The Peculiar Case of African-American World Cup Watching
Every four years, I suffer from a condition. I feel confused, disconnected from friends and co-workers, yet strangely compelled to engage foreign matters. These feelings are brought on by the arrival of the World Cup. Through conversations with a number of my black American friends I’ve learned that I am not alone in this sentiment. While the World Cup represents one of the most important events to take place around the globe, it remains far from sacred to Americans; even less so to many black Americans.
I recognize that the World Cup is very significant to many of my brothers and sisters throughout the African diaspora, but I wonder if it will ever hold deep meaning for most of us. While it may just seem like a sporting event, mending our disconnection from the World Cup holds great promise for African-Americans; learning to appreciate it could usher in a new period of global citizenship.
As I recently sat watching the United States v. England match someone asked, “Who are you rooting for?” “Neither! I don’t like colonizers or oppressors,” I responded. Off the cuff, I quickly realized that my comment spoke to a dilemma the sport presents to many black people in this country. My disengagement with the World Cup wasn’t just about politics, it was also about how I was socialized.
In the United States soccer is an overwhelmingly middle class, suburban and predominantly white activity. Images of plush green fields, orange slices and minivans rush to my mind when I hear the word soccer.
By contrast, around the world, children mired in poverty find football, as the majority of the world calls it, an ideal athletic outlet. Whether it is played on the plush fields of London or the dusty expanses of Dakar, soccer is a language for communication and competition. Sadly, it is an international language from which many black Americans have been barred.
Sports are not foreign to black Americans, but over the years there has been a continued narrowing of sporting options. Sports like hockey and golf attract few black youth because of their high costs. But soccer is economically accessible, so if it’s not about the money, then what’s the problem?
Sociologist Scott Brooks finds that black youth, particularly boys, are socialized heavily toward basketball. While many try to argue that black boys are naturally talented at hoops and view it as their only option out of poverty, neither could be further from the truth. We have the potential to excel at any sport, but outside factors have shaped our interests and abilities over time. Need proof? Look no further than the declining presence of African-Americans in baseball. The messages we pass and the opportunities we present dictate the paths that we take to recreation and beyond. While there are many barriers to linking black Americans to the globe, such as poverty, segregation and unequal access to technology, soccer could provide an alternative path to connection.
I began watching the World Cup when my friends from college began pestering me to check it out. I wasn’t completely unexposed, having been the lone black kid on a handful of soccer teams growing up. But I didn’t realize the global importance of the Cup, particularly to the African diaspora. As anthropologist Michael Ralph has pointed out, in places like Senegal soccer is often about more than simple sport — it represents historical and contemporary political battlegrounds. I am slowly coming into an appreciation for the World Cup, not just as a sport, but also as an opportunity to foster camaraderie throughout the diaspora. The work of uniting the diaspora doesn’t have to be limited to politics and protest. It can also be linked in play.
R. L’Heureux Lewis is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Black Studies at the City College of New York – CUNY. His research concentrates on issues of educational inequality, the role of race in contemporary society, and mental health well-being.
it’s a sport mate.. either your in to it or your not.
…and just in case you didn’t know, there are plenty of African-American males that do not care for basketball; What a concept!
As a Ugandan-born African American, I could give a dman about basketball. Go Ghana!
This is just another way in which ” broth as” need to grow and expand.
I dont particularily care to be a “world citizen”. I dont see why black Americans always have to adapt to “them”…Perhaps these Carribbeans or Africans should pick up a basketball or football sometimes.
Its comments like this that continue the global sentiment that AA’s are ignorant and uncultured! What a disgrace! I am a caribbean islander, who is an American citizen and spent most of my life here in America. Sadly most AA’s are not welcoming to learning and embracing other cultures and the customs that they practice. Soccer is the Worlds biggest sport, it is only in America that it is not as big. For a AA person to make the statement that foreigner’s should pick up a football or basketball is ignorant beyond measures! Especially when most rosters of both American football, baseball and basketball teams consist of foreigners or children whose parents have emigrated to this country. As well as the fact that when American basketball players do not qualify for the NBA, 9 times out of 10 if the talent is there they go OVERSEAS to places in Europe, Asia and other continents to play for their teams. Its is sad that a AA person would not even take things like that into consideration. Ignorance is bliss for some AA’a and when they wake up and realize the world still goes on with or without BS ideas or opinions like this, then some progress will be made.
