“Barca redeems the game from these criticisms, by showing
that fans can love a club and a country with passion and without turning into a
thug or terrorist.” –Franklin Foer, How
Soccer Explains the World
This summer,
I spent six days in Barcelona, Spain and instantly, it became my favorite place
on the planet. Franklin Foer obviously felt similar to how I did as he
dedicates an entire section of his book How
Soccer Explains the World to Barcelona and the Catalan struggle in Spain.
The people of Barcelona are friendly and after reading this chapter of his
book, I understand how the Barca fans would be some of the least violent
patrons in European soccer.
“FC Barcelona could have easily gone the other direction. It
could have been a caldron of radicalism, violence, and grievances. But the
roots of Barca’s cosmopolitan nationalism run too deep. They are part of the
national culture and part of the club’s founding spirit.”
Foer
provides many examples of how poorly treated and suppressed Catalonia was in
the 1920s. The Catalan flag, which is widely flown today, and language was
banned. With all that conflict, you would expect more hostility and anger from
citizens of Barcelona. Instead, they show great pride in FC Barcelona and carry
on about their lives. Spanish culture means more to the people than holding a
grudge against fellow Spanish metropolitan Madrid, where all of the suppression
came from.
After
conflicts like this, what better way to bring different regions of a country
together than the Olympics? It’s one of the few times in a decade where a
country can unite and pull together for a common cause. Countries can bond over
soccer during the World Cup and Euro Cup, but the Olympics draws in more than
just soccer fans. Often times, it draws in more than just sports fans. The
people of Catalonia can sit together with the people of Madrid and watch Spain
show its national pride for the entire world to see.
I can’t
help but take the side of the Olympics being a great thing for nationalism.
During the NBA season, there are a countless number of egotistical players in
the league I can’t stand to watch. When the Olympic basketball team assembles,
I can’t really find a reason to dislike any of the players because they are spending
their offseason representing the United States of America on a global platform.
Michael Phelps is another great example of how nationalism works well during
the Olympics. When Phelps was on his historic run not long ago, every American
stood by and passionately rooted on the American swimmer for the simple fact
that an American got the job done. What other event can unite people like that?
The answer is none. Many countries have a handful of regions or sometimes up to
20 separate regions to pull together. The United States has 50 states that each
have their own unique culture, but pride in being an American is put on display
every four years for the Olympics.
The
counter to this belief is something I am looking for here in the United
Kingdom. After spending three weeks in England, I am curious to see how the
Scottish feel about the neighbors to the south during the Olympics. I’ve
already heard the testament of an Irishman who claims Scotland is a wasteland.
Now I will be curious to see in the coming weeks if the Scottish feel the same
about the Irish or about the English. National pride is a beauty isn’t it?
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