Football

Galeano encapsulates the ultimate highs and lows of emotions that range around soccer. He uses romantic and dramatic imagery often religiously charged to convey just how important soccer is to Latin American culture. In his section regarding the history of soccer and the origin of the ball, it interests me to see that like architecture and food, the ball has appeared in many places around the world with materials from its environment. Galeano evokes a compelling argument that soccer is an incremental aspect of culture and the introduction of the British commodification of the game is reminiscent of colonization. The politicization of soccer, the introduction of the manager, and the strict control management has over individual players is alluded to owning people and being controlled over a singular master multiple times in the selection. With increasing merchandise, advertisement, and brand deals, it is understandable that Galeano describes this beautiful game as metamorphosized into a brutal game of duty. I adore the way that he describes football. There is both the glory and shame at stake, all surrounding the players who have trained their whole lives to be placed on the main stage. The audience has a deliberate role in accompanying the game as he phrases it so beautifully: soccer without an audience is like dancing without music. The roles that Galeano describes in football are indeed roles. Through time people cycle in and out of these positions, rested to the bench when their skills begin to slow. He accurately portrays the invigorating spotlight of fame and the cruel passage of time in the role “the idol”. Despite the ways in which audience favor can drastically attribute failure to the goalie or referee displays the manner in which group catharsis brings fans together. Although there can be a recreating of this environment at home on the tv, it is nothing compared to the deafening cheers, the faster than lightning darting of the ball, and the sheer amount of people filling the stadium with one goal in mind: victory. I do not believe that the sport of soccer is portrayed negatively. I think that Galeano has such a fierce passion for the role of soccer as well as a descriptive language that just so happens to use vibrant imagery, often charged with emotional language. The emotions that he elicits from his metaphors covey the utter importance that this sport has to such a large number of people. The outcome of a game is not just about the skill, but about the ways in which each role in football influences the other. It is a harmonious song that when played just so, provokes breathlessness in the field of ethology.

My question to you is why do you think soccer has such a priority over other sports in Latin America?

Galeano encapsulates the ultimate highs and lows of emotions that range around soccer. He uses romantic and dramatic imagery often religiously charged to convey just how important soccer is to Latin American culture. In his section regarding the history of soccer and the origin of the ball, it interests me to see that like architecture and food, the ball has appeared in many places around the world with materials from its environment. Galeano evokes a compelling argument that soccer is an incremental aspect of culture and the introduction of the British commodification of the game is reminiscent of colonization. The politicization of soccer, the introduction of the manager, and the strict control management has over individual players is alluded to owning people and being controlled over a singular master multiple times in the selection. With increasing merchandise, advertisement, and brand deals, it is understandable that Galeano describes this beautiful game as metamorphosized into a brutal game of duty. I adore the way that he describes football. There is both the glory and shame at stake, all surrounding the players who have trained their whole lives to be placed on the main stage. The audience has a deliberate role in accompanying the game as he phrases it so beautifully: soccer without an audience is like dancing without music. The roles that Galeano describes in football are indeed roles. Through time people cycle in and out of these positions, rested to the bench when their skills begin to slow. He accurately portrays the invigorating spotlight of fame and the cruel passage of time in the role “the idol”. Despite the ways in which audience favor can drastically attribute failure to the goalie or referee displays the manner in which group catharsis brings fans together. Although there can be a recreating of this environment at home on the tv, it is nothing compared to the deafening cheers, the faster than lightning darting of the ball, and the sheer amount of people filling the stadium with one goal in mind: victory. I do not believe that the sport of soccer is portrayed negatively. I think that Galeano has such a fierce passion for the role of soccer as well as a descriptive language that just so happens to use vibrant imagery, often charged with emotional language. The emotions that he elicits from his metaphors covey the utter importance that this sport has to such a large number of people. The outcome of a game is not just about the skill, but about the ways in which each role in football influences the other. It is a harmonious song that when played just so, provokes breathlessness in the field of ethology.

My question to you is why do you think soccer has such a priority over other sports in Latin America?

I found “Soccer In Sun and Shadow” such a good read. It was super engaging, witty and still quite informative. I especially enjoyed how easy it was to read. As someone who doesn’t really understand football, I appreciated this factor a lot. You would probably expect me to know a decent amount about football sinceContinue reading “Week 10: Football”

Firstly I want to say that the format that Galeano uses is quite interesting and makes the reading quite accessible, even for someone who is not that interested in football such as myself. What I found interesting from the very start is the distinction that was made between what is the shallow popular culture view …

Continue reading “Week 10: Soccer in Sun and Shadow”