How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization by Franklin Foer
Authors: Franklin Foer
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even a¤ection for Jews cannot be questioned, find [Israel]
incomprehensible. The reason is not anti-Semitism nor even anti-Zionism in the usual sense. It is that Israel is, and is proud to be, a nation-state—the nation-state of the Jews. And that is profoundly embarrassing to post-national Europe.”
Europe has also changed because of globalization.
Most noticeably, the continent has been inundated with immigrants. Before the war, Jews and Gypsies were the
HOW SOCCER EXPLAINS THE JEWISH QUESTION
outsiders who bore the brunt of European culture’s contempt for otherness. The arrival of Senegalese, Pak-istanis, and Chinese hasn’t endowed European nationalism with a significantly more multi-ethnic idea of the state. But it has di¤used hatred, so that it doesn’t fix on a single ethnic group worthy of elimination. You can see this in the soccer stadium very clearly. Raw anti-Semitism is anomalous. Most of the hatred in soccer now focuses on blacks in the form of ape noises and racist taunts emanating from the crowd and players.
And outside the stadium, it is often Muslims who now su¤er bigotry of the majority.
Just as important, the so-called Jewish soccer clubs like Tottenham and Ajax are a major leap forward from pogroms and Einsatzgruppen. Instead of denouncing the Jews as pollutants to the nation, chunks of the working class have identified themselves as Jewish, even if only in the spirit of irony.
Of course, there remain places in Europe with far less irony than others.
IV.
Outside the stadium in the old German quarter of southern Budapest, the police line up fans and frisk them. Although they weed out knives and projectiles, they’re much more interested in preventing the entry of painted banners that bring unwanted attention to their country. It’s testimony to Hungarian policing —
or perhaps to the determination of fans—that they rarely achieve their goal. Supporters of the club Ferenc-
varos wrap the banners around their bodies and conceal them beneath their clothes. Before games, they unfurl the sheets so that they extend over entire rows.
One begins, “The trains are leaving. . . .” The second concludes, “. . . for Auschwitz.”
This slogan is pretty much all you need to know about the atmosphere in the arena. But what makes Ferencvaros so impressive isn’t just the depth of their hatred; it’s the breadth of it. They have an unending array of Dr. Mengele–inspired songs and chants. Lyrics typical of the genre include, “Dirty Jews, dirty Jews, gas chambers, gas chambers.” Another set repeats the mantra, “Soap, bones.” As if the death camp imagery wasn’t clear enough, Ferencvaros fans press their tongues into their palates to produce a hissing that mimics the release of Zyklon B. For a time in the nineties, they would punctuate the celebration of goals with an extension of the arm into a Nürnberg-style salute.
Ferencvaros aren’t especially careful about whom they tar as “Dirty Jews.” Most all their Hungarian opponents get smeared this way. But they reserve their most hateful behavior for one longtime archenemy, another Budapest club called MTK Hungaria. In fairness, Ferencvaros are far from alone in smearing MTK.
At a glance, this disdain looks like resentment.
MTK has a long record of success. The team has won twenty-one national championships and finished second eighteen times. With a deep-pocketed owner, they have ushered in a recent renaissance, taking three of the last five Hungarian Cups to the victory stand. Usually, a winning streak like this builds a sturdy band-
HOW SOCCER EXPLAINS THE JEWISH QUESTION
wagon that runs roughshod over the resenters. Eight-year-old boys can’t resist attaching themselves to a jug-gernaut. Adult fans, who remain closeted when their team muddles along, proudly announce their allegiance by hanging an emblem from their car’s rearview mirror. But the strange fact about MTK is that their success has brought no such increase
incomprehensible. The reason is not anti-Semitism nor even anti-Zionism in the usual sense. It is that Israel is, and is proud to be, a nation-state—the nation-state of the Jews. And that is profoundly embarrassing to post-national Europe.”
Europe has also changed because of globalization.
Most noticeably, the continent has been inundated with immigrants. Before the war, Jews and Gypsies were the
HOW SOCCER EXPLAINS THE JEWISH QUESTION
outsiders who bore the brunt of European culture’s contempt for otherness. The arrival of Senegalese, Pak-istanis, and Chinese hasn’t endowed European nationalism with a significantly more multi-ethnic idea of the state. But it has di¤used hatred, so that it doesn’t fix on a single ethnic group worthy of elimination. You can see this in the soccer stadium very clearly. Raw anti-Semitism is anomalous. Most of the hatred in soccer now focuses on blacks in the form of ape noises and racist taunts emanating from the crowd and players.
And outside the stadium, it is often Muslims who now su¤er bigotry of the majority.
Just as important, the so-called Jewish soccer clubs like Tottenham and Ajax are a major leap forward from pogroms and Einsatzgruppen. Instead of denouncing the Jews as pollutants to the nation, chunks of the working class have identified themselves as Jewish, even if only in the spirit of irony.
Of course, there remain places in Europe with far less irony than others.
IV.
Outside the stadium in the old German quarter of southern Budapest, the police line up fans and frisk them. Although they weed out knives and projectiles, they’re much more interested in preventing the entry of painted banners that bring unwanted attention to their country. It’s testimony to Hungarian policing —
or perhaps to the determination of fans—that they rarely achieve their goal. Supporters of the club Ferenc-
varos wrap the banners around their bodies and conceal them beneath their clothes. Before games, they unfurl the sheets so that they extend over entire rows.
One begins, “The trains are leaving. . . .” The second concludes, “. . . for Auschwitz.”
This slogan is pretty much all you need to know about the atmosphere in the arena. But what makes Ferencvaros so impressive isn’t just the depth of their hatred; it’s the breadth of it. They have an unending array of Dr. Mengele–inspired songs and chants. Lyrics typical of the genre include, “Dirty Jews, dirty Jews, gas chambers, gas chambers.” Another set repeats the mantra, “Soap, bones.” As if the death camp imagery wasn’t clear enough, Ferencvaros fans press their tongues into their palates to produce a hissing that mimics the release of Zyklon B. For a time in the nineties, they would punctuate the celebration of goals with an extension of the arm into a Nürnberg-style salute.
Ferencvaros aren’t especially careful about whom they tar as “Dirty Jews.” Most all their Hungarian opponents get smeared this way. But they reserve their most hateful behavior for one longtime archenemy, another Budapest club called MTK Hungaria. In fairness, Ferencvaros are far from alone in smearing MTK.
At a glance, this disdain looks like resentment.
MTK has a long record of success. The team has won twenty-one national championships and finished second eighteen times. With a deep-pocketed owner, they have ushered in a recent renaissance, taking three of the last five Hungarian Cups to the victory stand. Usually, a winning streak like this builds a sturdy band-
HOW SOCCER EXPLAINS THE JEWISH QUESTION
wagon that runs roughshod over the resenters. Eight-year-old boys can’t resist attaching themselves to a jug-gernaut. Adult fans, who remain closeted when their team muddles along, proudly announce their allegiance by hanging an emblem from their car’s rearview mirror. But the strange fact about MTK is that their success has brought no such increase
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