I can get behind this

[la_vie_noire]

An article that looks at football and WC competition through political-identity lens, the meanings these games hold. Let's be honest, as much as some people like to pretend otherwise (mostly European football insiders), this isn't "just a game" devoid of political meaning (leaving aside I don't even think there can exist such a thing, but you get me); it never was, it never will be. After I have seen some of the "shenanigans" between fans of this WC (like in any other football match), no one will tell me otherwise.

World Cup 2010: looking past the diversity storyline

The less diversity-friendly narrative and legacy of this World Cup took place in the officiating. In a tournament with 64 matches, the first World Cup held in Africa, the calls that stood out, the calls that may finally lead FIFA to change its rules and adopt new review processes, were matches that went against the giants of the first world.

Every sport has its infuriating moments, times when it seems physically impossible for the officials to have missed the offense. But Alexi Lalas and Jim McManaman didn’t spend hours discussing the merits of calls of the South Korea-Greece match, but the disallowed US goal in its Slovenia game was egregious enough to warrant an expedited review of that match’s referee and technology-enhanced dissection. The outcry over England’s non-goal in its humiliating loss to Germany was almost enough to make one forget that the final score was 4-1.

[...]

The final match between Spain and the Netherlands could not live up to the excitement of Saturday, even with two teams killing themselves to win their first title. Aside from a few gruesome moments, it just wasn’t terribly suspenseful to watch the European champions play South Africa’s former colonial overlords. Maybe Paul the Octopus picked Spain because it just didn’t feel right. The game’s lone goal came from Spain’s Andres Iniesta after nearly 120 minutes of fierce but personality-free play. After so many heart-stopping finishes, the final score or 1-0 felt like anticlimax.

It was also depressing, but unsurprising, that it took until the last day of the tournament for the American television announcers to bring up the history that the Netherlands and South Africa share. Early rounds of the tournament coverage featured plenty of color pieces on the history of apartheid but managed to omit information that would have placed the policy, and the legacy of institutionalized racism in South Africa, into more context. To hear ESPN tell it, racism is simply a sad chapter in the history books.

[...]

For the fans in the stadium on that Saturday, it wasn’t about colonialism or escaping shame at the hands of the press. It was as simple as revenge, honor, and the joy of simple, all-out, bloodthirsty competition on the field. Like the end of Rocky IV. But now with bonus vuvuzelas

I can admit that in my world football holds a lot of connotations. And even if my political like for Spain is very... dubious, it was just not right for Netherlands to win this one. (Heck, it was just not right for two European Nations to have this final, and people will say, "but the better one win!" and no. The better ones are the ones who have more resources to make better players, better teams.)

(And yes, yes, yes. France, Italy and England were just awful. But you know I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about how European football is the best -heck, you don't see all football players dying to play in Brazilian clubs or something-, and how "African football is just bad right now, we deserve their cup!!" -I'm looking at you, South America- and all the shit going on. And yes, I get inequalities happen in every sport competition out there, doesn't mean I can't talk about this particular one though. I can and I do it probably because I'm fed off with this one.)

Comments

[timeasmymeasure]

Not gonna lie, the final game for me wasn't that I wanted Spain to win but more of that I wanted Netherlands to lose.

[la_vie_noire]

Yeap. NGL, personally I first preferred Holland because they have Eljero Elia and hated most Spain fans during this WC, I pretty much didn't care about this final until I thought, "oh right, damn, hope Holland loses."