Sorry, soccer sucks! to each its own. Just because you don’t like something does not mean you are uncultured or ignorant. Soccer just sucks!
I AM a soccer mom raising a couple of AA world citizens, they are too young for this World Cup, but we will be watching in 4 years…what a great way to teach geography…
@honest
So I’m “uncultured” simply because I don’t like soccer? As if watching a sport invented by the British somehow enhances cultural standing. Who decides that, you?.lol This elitist thinking is one of the main reasons why I don’t support it. AA’s couldn’t give a dayum what the world thinks about us. We don’t live to please the world.
Lol@NBA and NFL ballers being immigrants..lol just that comment right there shows you know nothing about the sports or the deep rich cultural heritage of them. Google the 50 greatest players and tell me where they immigrated from.lol
“African diaspora”? It would be diaspora if referring to African Americans, but not people still living in their native land.
The African Diaspora refers to ALL people of African descent whether they are away or at home~ the physical location is irrelevant!
I dn’t see African Americans watching the World Cup, especially this one, as peculiar. Even if I had no interest in Soccer, it’s a joy to see the Black South Africans having a good time…they seem to be at every game and look like they are really having a party…also the mainstream media is pissed at the vuvuzelas, which will soon be appearing at football stadiums this fall. I don’t see African Americans watching the World Cup any more peculiar than when African Americans watch the Winter Olympics…Unlike the World Cup, which this time and next time (Brazil) will be held in mostly Black countries with Black players on most teams, a winter Olympics will never be held in a majority Black country and the total number of Black athletes from around the world at the next Winter Olympics can fit in a Ford minivan…and regardless of where you live in the US, you can either play soccer or watch people playing. If you live in Miami, New Orleans or Houston you don’t have much opportunity to see downhill skiiing or engaging in a pickup hockey game.
Whatever dude. Protest your days away. Good luck with that. The rest of the world is getting about it, without you.
I think I get your point columnist. Poor Africans like soccer, most African Americans do not…. likely because they have not been socialized to like soccer in the way that most of the other countries have. African American see soccer as more for white ‘soccer moms’ (read: affluent white folks in the US) than for blacks. And since Amer blacks have a declining presence in most ‘white’ sports, you’ll likely not see Amer blacks in a national sport like soccer soon. Soccer connects black people of the African diaspora but American blacks are unconnected on that level because many Amer blacks do not like, watch, or appreciate soccer.
But I’m also going to agree with the first sentence that Fubol fan said – it’s a sport and either you’re in it or you’re out. I wouldn’t call myself a soccer ‘fan’ but I personally like soccer and don’t mind watching it, ESPECIALLY WHEN BLACKS ARE PLAYING! I prefer it over American football watching – its easier to follow, has less rules, and is less convoluted as a sport.
Americans are peculiar… there are things that set us apart from the world over (like NOT using the metric system and protecting our people from GM toxins) and things that we’ll find similar. Same with blacks. You won’t be able to identify with blacks around the world on every level because there IS a cultural difference…. but many things are similar and relatable… such as being stolen descendants of Africans, being colonized & oppressed. Get in where you fit in and make the most of it. It is our own duty to get more exposed to world events and different forms of entertainment.
And nappy (for the Euros) is not a diaper. It’s a hair texture and it means kinky or curly.
Good commentary!
A few thoughts:
I think soccer/football may have become raced and classed in the contemporary (i.e. post 1990s) U.S., which is rather curious since most kids learn to kick a ball-like thing, long before they can actually hold, let alone dribble or throw it. It makes me more than sad when I see the amazing skill of the kids on the fields in my neighborhood, where I go twice a week to watch and coach. I hope they don’t get turned off from the sport because they somehow come to believe that black kids are not supposed to play, let alone be good at, football.
