sport
What’s the deal with football? I Iam I have never been. But one of of mymy clearest childhood amnot nota afootball footballfan fanand and I have never been. But one clearest childhood memories is the World Cup half final from 2014. Do you remember? The German memories is the World Cup half final from 2014. Do you remember? The German National Team defeated Brazil in its very own country with 7:1 in front of the world’s National Team defeated Brazil in its very own country with 7:1 in front of the world’s eyes. The fact that the simple number “7:1” still raises emotions in people up to this eyes. The fact that the simple number “7:1” still raises emotions in people up to this day makes me wonder: What meaning does football have? And why do people get day makes me wonder: What meaning does football have? And why do people get so so incrediblyexcited excitedabout aboutwatching watchingthis thisgame? game? incredibly
1. Belonging to a group
2. Family Annik Fasold tells me her experience with football in Bremen, Germany. Although she doesn’t consider herself a fan of football itself, she feels very connected to her home club Werder Bremen. “When we watch a game from this club, all the people start singing in front of the stadium. They have common songs, they wear the same scarf.”
The first thing I realise in my conversation with football players, football fans and football neutrals is that the game itself is not the main part. Quickly it comes out that the feeling of community drives people to the football field each week, month or year. “I believe that football connects us so much because it provides a community. The fans and the club unite and together they are happy about a victory and sad about a loss.”, says Antonia Barth who recently started attending football games of Vardar Skopje. Dr. Sander van der Linden, a psychologist at Cambridge University explains the need for belonging in an interview: ”We sort ourselves into groups, we identify with those groups, and then we start comparing ourselves with other groups. It’s just that the structural conditions of football will enhance those characteristics. So they’re wearing different t-shirts so it’s easy to spot the outgroup member versus the ingroup member.”
18 - VOICES
“One club is like one family. Being in the club makes you happy and you can’t get enough of that. And it is essential to have a club. Without the fans the games wouldn’t be the same,” explains Vildan Kerim. The professional football player from Macedonia’s leading club Vardar Skopje describes football as his dream job. “Having sports as your profession means you are always active and healthy. At every game you feel the adrenaline and you keep being excited to improve your skills.”
3. Unexpected results What’s one thing we get excited about? Surprises and unexpected results. There is no tutorial on how to score a goal. There is no guideline on how the game will turn out. So no match is repeated exactly the same and therefore unpredictable. Unexpected results boost our adrenaline and they remain a myth. There is an entire book called “The game of the century” about the 7:1 earlier mentioned defeat between Germany and Brazil.
