Madeira Consorcio

112th Madeira Consorcio Meeting 15.2.2020

We met in the Gallery again; Our topic was Football /soccer

Albert Camus said:

“All that I know most surely about morality and obligations I owe to football.”

We saw the following TED talk:

Three-sided football  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W64ySTJg1j0

Three-sided football was “invented” by a group of philosophers, and is it being played at regular intervals (http://3sidedfootball.com/). The team that receives the fewest goals, wins in this game.

and

Al Pacino with a speech from a Baseball movie:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWKUoQfZg9M

This topic was controversial from the beginning; many members don’t like football and/or do not know how to play it.

Cl. is an ardent football fan (Chelsea), and He. turned out to really hate it.

The Al Pacino speech was controversial because it shows that football (and similar) games are being saddled with martial language which express aggression against and separation from other groups. The fans identify with their team and “abhor” the “enemy”.

But Cl., as an insider, says that the aggressive language is only in fun, that the fans know that the game is a game, and not to be taken too seriously. On the other hand, fans can and do suffer when their team loses. The learn to live with disappointment, a good ability to have for their daily lives.

Cl. says the game is against racism, as many international players are being added to the teams, and adored by the fans because they play well. Fans develop a fierce loyalty to their team, also a good character trait for a human being.

The game creates a sense of belonging, being “in” the group, and group consciousness. Fans are not only single white men, but entire families. Children may be drawn to their team at a young age, and stay loyal to them for all their life. The “attacks” fans yell to the opposite fan group or to the coach of their team are for fun and not meant to be serious. It builds camaraderie.

Football (soccer) can be played by everybody, as long as there is a green and a ball. It is a popular game in all neighbourhoods. Cl. and his team used to be chased away for playing on a green somewhere (typical German attitude, the lawn is worth more than the children’s play), which is why he also learned to abhor authority.

Football at the community level is not corrupt, it carries the real atmosphere and connects strangers into a common interest.

Corruption sets in when money comes in, with ads, TV, sponsors and rich people buying the sport. Money leads to corruption in any sport.

it is difficult to fix a football game because too many people would be involved. Prediction experts can often unable to predict an outcome correctly, 6 out of 10 predictions (based on many factors such as weather, injuries etc) are false.

Vandalism, in terms of percentage, still is small phenomenon.

Politicians and politics should be forbidden to even show up. Salazar is said to have abused football in order to keep the Portuguese population quiet and obedient (Bread and Games in Rome).

Ce. said that the money spent on tickets (and they can be expensive when compared to minimum salary) could be used much better for other purposes. But community building is important as well. Nowadays, it is much harder to be part of a community because we are too many people, and community in the Internet does not have any bonding effect.

Football is a bonding system for a community, like festivals or concerts, and art festivals can create the sense of togetherness in a community.

Cl. says everybody should be obliged to support a football team (or a team in another group sport) as it builds character.

Women could choose a club with a female team. During WW2, a female league existed for baseball (seen in the movie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_League_of_Their_Own) , some team members  were later entered into the Baseball Hall of Fame

He. hated football because she had to play it when young, and she doesn’t understand why 11 men run after one ball: why not all give them one, so they can stop running about?

It keeps kids out of trouble, teaches them loyalty and channels their aggression (testosterone) into better behaviour.

Our next meeting should be in mid-March.