But, what’s interesting is that your commentary strongly suggests that African Americans ‘ disinterest in soccer has more to do with American nationalism than anything else: [American] football and basketball were labelled as “American” sports a long time ago and that’s what American people identify with, as well as what is exported as American culture to the rest of the world. Curiously, most of the world uses the term “football” to describe the sport, but the term has had to be qualified, or explicitly rejected in the US because the term “football” has been appropriated by and is now seen as belonging to Americans; in drawing the line and assigning a distinct term, “soccer” is somehow made to seem foreign. But who’s kidding who really? What is called football in the U.S. more resembles rugby than anything else. Football is played with feet, not with hands. So, to me, to co-opt the term “football” for a sport that doesn’t even resemble the original is merely another example of American arrogance. I’d love to find out more about the origin of the American sport and how the powers that be have dealt with this question though.
It’s also fascinating that throughout the African diaspora, you can find young people, primarily men but not always, rejecting soccer for the more “global” sport of basketball (indeed, is there any place in the world that does not have a basketball team or where the term basketball is not uttered with a faraway glow in the eyes?) After all, AfAm culture is often telegraphed around the world as evidence of how black people are engaging with modernity and progress in both positive and negative ways. Basketball is part of that story, and is what many young people prefer, especially if they aspire to migrate to the U.S. and hope to be picked for a college or professional team; it’s a ticket to the land of opportunity.
Even young women in the Caribbean are being taught to see basketball as a version of netball, a predominantly women’s sport, with the hopes of using the sport as a ticket to social mobility. Teaching football to girls is not on the agenda, however.
Likewise, the occasional media reports on AfAm folks doing volunteer or other charity work abroad confirms this identification with basketball as an “American” phenomenon where the photo ops and work with youth seem to revolve around showing kids the moves and creating basketball courts and camps, not establishing decent fields for playing football.
And, like it or not, Obama certainly has helped to shore up the world’s identification of basketball as distinctly “African American”, and which also further demarcates football as something only black people from other parts of the world engage in. In my more cynical moments, globalization of basketball is an interesting dimension of the neoliberal order; I don’t study sports so I don’t know who’s writing about this. I do think that the heightened visibility of basketball certainly gives the appearance that Americans, including African Americans, do not need to speak any other sports language, since everyone else will eventually learn theirs.
There’s certainly no requirement that AfAm know about or identify with the cultural practices of all other black people (I know, I know…) but understanding the borders and boundaries that prevent or at least hinder the possibilities of identification is well worth discussing. At the very least, there’s no need to invalidate or denigrate those cultural practices as the responses by “Black American” seems intent on doing.
And, since play is always informed by politics, there’s no reason why we can’t be the ones to create and forge the politics that serve our own interests.
You are way over-thinking this. Soccer is a sport. You either like it or you don’t. Most Americans have little to no interest in soccer, especially global soccer, for a number of reasons. The highest on that list is probably because it is seen as a children’s sport with no future. Major League Soccer does have some fans but not nearly the same following nor media coverage as American football or basketball. From doing a little actual research I discovered that professional, organized soccer (Major League Soccer) in this country was founded in 1993 and they’ve only been playing since 1996. That’s 14 years. I’m older than MLS and I’m only 24 years old.
The league hasn’t really gotten it’s feet in American society. The NFL has been around since 1920 and versions of American football had been played since the mid-1800s. The NBA has been around in some capacity since 1946.
You have to think of all the angles. You can’t just say “African Americans think soccer sucks because of white oppression and socialization”. NO ONE sees MLS as a gateway to fame and fortune. Not white people, not black people, not anyone. Basketball and football are the most popular sports in this country. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?
What I don’t understand is why it is ok in your opinion that other countries can so closely identify with soccer as a sport for their country but it’s weird that Americans identify with American football and basketball.
I’m an African American woman and I don’t care for sports at all, in any capacity. Does that mean I’ve been socialized in some heteronormative, prejudiced societal structuring of my life in that because I am both African American and female that the White Man has told me that I can’t play sports and shouldn’t be interested or even try?
