TOW 12 - How Soccer Explains the World (first half)

I have just completed the first half of my second IRB How Soccer Explains the World.  In this book, Franklin Foer attempts to chronicle the theory of globalization by using the extended metaphor of soccer.  It seems like a very interesting book and, since I love soccer, I think it would be a really cool juxtaposition between the seemingly trivial sport of soccer with the large idea of globalization. 

The writing by Foer in this book is fantastic.  He uses mostly a narrative style of writing, and it is simply splendid.  He uses quotes very effectively and brings in lots of different ideas and evidence to support his argument.  I’ll give you an example of a passage:

“Starting in the 1980s, the soccer hooligan widely came to be considered a leading enemy of the West.  ‘A disgrace to civilized society,’ Margaret Thatcher once said.  Based on a death toll- more than one hundred in the 1980s- the English were the world’s leading producer of deranged fans, but they were far from alone.  Throughout Europe, Latin America, and Africa, violence had become part of soccer’s culture.  And even in places where violence had long accompanied soccer, it became more widespread and destructive in the eighties and nineties.  The Serbian fans were merely a bit better organized and much better armed than the rest of the world” (Foer 13).

As you can see from this passage, Foer is an enthralling writer that captures an audience.  Although this may stem from my interest in his topic, I really enjoy his writing.  I think his use of specifics (of course he gets into a lot more detail in the following chapter than just the excerpt I presented) combined with quotes create a great read.  Foer travelled to most of the places he writes about, and he recorded most of the conversations he had there.  He then puts in direct quotes from villains, officials, and some players which add greatly to the storyline of the book.  These give his characters life, something nonfiction books often fail to accomplish.

My only negative comment about this book is that the relationship between soccer and globalization seems a bit stretched at some points.  It feels a little bit like Foer is using this just as a gimmick and the relationship is not as evident as it seems.  When I look closer at the text, I realize there are some logical fallacies and I don’t quite see how soccer mirrors globalization- it seems to me that soccer is a benefactor of globalization.  Hopefully in the second half of the book Foer ties up these loose ends.