids would scrounge together their own "equipment" and then go play ball in a vacant lot or even a parking lot.

Today's children are far more "organized" by their parents and the entrepreneurial nature of sports.

And they are multi-level.. Take AYSO, for example..any kid can show up, regardless of their skill level and pay a modest fee (even today) and be guaranteed some play time in every game.

BUT, as some kids start to shine, the Club Soccer people show up and recruit (disclaimer: our son was recruited) and the costs go through the roof. Even school districts look the other way when a prized player "needs" to go to a school out of their geographic boundary..this happened for our son.. he was the only player on his club team that was not going to the new high school, so the coach pulled strings so he could go there & complete their killer high school team...and intact club soccer team..no training necessary..

[Odin2005]

23. Early forms of soccer and golf were popular in Medieval England, even though...

...they were technically illegal to play because the government wanted people practicing archery in their free time so it had a good supply of longbowmen

[Hugabear]

4. They don't like soccer because they don't perceive of it as an "American" sport

Don't tell them that the US version of football originated from rugby, a European sport.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. I have... I even accused the

Gridiron of being played by cowards. I mean real Rugby uses no protection...

:-)

Ah you should have seen the foaming at the mouth.

But to the original point, I think it is also scary since it is democratic. We like to think we are democratic, but the US is not really that democratic. (Yes we can start talking of all the problems with our voting system, which has more holes than Swiss cheese)

[Saboburns]

27. Have you ever played American style football??

I have, bunches.

I'll let you in on a little secret, those helmets and pads, there not for protection, their used as a weapon. And if you ever got the shit knocked out of you by a helmeted football player, it would take but once, you'd understand.

I love soccer, I think it's a marvelous game in many ways.

But you cannot understand the collisions in American football until you see them up close. Go stand on the sidelines of a college football games. Then you'll understand the true nature of the violence, yes violence, involved in American football. Those helmets weigh 5-6 pounds and when they hit you it fuckn hurts.

[nadinbrzezinski]

34. I took a thirteen year old to the local trauma center

with a c-3, c-4 fracture... gotten during a scrimmage.

Hell destroyed oh about 600 dollars worth of gear while we carefully removed all the crap and kept full C-Spine precs. Kid walks today, but not because of American Football, but very high level pre-hospital care given by Mexican responders... yes it was a game between a US team and a Mexican team... and unlike most events where we just twiddle thumbs and perhaps read a book, that was a high stakes critical care EMS transport.

So yes, I think I have more than just a clue of what that gear does. And it is incidents like that which will force, slowly, a slew of rule changes to protect people.

My memory of that call involve things like a ref trying to make us go faster, fat chance, and the X-Ray at Children's, here in San Diego, as well as the very rare accolades from American medical providers.

[HipChick]

8. Soccer is played a lot in US schools

but seems to disappear somewhere between HS and college

[Odin2005]

25. I expected Soccer to boom in popularity after we won the Women's World Cup in 2000.

For a while there EVERYONE was nuts about soccer, but then it faded, it's influence only leaving a lasting mark on youth sports, thus the "Soccer Mom".

[Vickers]

9. Great post. I had never really thought about soccer in socio-economic ways

but now that I think back on it, when I was doing a lot of work in the Caribbean (mainly Anguilla, but I was all over the place), I saw a LOT of literally dirt-poor kids playing soccer.

The guys playing near my hotel (The Anguilla Great House, highly recommended) were playing with a freaking PITIFUL ball, totally worn out and patched and taped, so the next time I went stateside I bought a couple of from Target and some orange cones and gave them to the guys, and they were so thankful and happy that I was embarrassed that I hadn't brought more.

Sadly I never went back to Anguilla, and so I was unable to make it up to them.

:(

[Withywindle]

10. I agree, and and also, they hate the very internationalism.

You hear some of the same rhetoric around the Olympics. They believe so much in "American exceptionalism" that they have this pathological xenophobic objection to the very idea of playing sports with furriners as an equal (and maybe not always winning, OH NOEZ!!) and, god forbid, maybe learning something about other cultures in the process.

It creeps them out. The only way to maintain the illusion of complete US superiority in everything that they cling to so desperately is by living in a hermetically-sealed bubble of nationalism and parochialism. They don't even like any evidence of the idea that the rest of the world is *interesting.*

[nadinbrzezinski]

18. Oh absolutely

and with the Olympics it is funny to watch since the US does dominate a sport or two, and has from time to time shocked the world... aka US Fencing Team got GOLD? Where did that come from?

[Odin2005]

26. That fencing gold was awesome! Fun to watch, too!

[Withywindle]

30. Well, if they don't pay attention, they miss those moments.

They probably missed Donovan's goal in the latest US WC match too - the "most important goal in the history of US soccer," it's been called with good reason!

The World Cup is an 80-year-old tradition: they act like it's some new "terrorist" innovation being shoved down our throats by Osama bin Laden himself. At the very least, you'd think the most hard-core troglodytes would enjoy France's humiliation.

