The Hooligan, The Wealthy, and The Black Folk

In this second chunk, the author focuses on more specific groups that are seemingly essential to both soccer and society. Chapter four deals with the hooligan, or person who acts - usually poorly - without thinking. According to Franklin Foer and Alan Garrison (Former Hooligan), a hooligan's fight was more of a spontaneous action in the past. However, now that more sophisticated spectators are in the crowd, fights are usually planned at a different time and more discrete location. While Alan states that he is still involved in hooligan-like antics, Foer's observations reveal that his hooligan days, along with many others, are long gone. With security tighter and stricter than ever, arena fights are much too risky.

Chapter five discusses the wealthy, and powerful, people in Europe. These wealthy people seem to have had the biggest influence on soccer in some parts of Europe. In fact, if it weren't for their monetary contributions, some areas would not have been able to afford a team. As a result, there were, and still are, very few extremely wealthy people who control an entire nation's "soccer team". This could also be said for the actual teams, who become so talented and popular that the world pretty much follows their every move without hesitation. Players, like Romario, are remembered for years; statues, pictures, and videos are kept as a way of keeping their legacy alive. This particular chapter resembled the ways that the government favors the rich instead of the poor. They may not admit it, but the government is still lenient with the wealthier citizens of the United States and strict on the less fortunate; that is the only reason I have that explains how so many rich people are getting away with dodging the tax collectors for so long.

Being the one that I can relate to the most, Chapter six focuses on of the darker sides of soccer fans: racism. Yes, racism has followed us into the new millennium - directing most of its attacks on Africans (Nigerian) who migrate to Europe in order to play professional soccer. Franklin Foer provides an example of such racism in the beginning of the chapter when introducing Edward Anyamkyegh, a Nigerian soccer player: "Because they [Ukraine Police Officers] were trained to be suspicious of visitors, and because Edward looked so different, the police pulled him aside. 'Why have you come to Ukraine?' " Foer also recalls a time when two European children stared and snickered at Edward's "funny" appearance while he was giving an interview for this book. Being so used to it, Edward does not allow these actions to provoke a reaction out of him. Even when the opposing team's fans throw bananas and make ape noises every time he receives the ball, Edward shows no emotion. However, his calm reactions do not make these actions OK, since we know live in a world where racism is "a thing of the past".

Clarification: What are Carpathians?

Application: Do you feel that soccer games have changed to an event solely for the middle and upper classes? Have the hooligans lost their home to the "higher paying" spectators?

Gangstas, Pornography (of the Sects), and Jews

The first three chapters of this story deal with the issues of nationalism: nationalism between rival nations, nationalism between religious groups, and the more popular issue of nationalism between the Jews and Germans. The author of this book, Franklin Foer, discusses that soccer and the many different teams are simply symbols of life-long struggles between power and dominance. He explains how the Serbs and Croatians would use soccer in order to show of their superiority to each other. They would also use this as an excuse to form gangs that would severely beat fans of the opposing nation in order to force their dominance on the other nation or nations. With interviews from gangs such as The Ultra Bad Boys, Franklin reveals to his audience that they are passionate about winning; many gangs like The Ultra Bad Boys feel that losing to the rival nation meant that they were the better nation in all aspects. As a result, they would resort to physical threats in order to ensure that a certain team, or team member, was unable to give the opposing team a victory.

As for the different religious groups, Protestants and Catholics stood behind certain soccer teams - such as the Celtics (Catholic) and the Rangers (Protestant). Neither group acts in a manner that would be pleasing to someone who was considering being a Protestant or Catholic, but the two groups do not realize that. They consider the numerous matches a battle between "Good and Evil". Like the Serbs and Croatians, the rivalry between Protestants and Catholics go back to times like the 1920s, when the Billy Boys - similar to the Ku Klux Klan - "rampaged against Glasgow's Catholics between the wars." On this occasion, Franklin actually attends a soccer game between the Celtics and Rangers; however, in order to ensure his safety at the game, he does his best to dress in clothes that would symbolize his neutrality.

In this final section of the first part of this book, Jewish people and their involvement in soccer are analyzed. Seemingly sports-challenged, not many people know that Jews had many different clubs in Europe - like Hakoah of Vienna, Hagibor, and Bar Kochba. A man named Max Nordau would explain that the Jewish people were suffering from a disease called Judendot, or "Jewish distress". Max believed that the reason for the Jews' shortcomings in sports were due to their mannerisms: they blinked nervously, lost the bass in their voices due to their fear of persecution, and forgot how to move joyfully. As a result, he created a doctrine known as Muskeljudentum, or muscular Judaism. This doctrine trained the Jews physically as opposed to spiritually. It gave them more pride in their country and also helped them improve on their skills in sports, specifically soccer. The Jews were beginning to improve on their skills incredibly, winning gold and silver at the Olympics and returning home as the first team to beat an English soccer team, which was a great accomplishment due to the fact that the English were the inventors of soccer. Unfortunately, Hitler and his ideas of Holocaust dealt a huge blow to the Jews' talents in soccer. Nazi Germany closed down and burned buildings and arenas that exhibited Jewish pride. After the devastating event, the Jewish nation hasn't been able to return to their previous glory.

Clarification: What is bourgeoisie and how is it pronounced?

Application: I have noticed that many nations, mostly Hispanic, continue to use soccer as a symbol of their superiority to other nations. Do you think that there are any other sports that produce similar results between nations?