Bonaventure
13 Sep 2004, 11:19 AM
It's probably been asked here before, but I'll ask it anyways. I'm just getting around to reading "Football Against the Enemy" by Simon Kuper (originally published 1994). Wonderful book on how football affects politics and culture throughout the world. In the chapter on Argentina, he's explaining how politicians support a football team so as to look like a normal person. He says
Our own leader, John Major, is often show spectating at Lords or Stamford Bridge. Our theory is that he only pretends to support Chelsea, but is in fact an Arsenal supporter. He certainly fits the Arsenal profile - Major is lower-middle class, lives in Hertfordshire, and seems to enjoy dullness - but no politician can be seen to support Arsenal. In England, as long as a man supports a football club he is accepted as one of the lads - unless he supports Arsenal. According to this theory, Major's advisors therefore told him to find another club.
Kuper goes onto to say that, unlike in Argentina, supporting a football team does not win you an election in England. So, my question is why does (did) supporting Arsenal (circa 1995) not get one "accepted by the lads"? Is this Kuper's bias? Is it simply a lower-middle class thing? There are other lower-middle class neighborhoods with football teams in England, so why it is just Arsenal?
Our own leader, John Major, is often show spectating at Lords or Stamford Bridge. Our theory is that he only pretends to support Chelsea, but is in fact an Arsenal supporter. He certainly fits the Arsenal profile - Major is lower-middle class, lives in Hertfordshire, and seems to enjoy dullness - but no politician can be seen to support Arsenal. In England, as long as a man supports a football club he is accepted as one of the lads - unless he supports Arsenal. According to this theory, Major's advisors therefore told him to find another club.
Kuper goes onto to say that, unlike in Argentina, supporting a football team does not win you an election in England. So, my question is why does (did) supporting Arsenal (circa 1995) not get one "accepted by the lads"? Is this Kuper's bias? Is it simply a lower-middle class thing? There are other lower-middle class neighborhoods with football teams in England, so why it is just Arsenal?