header image

Soccer and Nation

Posted by: Joseph Kelly | July 19, 2017 | No Comment |

by Jack Story

Sport: an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc. or a diversion; recreation; pleasant pastime. Either way you define sport, it is held very highly in National cultures across the world. But, how important is sport? After watching the Ireland vs Austria World Cup Qualifier at Aviva Stadium, more specifically, after watching the fans present at the Ireland vs Austria World Cup Qualifier at Aviva Stadium, I saw just how important sport is to a nation. The energy and gusto with which the crowd of green-shirted fans operated was enormously high on June 11th. As the game went on, I noticed that the crowd cycled through a set of preordained cheers. This use of repeated chants displayed a certain value in tradition that is often found in other areas of civic life: art, politics, home life. More notably, I followed the interactions of a father and his two sons from a distance; and from this I had the opportunity to observe a passing of the guard of sorts. The father was focused on the game with unmatched zeal; but he could be seen sharing words with his sons throughout the game. When the Irish national team was not faring well, the father would stand up and express passionate disdain, thus offering his sons a representation of loyalty of his nation. When the Irish national team scored, the father could be seen cheering fanatically, at times with his arms around his sons and at times with an arm around a nearby stranger. The actions present in that last sentence depict a scene of camaraderie with ones own neighbor and with ones family. Essentially, the passion that the Irish fanbase displayed that day offered the world a scene of national pride that suggests the presence of a strong nation.

under: Student posts, Study abroad

Leave a response -

Your response:

Categories

Skip to toolbar