I think it's because of greed, in some respect. What, a game can end in a draw? What, even a world champion team might only make 2 goals in a world championship final? WHAT??

They're such size queens who think the measurement is the priority. They're like children who think the candy payoff is the point. It's not. The point is how you get to it.

[Dawson Leery]

21. One Trace Adkins wrote a book (or had it written)

in which he derided soccer (real football) as being too feminine. The expansion of soccer in America is part of a conspiracy to weaken American society. I have heard many the right winger claim this too.

[Withywindle]

29. I know a whole continent full of very highly testosterone-poisoned hooligans

who'd have an issue with that line of argument. That continent of course is Europe. I'd love to see him making that argument in a working-class pub in Manchester around game time.

Meanwhile, the football-crazed continent I'm first-gen from (South America), the men are all like, "feminine, what? The game? Huh? All we know is that our stands are filled with beautiful women and we have no trouble getting laid...."

Feminine, why? Because of Mia Hamm? Because women can play it well if they work hard? Because it's a sport built more on speed and agility and patience and strategy than upper-body-strength? Oh, the horror.

[Dawson Leery]

31. Two matters:

1) Adkins considers it feminine because soccer does not have the rough play of football.

2)The average voters (working class) in a Manchester pub know to vote their economic interests, unlike many places in the US.

[Withywindle]

32. Yeah but

1) American football players wear better quality body armor than a lot of our troops in Iraq have. (Including those maxi-pad things up the buttcrack, what is UP with that?) And the game always gets stopped by a whistle or for a commercial as soon as it threatens to look like it's starting to maybe lean towards thinking about getting exciting anyway.

2) can't argue with that. totally true. Applies to most countries were real football (i.e., that game where you use your FOOT on the BALL at all times) is popular.

[Swamp Rat]

11. o ehhhh o eh o eh oehh, Brasil, Brasil!!!

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QVj1Ll-n6lQ/SiaSA1qvtHI/AAAAAAAAH50/LH_X9T9NOYU/s400/Funny+Soccer+Fan.jpg

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. They disappointed me

the beautiful samba is gone... damn so many play in Europe.

[Swamp Rat]

20. I'll be playing samba tomorrow during the game

I'll be with a grande bloco of Brazilians watching the game... I'm bringing meu surdo! :D

[nadinbrzezinski]

22. Oh here we will be watching the US play Ghanna

yes I could suggest going to the local sports bar... but I am not up to it... I'd rather do it here... and scream when (if) they move on.

Now Sunday... Mexico either makes history or goes home...

[Swamp Rat]

38. Schedule mix-up

I guess I will be watching the US play Ghana tomorrow. :D

[AsahinaKimi]

12. I wonder why

Glenn Beck isn't pushing NASCAR as the Great American Sport? Seems like that would be right
up his alley.



I used to play field hockey in High school, along with being on our Kendo team. I loved Soccer too, and had fun playing it. It beat getting your shins whacked by hockey sticks. As for Kendo, fortunately, I got to do the whacking!

[JCMach1]

13. It is more democratic in the sense that you don't need awesome genetics to play

you don't have to be 300lbs or run a 4.0 40.

In soccer, every person has some ability to kick and pass a ball. Training/practice hones those skills. Natural ability counts, but isn't always the deciding factor. Tall, short, fat, small, it often does matter if the will is there.

I coached students in a 50% African American school HS and all of my players from all backgrounds enjoyed the sport. Being from a poor school, most of our players were poor. But not even that totally. We also had the son of the DA and a restauranteur on our team. That had certain advantages... free awesome pizza after every victory. Soccer is like that. It brings everyone together.

[nadinbrzezinski]

17. That it does

Oooh pizza...

We had to modify the rules a tad when we played, fooled around, in between calls. Steel toe boots and no shin guards are not a good combo...

And not just for the impact either...

[Donald Ian Rankin]

14. The problem is that "association" football is not American.

To most right-wing Americans, "unAmerican" is synonymous with "bad". "Soccer" is a sport from Abroad, and hence inferior to decent God-fearing American sports.

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. Yeah like oh Baseball (which is having a problem keeping

a following and they did that themselves...)

The true nightmare is that Footie takes over from both Baseball and American Football. And given all the studies we are getting on head injuries with The Gridiron...

[malaise]

28. Football is the game of the working class

across the globe.

[Toucano]

33. I once would have agreed with you, but then I remembered

poor American kids playing stick ball - no gloves, no bases, no cleats - all you need is a ball.

I remember myself playing touch football in an empty parking lot on a Sunday afternoon. All you need is a ball.

There is nothing inherent to soccer that makes it different from other sports in this respect. It's just coincidence that:

1. Most of the world is poor.
2. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world.

The connection between poverty and soccer actually ends there, I think.

Pee wee and youth sports teams in the contemporary United States are expensive affairs. That doesn't mean the HAVE to be expensive affairs. The affluenza strikes again!

