KC Hill
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Craig Hill
Oracle of DelphiWhy is soccer so popular? A formalist perspective.
August 27th 2006 02:32
I was listening to ABC 576 'Radio National' the other night. I've forgotten what the name of the programme was, I think it was probably 'counterpoint'. Anyway, an American academic was being interviewed about why Americans, unlike the rest of the world, have not taken to soccer (football). The 'world game' as it's so often called is a global cultural phenomenon and appears to colonise whatever country it infiltrates, just look at the recent growth of the game in Australia leading up to and after the 2006 World Cup. The game is becoming increasingly popular at the grass roots level and is demanding more media coverage and comment.
The featured academic made what I thought was a god point. Whereas in contact sports (Rugby Union/League, AFL and American Football) and those sports that are distinctly American (Basketball, Baseball, Ice Hockey) there is usually a link between effort and reward. Basically, in these sports the logic is gladiatorial; the most well prepared, skilled and passionate team should (and usually does) grind done its opposition and carries the day.
The logic of effort and reward is fundamental to Capitalist work ethic, a logic that promises the more labor used the more profit gained. It is also central to the notion of the 'American Dream' (which would appear to have been pretty much co-opted in Australia); 'If you work hard enough you can achieve anything'.
Soccer's operational logic runs counter to these 'gladiatorial' sports. There is a high degree of randomness in Soccer for which no amount of training, passion and skill can account for. The apotheosis of this randomness is the penalty shoot out which often decides a match in the favour of what otherwise would have been considered the far weaker team on the day. The randomness of soccer also accounts for the why minnows such as Australia, fielding a team that is far less talented than those of other countries, can compete so 'evenly' on the world stage. The fact is that this evenness is created not by the equivalent skills and desire of the teams but is manufactured by the game itself in the form of corner kicks and penalty shoot outs.
Just some thoughts.
The featured academic made what I thought was a god point. Whereas in contact sports (Rugby Union/League, AFL and American Football) and those sports that are distinctly American (Basketball, Baseball, Ice Hockey) there is usually a link between effort and reward. Basically, in these sports the logic is gladiatorial; the most well prepared, skilled and passionate team should (and usually does) grind done its opposition and carries the day.
The logic of effort and reward is fundamental to Capitalist work ethic, a logic that promises the more labor used the more profit gained. It is also central to the notion of the 'American Dream' (which would appear to have been pretty much co-opted in Australia); 'If you work hard enough you can achieve anything'.
Soccer's operational logic runs counter to these 'gladiatorial' sports. There is a high degree of randomness in Soccer for which no amount of training, passion and skill can account for. The apotheosis of this randomness is the penalty shoot out which often decides a match in the favour of what otherwise would have been considered the far weaker team on the day. The randomness of soccer also accounts for the why minnows such as Australia, fielding a team that is far less talented than those of other countries, can compete so 'evenly' on the world stage. The fact is that this evenness is created not by the equivalent skills and desire of the teams but is manufactured by the game itself in the form of corner kicks and penalty shoot outs.
Just some thoughts.
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