One of the good things about being abroad is it causes you to reflect on things. Well it does me anyway.
So as I sat on the banks of the Mosel River today, sipping German beer and watching my lover tucking into Schnitzel and frites, I looked around to see what signs of football culture I might see around me and how this compared to what I might see if I looked around a similar place in England where crowds of people figure.
Bizarrely I saw almost no evidence that football even exists. One child wearing a Liverpool shirt with Gerrard on the back. Oh and a pair of socks with footballs on which I took a shine to until I spotted the German colours in the stripes around the top.
It seems surprising to me that a country with the sort of football pedigree Germany has should have such an absence of any symbol of consciousness of this.
But then I thought again.
Since I have been here, I have seen 7 or 8 football stadia. Every place bigger than a small village seems to have its own ground. Small local grounds but proudly signposted. Evidence that they are seen as being of value to the community – little stands, clubhouses, even floodlights.
What that tells me is that maybe the secret to a successful national footballing mentality is not embroidered onto the fabric of the clothes we wear. It is woven into the very fabric of the communities in which we live.
So as I sat on the banks of the Mosel River today, sipping German beer and watching my lover tucking into Schnitzel and frites, I looked around to see what signs of football culture I might see around me and how this compared to what I might see if I looked around a similar place in England where crowds of people figure.
Bizarrely I saw almost no evidence that football even exists. One child wearing a Liverpool shirt with Gerrard on the back. Oh and a pair of socks with footballs on which I took a shine to until I spotted the German colours in the stripes around the top.
It seems surprising to me that a country with the sort of football pedigree Germany has should have such an absence of any symbol of consciousness of this.
But then I thought again.
Since I have been here, I have seen 7 or 8 football stadia. Every place bigger than a small village seems to have its own ground. Small local grounds but proudly signposted. Evidence that they are seen as being of value to the community – little stands, clubhouses, even floodlights.
What that tells me is that maybe the secret to a successful national footballing mentality is not embroidered onto the fabric of the clothes we wear. It is woven into the very fabric of the communities in which we live.
4 comments:
What follows is my hypothesis, I have no hard evidence to back it up.
In the UK somebody decided that sport would be part of the school curriculum. In Europe they decided that sport was not part of the curriculum. The upshot of this is that all our schools have playing fields and all the European communities have central sports facilities that are well used and well appointed.
What do you think?
Enjoy the hols.
Excellent post! I must have a good look for this kind of thing the next time I leave these rainy shores. :-)
Yes.Interesting.'Football' and 'culture' in the same sentence.
Bizarre !
Paul coombes: I think your hypothesis has weight. Couple that with some of the PC nonsense that was around not so long ago about sport in schools not being competitive because children may get upset and you start to have a major problem. I speak as someone who was always the last to be picked for the team in games. The point is was are rated and judged at that age in all we do - whether academic or physical. It's life! It's also where a winning mentatilty comes from. Not simply financial incentives which seems to be the default position we have adoped in the absence of the spirit of winning for the sake of winning.
Oops - just fell of my soapbox!
Post a Comment