[nadinbrzezinski]

36. Try NOT using gloves, and real bats

oh here down at the YMCA.

Soccer, it is much easier to set a league that does not require regulation equipment... in fact a few of the teams have very odd uniforms, shorts, of all types, just same color, and Hanes T-Shirts... and that is because they sort of need one.

It is not afluenza, it is that if you want to do organized sport you need the equipment, and partly due to legal matters. But I will stand by what I said... soccer is far cheaper to run, even with real equipment, than even baseball, which is cheaper than American Football.

[Toucano]

39. Nope.

You're only seeing the things that support your hypothesis and missing parts of the broader picture. Like I said, I once thought the same thing until I examined it more closely.

Variations of American football, basketball, and baseball have all been played at different times and in different places by people with minimal equipment and resources.

Kids played baseball without gloves, football without shoulder pads and basketball without Air Jordans.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stickball
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touch_football_(American)

Uniforms? You've never seen a "shirts vs. skins" game of touch football?

So if it is possible for youth to play American football, soccer, or baseball with minimal equipment, then something else must explain it's popularity.

Did you know, for example, that soccer is not the most popular sport in Nicaragua (one of the poorest countries), but it is the most popular sport in Germany (a rich country)?

[nadinbrzezinski]

40. Yes and I WILL STILL stand by what I said

you try running a league at the YMCA without the gear. Go ahead... you will be laughed out of the park. Pickup games are a whole different story... funny thing though, the local YMCA only has two types of pickup games, Basketball, and Soccer...

You can blame the legal system for that. But a pickup game of touch football will only happen at a public park, not an actual somewhat facility, and the same goes for baseball.

As to Nicaragua and Germany I am sure I can find other examples that are more extreme.

[Toucano]

41. YMCA?

What are you talking about?

"you try running a league at the YMCA without the gear. Go ahead... you will be laughed out of the park."

You're talking about your individual experience IN THE UNITED STATES?! And using that to formulate your understanding of what life is like in the rest of the world?

Are you saying that the kids in Tegucigalpa or Sao Paulo or Jakarta play soccer instead of baseball because the YMCA can organize games cheaply? But kids in Managua play baseball instead of soccer because...I'm guessing here...soccer balls are too expensive?...and baseball gloves grow on trees?

The YMCA is irrelevant to your initial thesis.

Your thesis is that soccer is the most popular game in the world because it can easily be played by poor people. All you need is a ball.

That thesis is faulty.

You can stand by it until you turn to dust and it won't be any less so. It only takes one exception to disprove it, and I've already given you one.

All those trees you're looking at? They are the forest.


I apologize for being a bit snarky, but you've turned your position from one that appeared to be well-thought out (but misinformed) into one that's just ridiculous!

[nadinbrzezinski]

42. I've run games in the Ciudades Perdidas in Mexico

and I am saying that IN THE UNITED STATES it is less expensive to play soccer than American Football. Read the damn OP... it is about the AMERICAN RW attitude to Football.

What you think I am unfamiliar with how the rest of the world lives? I GREW UP in Mexico, I practiced EMS in Mexico... JESUS AGE there are days.

[aikoaiko]

37. In affluent northern NJ, there is no football until HS. Most kids play soccer.

At least that's how it was when I was a kid in the 70s and 80s.

[madinmaryland]

43. I would un-rec if I could, based on your statement:

"THEY ARE TRYING TO JAM SOCCER DOWN OUR THROAT!!!"

But getting past that, nearly all sports/games are a way out for the poorest of the poor. It has no matter what the sport is.

With that said, soccer as the way it is played is beyond boring.

[cherokeeprogressive]

44. So the right wing has been oppressing soccer players and fans has it?

Soccer has had more than 80 years to make its place in the United States, yet it still hasn't. You attribute that to the right wing?

In 1930, the American soccer team played in the semifinal game of the FIFA World Cup. They made it to a semifinal game on the world stage, playing a game the world plays. You'd think that would be enough to put its popularity over the top, but I guess you'd be wrong. You'd be wrong, even though in the 1930's, lots of Americans were first generation immigrants, recently over from Europe. Why is that, do you think? Is it because of the right wing? I hardly think so.

Americans, most of them, just aren't enamored with the sport. So what? Why the lament? Does anyone keep you from playing or watching it? No. To blame soccer's lack of popularity on a political ideology is just plain funny. Was there a "right wing" as we know it in the 1930's that actively kept its foot on the neck of soccer fans and players for the following 80 years? Uh uh.

I'm entitled to watch and participate in what I like, and ignore that which I don't. We all are. I'm not a soccer fan. Frankly, none of the peeps I grew up with who still make up the bulk of my social circle do either. I would add that none of my friends are "right wingers". They just don't like soccer.

Ever wonder why you hear about soccer moms but not soccer dads? It's because mom will go to Little Johnny's or Little Janey's soccer game, but dad would rather watch the baseball game on TV, or basketball, or American style football, or hockey. No matter his political ideology.