4th Blog Post

After reading Foer’s book  “How Soccer Explains the World”, I have gained a deeper understanding of how the sport of soccer is more than just a sport. I have learned that soccer not only depicts many aspects of globalization but it also has a direct correlation with a globalizing international society. Throughout the course of the book Foer enlightens the reader of how the world of soccer is similar to a international economy, a clash of civilizations, and social class division. Some of these characteristics were exemplified more thoroughly in chapter eight, How Soccer Explains The Discreet Charm of Bourgeois Nationalism. In this chapter Foer explains the politics of the process of picking a favorite soccer team. He begins the chapter by describing his thought process in picking a favorite team. He tells us that he did not choose the best teams because all they did was “buy championships” and he did not choose certain other team because of their unlikeable culture in terms of discrimination and liberalist views. Next Foer describes the specific culture of his chosen team, Barca, and why he believes that they are the best team to root for. Teams such as; Real Madrid, Manchester United, and Juventus are considered by Foer as multinational conglomerates. These teams use money to win games. However Barca is a team that holds moral standards and has no issue in releasing or opting out of signing a star player because he doesn’t follow the culture. This example of picking a favorite soccer team represents a division of social hierarchy in a globalizing society. Foer’s purpose throughout this chapter is to demonstrate how he favors a middle-class team with more moral standards to an extremely wealthy conglomerate that simply has the advantage in the purchasing power of star player.  The politics of choosing a soccer team is incredibly similar to the structure of social hierarchy in a globalizing society.