To
relate Art to Soccer and how Soccer indirectly reflects Life, one must first
define Art.
Art
can come in a multitude of forms.
Art is can be found not only in music
or literature but also in sport.
Art is a form of
expression; its goal is to entertain, to inspire and to provoke certain
emotions. Art is a form of escape, it is capable of capturing the audience and
pulling them away from reality, thrusting them into a fits of varying emotions.
Art most importantly, is subjective.
The subjectivity of Art
allows it to reflect and critique the environment it is placed in, it allows
the audience a chance to participate in the conversation with it. With that art
becomes a powerful medium in which to critique society.
Soccer or football as
it is known throughout the world is widely considered the most popular sport in
the world. To me, it is also a form of art, not only because of its immense
societal and cultural impact but because of its subjective nature and the way
it loosely parallels society.
The way football
reflects society and acts as a platform for social critique is shown in the way
teams are set up tactically, and the way critics and fans alike judge such
tactics. Most people argue for football to be played in a certain way, a way in
which it is aesthetically pleasing to the eye, which is to place emphasis on
possession of the ball and retaining the ball. A perfect example of a team that
plays that way and wins on a constant basis would be FC Barcelona. Arguing that the way Barcelona play should be the end
all and be all of football has been something of an obsession for the media and
critics alike, who see other teams who employ tactics that shun the passing
game of Barcelona’s as an insult to the sport and demand that everyone else
sees it the same way they do.
Doesn’t this resemble how
the media dictates the way we should be or behave and the way the media ostracises those who are different? The way the
media promotes uniformity in tactics reflects the way the media manipulates the
ideals of society in order to benefit themselves or those in charge.
As in reality, there
are those who play a different way and are praised albeit not as much as
Barcelona. I for one am a fan of counter-attacking football, a tactic which
relies on pace and positional awareness to approach teams. Some of the reasons
behind the difference in playing style might not necessarily be because of the
lack of ability or financial capability but rather because of the differing philosophies
of the clubs, an example of this would be teams like Real Madrid and AC Milan, however
the majority of teams are limited by their players’ ability rather than their
differing philosophies. I believe that like society, football too benefits from
diversity.
Oh. And football
induces orgasms in certain instances.
Skip
to 0:15 to hear it, and forgive the poor video quality.
Further reading (Football blogs) :
That is actually very cool, I never looked at soccer that way. Of course, I'm very partial to your post because soccer happens to be my absolute favorite sport. I love the way you talk about how soccer can be seen as an aesthetic piece, with the movement of the ball and how the audience views that. It just goes to show that art is pretty anything and everything.
ReplyDeleteI always hear people talking about soccer as an art form, but even after reading this piece, I am not sure I agree that it is. Art, as I've said before, is in the eye of the beholder, and maybe soccer is a revealing art form for you, but personally I just don't see it. I do see your point that art can be pretty much anything, however.
ReplyDeletethis is a really interesting take on the concept of art and not something that i would have thought of. I do agree, with the very broad definition of what art can be, that something such as soccer can be defined as art. intriguing post.
ReplyDelete