Reflection week 1

Throughout the course of the class discussion on How Soccer Explains the World, the different perspectives my classmates had on the book itself, and the message Foer was conveying impressed me. My eyes were opened to new angles on the underlying theme of the book, and I was able to expand my own understanding of Foer’s view of globalization and the United States.

The last chapter of the book was, in my opinion the most vital to understanding its theme. The way an author chooses to end their work speaks volumes about the message they wish to express, and Foer could potentially have ended How Soccer Explains the World with any number of other chapters about other countries, but he decided to end the book with the United States after describing in detail the nationalism felt in other countries, and expressed through an obsession with soccer. While Foer directs his book at Americans, his tone is rebuking toward his own country. We are the only country to name what the rest of the world calls “football”, “soccer”, and out of the countries Foer focuses on within his book, we have the least interest in soccer, and the most animosity toward the sport itself. It made me think about why America doesn’t buy into soccer to bond with other countries and compete worldwide. As a nation, America chooses to focus instead on baseball, basketball, and football as opposed to the worldwide sport of soccer. One of my classmates brought up the point that when America competes in sports, we really only compete nationally, and only play other countries in the Olympics and the World Cup. This made me think about our motives for closing ourselves off to international sports. It is possibly because we are afraid of being bested at something and losing some of the American pride, But I think Foer suggests the reason is that America has not been globalized along with the majority of the world, and actively resists the encroachment of foreign nations. By keeping our sports within the nation, America feels that we sustain our nationalism, and do not conform to the world’s love of soccer.

After reading his book, I believe Foer condones globalization, because he ties soccer directly to globalization, and his extreme love of soccer is apparent throughout his novel. Foer also emphasizes the positive impact soccer has had on the countries discussed in the book, and how it brings people together in support of their country or their regional team. Although he goes into detail about football hooliganism especially in Great Britain, Foer seems to have a high degree of respect for those who partake in hooliganism in support of their beloved team. The violent crimes committed in the name of soccer are obviously negative, but the joining together My opinion of the book as a whole was that Foer wanted to make a point of comparing America with the rest of the world—subsequently admonishing us for our lack of enthusiasm for the sport of soccer—and make a case for globalization, using soccer as a metaphor for globalization all around the world.