Ahem, no. I don’t care for sports and never have. I played sports in school. I played sports outside of school. I don’t like them. And it has nothing to do with white people or colonization or oppression. I just plain don’t like sports.
I’ve been watching a lot of the World Cup matches and found myself utterly swept into it. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that it was given pride of place on ESPN, as well as having very good announcers and commentary. Plus, the game kept moving; no long breaks or commercials. You could have heard the collective scream when the cable went out in our city (Oakland, CA) during the last five minutes of the USA/England match.
Another thing I got to experience was watching it with a group of people. A new pub opened up around the corner from my house and they’ve been showing the the games every day, including a few that started at 4 am Pacific. We went round to watch the Brazil vs. Ivory Coast match and it felt very different than sitting watching the Super Bowl with a group of friends. Strangers made room for others to sit down so they could watch. There was good natured ribbing. It was a collective experience that made you feel like there was room for everyone to enjoy it.
The author is trying to draw attention to a subject that is really a “non-issue”. Somethings are just not that deep. For example, I am a Black Woman and I dont particularly care for soccer because it takes too damn long for something to happen. Plain and simple. Then when they do score , it ends with 1 point or a tie!! What a disaster….how BORING! The white guy who analyzes boxing (one of my favorite sports analysts) said the same thing. The white lady on Fox 5 felt the same sentiment. We are all Americans feeling the same way about the lack of action in soccer. No offense, just our own opinions and taste. The point is, it has nothing to do with black, white issues or political oppression. It is not that serious. I lived overseas in Northern Africa for 3 years, and yes, soccer is a big deal in the African and British regions the same way certain sports are popular in America. At the end of the day, you will have people in both regions that may or may not like the sport. Hell I got into it because of my man, but even he knows I am not feeling soccer like that. No disrespect to the author, but you are making a mountain out of a mole hill. This is not a deep issue on the horizon. Sometimes Black people make something out of nothing. Secondly, having lived in Africa for a few years, there is no need for Black Americans to stress themselves embracing the African culture, because for your information, it is not all of them that have an interest in us and see themselves as different or “better”. Not all of them, but alot of them do and for what reason….I do not know… However, for those of you that want us to adapt so bad, you can always get a one way ticket back home. When I was in Rome, I did as the Romans do as far as language….so when you are in America, do as the Americans do or GET OUT and SHUT UP! It is funny how people that do not come from here have so many opinions and want Black Americans to adapt. Remember, we are home and were born here. If you do not like us – C YA and dont wanna BE YA! Stop trying to find things that set yourself apart from American blacks. When it comes to racism, we are all in the same pot, no matter what corner of the earth you come from. If you want to come at me for this…come with it because I have travelled the globe and know what time it is. America is the promised land and everybody would die to come here if they could…so those of you who have issues…LEAVE and for those of you who want Americans to adapt to things we may or may not be interested in…LEAVE. The population control dudes would be very happy. bye!
If you are not getting brownie points for making an ass out of yourself author I would suggest you put an egg in your shoe and BEAT IT! Always comparing yourself to us American Blacks just proves that you are jealous and you are upset that you had to live a tough life in poverty before coming here. Soccer is fucking boring FACE IT! No one gives a shit about it. We are only concern about the basket ball play offs and Super bowl. If you need a one way ticket back to Africa I would get you one. Please by all means don’t come back here to the land of milk and honey. Now go kick rocks dumbass…..
hahahahah … This dude still thinks he’s in grad school doing research papers!! Most things in life, my friend, are not this convoluted. I could write a long response to this and try to explain to you why you are being way too deep. Instead I will just say that you are a horrible journalist and sound like one of those bigots who eat up everything jesse jackson says.
guys listen here
1: you are not african american you black that means you are an african like it or not.
2:soccer is not only for the british or for the africans is for the world as a whole of course in africa it is the biggest sport and we enjoy playing or watching it.
3: this past world cup broke many records and was very match better then what the world was expecting from africa with that in mind i will love to say my brothers and sisters in america don’t flow what the white man told you.
the rest of the world says football- this is your problem here!