BLOG2 Soccer Identity

Hola from Buenos Aires,
Yesterday, my classmates & I played soccer for the 1st time. Prior to the commencement of our match, some local Argentines were playing & we noticed a few differences between American soccer & Argentine such as: women are more “feminine” in Argentina & consequently don’t play mixed; the Argentines incorporated fancier footwork and technique whereas traditional American soccer applies more brute force & relies on fitness as opposed to playing “beautiful soccer” (we can also correlate this statement to the # of World Cup championships attained by USA: ZERO & it will probably stay that way for a very long time). In addition, during our 2nd “class on wheels” experience, we had the opportunity to visit River Plate’s stadium; currently the team is not playing very well & our instructor, Gabrial, a River fan, is quite disappointed in the squad. Like Spain, Argentines appear to have greater loyalty & identity-connection with the local soccer clubs; in addition on the topic of identity, it was interesting to note one of our discussions in class regarding the implications of America’s “pledge of allegiance”; from a very young age & throughout elementary school, Americans are instructed & for the most part, required, on a daily basis, to learn & chant this pledge thereby seeking to indoctrinate the necessity of loyalty & pride of being an American (as opposed to a Georgian, or Texan, or Yankee vs Southerner). Argentina doesn’t have such traditions & the topic of identity appears to have most relevance in the domain of soccer; Argentines are super-passionate about the sport & as our class witnessed at a 2nd divisional match a couple of weeks ago, soccer is a way of life and a symbol of national pride. It’s fascinating that all Argentines (regardless of gender, social class, ancestry, age, etc) relate & support a club and the national squad because soccer unites the country. The world of sport can be considered a peaceful and more enjoyable substitute for fighting; for example, when countries battle it out in the World Cup, national pride is on the line; victory can translate into the dominance (albeit athletic in nature) of one country over another & the converse upholds as well. This symbolism was actualized in the famous World Cup victory of Argentina vs England whereas Maradona used his hand to win the match; several years prior to this World Cup, Argentina had sought to recapture the Malvinas islands from the British only to suffer a humiliating defeat. Consequently, Argentines identified the World Cup victory as redemption and triumph over the imperialist nation.

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