Soccer book discussion on CNBC

[billreeves]

This was posted in the San Jose Earthquakes forum since the guest is SJ GM Alexi Lalas. Here's the original thread: http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=120496

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Alexi will be on CNBC this evening with Franklin Foer, author of "How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization".

Time: 4:00 PST (7:00 EST) and 7:00 PST (10:00 EST)
Program: Capital Report with Alan Murray

The book was just released today, for a review of the book go to http://www.harpercollins.com/catalog/book_xml.asp?isbn=0066212340

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"This evening" is Tuesday, June 29, 2004.

[vmax71]

Just saw the five minute segment. If you missed it, you did not miss anything.

Recap:

1. Franklin Foer had that eat $hit and smile face that anybody plugging a project has and was enthusiastically ready to answer any inane questions posed to him.

2. Alexi looked confused as to why he was even asked to appear and the look on his face appeared poised for a fight to deal with any soccer basing comments made by the commentator

3. The host typically was a clueless ingnoramus throwing soft ball questions.

4. To his credit, Foer pointed out the purpose of the book wasn't to extol soccer in any way but a a predictor as to what the world would look like when globalization sets in. Soccer is the first entity that has undergone globalization and some of the results are pretty and some are not.

5. The announcer said that he had spent the last week in Ireland with his 11 year old' s soccer team where he spent the day watching her games and the evening watching the European Cup (!) at the pub. Couldn't even get the name of the tournament right. But at least, he didn't outwardly bash the game.

6. Fluff piece and in he immortal words of someone I can't remember, any publicity is good publicity, I guess.

[dcajedi]

He spoke tonight here in DC, and I went and bought the book and got it signed. He's a pretty smart guy and gave a solid speech to a crowd of about 100 or so at the International Monetary Fund, which sponsored the event with the World Affairs Council and DC United. Kevin Payne and Ryan Nelsen were also there.

So far from skimming the book, it looks quite good.

[boffo]

FWIW, it also got a positive plug on the Daily Quickie on ESPN.com today (perhaps as penance for an inane comment in the column last week about the English fan who was stabbed).

[texgator]

I like Franklin Foer, he is a staff writer at The New Republic, one of the finest political magazines I've ever read, I'm a happy subscriber. However, some of his articles in the past have gone out of their way to point out the negatives of soccer and soccer fans around the world. I look forward to reading his book and have been waiting for it to come out for a long time. He's mentioned in the magazine several times for over a year now.

[tpm]

This article was just posted on Slate that references the book: "The Capitalism of Soccer" http://slate.msn.com/id/2103170/

I thought the article was excellent and accurate and was written by a guy named Daniel Gross.

Excerpts:
"....the European system rewards ambition and ruthlessly punishes sloth and incompetence. At the beginning of each year, every owner places every dollar of investment on the line. And in European soccer, that can mean a huge sum. The market capitalization of Manchester United, a publicly held company, is about $1.2 billion!"

"....To different degrees, Major League Baseball, the NFL, and the NBA are examples of European-style socialism among billionaires and Fortune 500 companies. They share revenues, tightly regulate admission to the cartel, and bargain collectively with powerful European-style unions, which act as barriers against reform. Losers not only can prosper, but they get first dibs on next year's crop of talent."

It's that last part that really ticks me off about the American system. The pro teams do virtually nothing to develop either talent or the game itself. They just let the taxpayers fund the collegiate ranks, then cherry-pick the talent.

[striker]

A few days ago, there was actually a fairly extensive article in section A (IIRC) of NY Times on this book. It discussed (amongst other things) the contrast between the homogenization of Europe through EU and the national flavor/rivalry of Euro 04.

[kevruth]

Just saw the five minute segment. If you missed it, you did not miss anything.

Recap:

1. Franklin Foer had that eat $hit and smile face that anybody plugging a project has and was enthusiastically ready to answer any inane questions posed to him.

2. Alexi looked confused as to why he was even asked to appear and the look on his face appeared poised for a fight to deal with any soccer basing comments made by the commentator

3. The host typically was a clueless ingnoramus throwing soft ball questions.

4. To his credit, Foer pointed out the purpose of the book wasn't to extol soccer in any way but a a predictor as to what the world would look like when globalization sets in. Soccer is the first entity that has undergone globalization and some of the results are pretty and some are not.

5. The announcer said that he had spent the last week in Ireland with his 11 year old' s soccer team where he spent the day watching her games and the evening watching the European Cup (!) at the pub. Couldn't even get the name of the tournament right. But at least, he didn't outwardly bash the game.

