How Soccer Explains the World

How Soccer Explains the World

            Foer’s interpretation of globalization is represented through his writings about soccer and how the game of soccer demonstrates world politics. In other words, thee game of soccer, the players, and the fans all represent international relations between states and regions. Historically soccer is the most popular sport that any and everyone can play no matter how much money someone has. All a person needs is a ball, legs and a piece of open land. Because of the simplicity of the sport everyone can take part in it whether it is from the field or from the sidelines, and that is the same way that international relations work. There are the political figures constantly at work making “legitimate” decisions for the state while the citizens provide their own sideline comments and demonstrations for what they believe, and the army fights for the rights of the state they represent.

            Foer specifically talks about how globalization is failing and its attempt to eradicate hatred in a world where everyone is against each other is not working correctly. Rivalry between cultures is inevitable even within one state. Every state wants to be the best, most advanced and the strongest. Although the main goal of globalization is to have everyone understand and respect other cultures, globalization can potentially have the opposite effect. Each state and its citizens Is determined to prove why they are the best and why everyone should respect their culture, which in turn instead of spreading culture increases the completion for whose culture is the best. In soccer, where it is suppose to be a team, fair play, good sportsmanship sport that is supposed to bring the world together with one common game, the level of completion between nations increases instead. 

            Another issue he addresses, going off of the failure of globalization, is that nationalism and tribalism will keep pushing on especially to spite governments forcing different groups to share uncommon ground. Although there are a lot of different ethnicities and nationalities living in the same place, which should boost globalization, it can have an extreme opposite effect. As evidenced throughout history in Europe with the Holocaust as well as racism against African Americans in America, just because people are living in the same country does not automatically mean they will have the same ideals and vote for the same parties or root for the same teams. Soccer successfully demonstrates this on a smaller scale where different people root for different teams within one city. Especially in England and the rest of the European Union where there are multiple teams for one state, which different people root for and leads people to fight against each other, even with things as simple as sports.

            Foer’s take on globalization through the example of soccer captures the idea of how globalization may be occurring but having the opposite effect of what leaders may have expected. It has raised completion on and off fields between states to be the best and strongest team that there is. Soccer is a microcosm of what the world of international relations is really like.