Comments on: “The hooligans are loose”

By: John Lopez

John Lopez — Mon, 19 Dec 2005 05:03:35 +0000

"The premise of soccer, on the other hand, is to put a bunch of skinny, long-haired guys on the same field to prance around and react like a gazelle on the receiving end of a double load of buckshot whenever the opposition approaches within 2 feet."

Quotable.

By: billy-jay

billy-jay — Wed, 14 Dec 2005 12:48:17 +0000

Actually, I think it may be a misconception that Americans think about British soccer fans at all.

By: Curt

Curt — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 23:43:33 +0000

Speaking of schadenfreude, here’s an article (in French, unfortunately) about the controversy that has resulted from the French government mandating that schools teach about « le rôle positif de la présence française outre-mer » (”the positive role of the French presence overseas”) which is generally regarded as a euphemism for French colonialism. The author probably sums it up best: “Etrange pays, obsédé de son histoire quand son présent lui échappe” (”Strange country, obsessed by its past while it is has no control over its present”).

By: shonk

shonk — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 20:53:24 +0000

Shonk, are you referring to the Guardian article from about a week ago?

Well, if the article I linked to was the Guardian article from about a week ago, then yes.

I think you will find that many British soccer supporters are simply tired of being labelled hooligans by any foreigner they encounter.

That's certainly understandable, but I think it's a misconception to think that Americans in general think all (or even a majority) of British soccer fans are hooligans.

It is tongue in cheek. It has been written to give the readers a [chuckle]

Uh, yeah. No shit. As was my response.

By: Tom

Tom — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 20:05:57 +0000

whoops that should read “a giggle” sixth line down, not “a”

By: Tom

Tom — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 20:04:58 +0000

Shonk, are you referring to the Guardian article from about a week ago? I thought it was pretty good. I think you will find that many British soccer supporters are simply tired of being labelled hooligans by any foreigner they encounter. Don’t you like the articles ending? I think that may give you a clue about the tone of the article. It is tongue in cheek. It has been written to give the readers a, not to inform them of anything in particular. Most important is the notion that violence in Britain takes place almost exclusively away from stadia, unlike in the US, and if you want to start to talk about misrepresentation in the media, I think the American media is as good at that as the British.

By: Curt

Curt — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 17:16:21 +0000

Plus, by admitting in passing what passes for a commonplace in America, that fans in Philly are the most bad-tempered in the country, he pretty much shoots down the generalizability of his indictment even if everything he describes is true.

By: Curt

Curt — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 16:12:46 +0000

I’d add to that that soccer violence is arguably more destructive because it often exacerbates existing ethnic, racial, regionalist or nationalist tensions (as almost all your examples indicate), which is rarely the case in American sports. Dallas and Philly fans might beat each other up at football games but I don’t think there’s anything serious or lasting between them outside of football, which is certainly not the case between, say, the Catholics and Protestants supporting Celtic and Rangers in Glasgow. In any case, I doubt the article bears too much examination, as it seems symptomatic of the resentment/defensiveness which has become endemic when Europeans write about America these days.