6. Fluff piece and in he immortal words of someone I can't remember, any publicity is good publicity, I guess.

7. CNBC preceeded to show nothing but film clips of pitch invasions and hooligan fights. Never showed one positive fan-related film clip.

At least the announcer was positive about the European Championship. He gave kudos to how the fans supported and cheered their teams. CNBC didn't show anything of that.

[microbrew]

A few days ago, there was actually a fairly extensive article in section A (IIRC) of NY Times on this book. It discussed (amongst other things) the contrast between the homogenization of Europe through EU and the national flavor/rivalry of Euro 04.

This article? "Globalize Soccer? Not in Your Lifetime, Chum (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/26/books/26SHEL.html)"

Article quote: "For Mr. Foer, soccer does not explain the world; it demonstrates that other explanations are inadequate. Mr. Foer does not present a theory of globalization; he almost argues that such a theory isn't possible — that globalization doesn't work the way its supporters or its opponents propose: it produces neither prosperity nor homogeneity."

[saabrian]

On a related note, Slate.com ran an article today about how soccer is more American than baseball. The premise being that soccer is run in a less socialistic way than baseball and the other major American sports. Of course, they were referring to the European version, not MLS.

[Sachin]

This article? "Globalize Soccer? Not in Your Lifetime, Chum (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/26/books/26SHEL.html)"

Article quote: "For Mr. Foer, soccer does not explain the world; it demonstrates that other explanations are inadequate. Mr. Foer does not present a theory of globalization; he almost argues that such a theory isn't possible — that globalization doesn't work the way its supporters or its opponents propose: it produces neither prosperity nor homogeneity."
This review, more than any other I've seen makes me want to read the book.

Sachin

[bright]

It's that last part that really ticks me off about the American system. The pro teams do virtually nothing to develop either talent or the game itself. They just let the taxpayers fund the collegiate ranks, then cherry-pick the talent.

That is true for football and basketball, two sports that began at the colleges. The pro versions of these games took a while to establish themselves, but yeah, they basically exist and profit because of the colleges.

Professional baseball, on the other hand, does and always has developed baseball players.

You also have to remember that soccer in Europe (and I would assume this to be true for other sports, as well) has strong amateur roots in the clubs, and those amateur roots transitioned into the professional game. Competition is still at the heart of European soccer even though big bucks dictate a lot of things.

American professional sports, however, are only about making money. To the point where supposed sports fans will ridicule a sport or league that isn't full of money. The amateur roots (e.g. colleges) never transitioned into the professional ranks, and thus the true heart of competitive sports in America remains separate from the professional leagues. The dollar dictates rules and regulations. Although, I have to admit that some of the big colleges act like professional businesses nowadays. :)

In a lot of ways, the amateur sports apologists of 100 years ago have been proven right.

Globalization is mostly about money, too. I mean, yeah, people are interested in other cultures and we all want to prevent future wars, but really there are just a bunch of greedy capitalists (I say that with a neutral objective tone) trying to find new markets because capitalism is about growth growth growth. Without growth, the whole system collapses.

- Paul

[nyrmetros]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/04/books/review/04QUEENAN.html

[microbrew]

Bruce Arena's blurb on the back of the book:
"Franklin Foer has penetrated the global game of soccer in all its forms and at the deepest level. Fans everywhere, take note: How Soccer Explains the World is illuminating, fun and provocative--and a must-read."

[Ismitje]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/04/books/review/04QUEENAN.html

Queenan quoting Foer:

''I wish that my side, the yuppie soccer fans, were blameless victims in these culture wars,'' he writes. ''But I've been around enough of America's soccer cognoscenti to know that they invite abuse. They are inveterate snobs, so snobbish, in fact, that they think nothing of turning against their comrades. According to their sneering critique, their fellow fans are dilettantes without any real understanding of the game; they are yuppies who admire soccer like a fine slab of imported goat cheese; they come from neighborhoods with spectacularly high Starbucks-per-capita, so they lack any semblance of burning working-class passion.'' Touché.

[TomEaton]

Queenan quoting Foer:

''I wish that my side, the yuppie soccer fans, were blameless victims in these culture wars,'' he writes. ''But I've been around enough of America's soccer cognoscenti to know that they invite abuse. They are inveterate snobs, so snobbish, in fact, that they think nothing of turning against their comrades. According to their sneering critique, their fellow fans are dilettantes without any real understanding of the game; they are yuppies who admire soccer like a fine slab of imported goat cheese; they come from neighborhoods with spectacularly high Starbucks-per-capita, so they lack any semblance of burning working-class passion.'' Touché.

He sure got that right.