[L-I] Re: Soccer and Politics: England 1, Argentina 0

Nestor Gorojovsky <nestorgoro@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> said:

> Such is life.
*snip* 

> But I want to add a domestic, Argentinean, political comment.
> 
> During the whole week before the match, the Argentinean media were 
> hammering in our heads the wishy-washy and false idea that this was 
> "just another match". Demalvinisation is still full gear. They were 
> trying to make us forget the obvious symbolism of the situation: "if 
> we can at least be better than them on soccer, then we can expect to 
> be better than them on any field of human life"
> 
> The English fans gave them the answer: when they realized (say, 
> around the 35/40 minutes of the second part) that they were winning 
> the match, a brass band that was with them began to play _Rule 
> Britannia_.
> 
> They don't forget. Neither do we. Only the commercial media in 
> Argentina look elsewhere.
> Néstor Miguel Gorojovsky
> nestorgoro@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hello Nestor, 
Well put. 

A few years ago, the World Cup match between America and Iran took 
place while my partner at the time was a Persian woman, and for obvious 
reasons that go beyond that much, I was cheering for Iran and attended 
a local cafe that included mostly former Iranian nationals. For these 
people- my partner was a woman who had fled Iran for political reasons, 
she had been labelled a feminist agitator and had to leave for her 
freedom if not her life-- almost all opponents of the Mullahs, some 
from a Shah-favouring perspective, some from a left to radical 
perspective but the moment was not at all lost on them either. These 
people were vindicated, partially in that they have membership of a 
nation that is constantly given threats and intimidation, and more 
importantly, they celebrated because it proved to them "that Americans 
cannot push us around at everything." That night was the only time I 
ever saw my ex-partner march up and down the roads chanting nationalist 
slogans. By the end of the night, people were engaged in discussions 
about the way forward for their people as a result of their increased 
feeling of strength. The moment not only was political- it cannot be 
underestimated.

When you are from a country that is assaulted in almost every way, the 
simpest things allow  you to fight on. Imagine should there be a futbol 
match between Palestinans and, say, the Egyptians- and the Palestinans 
won. Israel would clearly know they were in for a more determined 
struggle.

Soccer (as we call it) is clearly the sport of internationalists.
thanks again, 
Macdonald 

_______________________________________________
Leninist-International mailing list
Leninist-International@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To change your options or unsubscribe go to:
http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/leninist-international