Cate Law

BSGC101 Sec 103

Soccer is one of the largest economies in the world with a history of rapid and

reaching globalization. In How Soccer Explains the World author Franklin Foer journals

his experiences while visiting soccer fandoms across the world. Despite the incredible

impact globalization has on soccer, the teams and cultures Foer encounters are not as

affected as he had suspected. In his research he concludes that the more globalized the

world gets the more these fandoms draw on nationalism and their cultural identity.

The anecdotes Foer records illustrate that these countries are in a way resisting

globalization. Whether it is reluctantly letting players of a different religion or nationality

join a team, treating Jewish people as a mascot or a dangerous culture of violence

between teams. A number of these reasons are a part of a line of tradition, meaning that

the resistance to globalization has been building in these societies since they were first

disrupted by war or oppression. While globalization touches theses teams and their

communities the local culture stays intact, as can be seen in Foers first chapter on Serbia.

The Serbian fans of the Red Star club are forcefully violent and contribute to the

countrys corruption. Their power is so strong and prevalent that the fans are used as

soldiers in the Balkan wars. Serbia attempts a cleansing of the violent culture after the

wars, an act of progressing globalization, Foer notes, Nobody questioned the idea of the

Serbs eternal victimhood (Foer 34). This way of holding on to their identities may be

attributed to their long history as a country. America, which is easily affected by

globalization and also a major producer of what globalizes other countries, has a shorter

history than most of the countries Foer explores. This may explain the close ties people of
these countries feel to their team as opposed to the numerous bandwagoners that inhabit

America.

While globalization may cause cultures to protect their identity they are still

experiencing the spread of ideas and interconnectedness that characterizes globalism. A

prime example of how globalization has reached these countries is the gangster culture of

Serbia. Foer says how an era of gangsterism is spread through many forms of media

entertainment and fashion, The Red Star fans modeled themselves after foreigners they

admired, especially western European hooligans (Foer 14). Foer goes on to explain that

the dress of these fans is taken from African American culture. The progress of

globalization can also be seen in teams made up of multiple nationalities. Glasgow is

faced with economic globalization as Foer observes. The two rival teams, the Protestant

Rangers and the Catholic Celtics, must also advance their economic status, which entails

becoming competitive teams. In order to accomplish this the Rangers is actually made up

of Catholics from various other countries.

Foer gains a unique experience and topics to write about from his world-wide trip.

He is able to see how globalization has reached so many countries, but also how they

remain true to their cultural identity. In my opinion, while this book seems to capture a

lesser-known point of nationalism, the world is advancing so quickly that these

observations are somewhat out of date. The book is a nice insight on a history of

resistance in a progressing world but for obvious reasons cannot touch on how

globalization is currently being received.