Reading “How Soccer Explains the World”
is like reading a long, dull version of the History Channel’s “Ancient Aliens”. For those unfamiliar with the show it
involves a man of questionable authority (and equally questionable hair style) making
specious claims about the links between human history and aliens. At first How Soccer Explains the World appears
much less ambitious version of ancient aliens in everything but length. It provides some interesting anecdotes and history
lessons while dropping in a little tidbit about soccer; as when the Serbs sang
modified soccer songs during their atrocities.
At first it looks as though the reader will be left to draw his own
connections. Is soccer simply a convenient
subject that allows the author to make globalization relatable or is it
something more? Did aliens really make
the pyramids? Finally, part way through
the first chapter, Foer can no longer resist.
After following the sad arc of Serb gangster Arkan’s life Foer relates
his death. He is shot down in a hotel café
for reasons which remain a mystery.
There are “many theories” for why this gangster turned nationalist
leader was assassinated but Foer contends that, rather than revenge for war
crimes or a mob hit, it was really soccer all about soccer (p. 28). Aliens did in fact build the pyramids.
Foer’s book uses the same curious
logic that we saw in 2011 with the “Twitter Revolutions” or as some call it the
“Arab Spring”. Pundits and even some academics
applauded twitter for allowing this incredible call for liberal democracy in a
region that had long ago been written off.
Their proof? Well that’s easy, the demonstrators were
using twitter to organize. All you need to
do now is bring in some “experts” to talk about how this wondrous new
technology has allowed the Arabs to communicate in ways they never thought
possible and you’ve got an air tight case.
Look hard enough and you might even find a few soccer fans in the
protests.
There is nothing wrong with using a
subject like soccer to explore and personalize the world but twitter didn’t cause
the Arab Spring and the Soccer War wasn’t really about soccer. Unfortunately the authors of such stories
tend to get carried away with themselves and end up stretching the truth to fit
their narrative. Ultimately these gimmicks
end up confusing the point more than they inform. Perhaps it’s best to treat complex issues as just
that, complex.
I largely agree with your scepticism on linking football to assassinations, and also with the media (and academic) frenzy over twitter in the Arab 'Spring'. Simple explanations of complex phenomena are rarely right. However, I think Foer's football analogy is more useful for examining less extreme identification issues. Would you agree?
ReplyDeleteI would agree with that. I think he just over stepped himself and took it to a place that was kind of ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteFirst things first, I got a major kick out of your introduction to this post.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Comparisons are often stretched thin and then stretched a little more until they almost lose complete credibility. I would compare this to using a simple diagram to illustrate an intricate system. It fails in many ways, but may get the main point across as it relates to whatever you want to relate it to (in this case, soccer).
Overall, I agree completely with your post, however.