Blog 15

The loss of the Great Barrier Reef, the bulldozing of traditional cultures, and the pollution dumped into the Pacific Ocean could have a detrimental affect tourism and development in the Pacific Region. When tourist head to their favorite vacation spots ready to relax and enjoy the environment and the native culture, they do not want to encounter pollution, trash, and just another city.

The destruction of the Great Barrier Reef is not only a major tourist attraction but a habitat for many species of aquatic life.  Over 600 types of soft and hard coral alone live in this environment.  The Great Barrier Reef is the largest thing on the planet according to greatbarrierreef.org.  If this reef is destroyed, the entire habitat would crumble and die.  Many people come to the Pacific ocean region just to view this reef that is half the size of Texas.  If the aquatic habitat is not maintained, the numerous species will be affected, and the tourist attraction will lose its appeal.

Just like the Great Barrier Reef, vacationers are attracted the traditional cultures.  They want to come and be inspired by local authentic experiences.  Vacationers just want to go out and buy something or grab a quick meal, they can run to their nearest mall.  But tourist want to experience the culture.  They want to shop in the markets and eat authentic food. They also don’t want to face trash and sewage in their way. They want to enjoy the beautiful surroundings. The pollution also seeks into the water attributing to the declining reef.

Latin American Migration

Migration has been happening for thousands of years.  People are moving away from their homes in hopes of finding a better life with more opportunities.  Latin America has a very diverse population.  Many people from under-developing countries move in search of jobs or better education.  Some are people also move for the opposite reason. The cost of living is much cheaper then most of the world.

In the 1500s, a search for silver and gold was underway and many people wanted to find riches.  So in search of the riches, many people migrate to Latin America to continue the search.  The merging of many cultures created many benefits and negative impacts.  As more and more people migrated to Latin America, many groups began to form.  People with the same traditions and cultures stayed together.  This brought in more cultures to Latin America.  There were numerous traditions and celebrations brought by the migrants that people still celebrate today. But it also caused conflicts.  All the different cultures coming together caused rifts between some groups.  It caused a sort of competition among the groups, to gain popularity, to spread their beliefs, and a turf war.

Today, many Latin American countries still have the cheapest cost of living.  This attracts a variety of people. People looking for a new start, and people looking to grow their businesses with the cheap production and export cost all move to Latin America.  You can watch numerous documentaries and even reality TV shows (think HGTV)  about people moving to Latin America to escapes the stresses of their world .

Detroit!

Detroit has turned out a few famous artist, I use that term rather loosely. But Eminem didn’t make Detroit famous. Detroit earned its fame off the sweat of the blue-collared workers.  For decades, Detroit has built the cars of America, and Detroit was bringing in the benefits with a booming city life and economy.  However, now with the loss of the manufacturing jobs, Detroit is still one of the largest cities in the Midwest but now there are numerous families out of work and empty buildings and lots galore.  All of the vacant buildings and lots act like a magnet for transients looking for a place to sleep and stay, teenagers up to know good, and many other unsavory characters with matching intentions.  These buildings not only provide a sanctuary for hoodlums, but are eyesores and hazards to the surrounding  communities.  These empty building prevent neighborhoods from growing and thriving. Who wants to move in next a empty building full of who knows what?!

Detroit officials are going to have to step up their game if they want their city to return to its original beauty and thriving economy.  They need to work to bring in companies.  They need to clean up the empty buildings and showcase them as potential work sites for these companies.  They  need to give these companies an incentive to come to Detroit.  When more businesses move back, more job opportunities will open up and help the struggling communities. The empty lots can be given to the communities and community gardens can be developed to help bring the beauty back.  Also, parks can be built on these empty lots and community/youth centers and give teens something to look forward to doing other than vandalism.  City officials are not the only ones who can make a change.  The community members also need to join in the fight to make Detroit Great Again!

Blog 11: Soccer in America

In this chapter of How Soccer Explains the World, we finally hear about Foer’s personal soccer journey.  Foer shares how when he started to playing, there were not many options.  Many Americans at that time did not want their children participating in soccer, but Foer’s “yuppie” parents, along with the rest of his community, signed their child up for soccer.  His parents believed it would build his esteem and participation would be rewarded.  Oh, the participation trophies! (don’t get me started) It was considered to be a “win-win” alternative to competitive youth sports of his time.  Many Americans, including outspoken Jack Kemp, quarterback of the Buffalo Bills, believed soccer to be a socialist sport.  They did not believe it belonged in America. They believed in American exceptionalism and that bringing soccer, something fromthe outside, to the US was giving up that unique individualism.

Just like today’s parents, Foer’s parents were concerned about the injuries he could get while playing the game. While the rest of the soccer world encourages the use of the head, his parents and many other American parents did not and still do not.  American parents are very worried about the possiblity of an head injury in soccer and tend take the over protective route.

Soccer has in the last few years just started to gain steam.  While just about any sport that involves a ball has always held popularity, soccer is just really coming in the spotlight at any level.  Soccer is beginning to attract the fan-base and cult following that the other sports are privy too.  This popularity rise in soccer is increasing youth soccer clubs across America.

Blog 10: Islam Hope

Today, all over America and most countries, women come and go as they please and make life or death decisions daily.  But in some countries, women are not even allowed to leave their house unsupervised or speak in public. They must have a man from their family with them to chaperone and do their bidding.  In Iran, women must have permission from either their husband or father or elder brother to do almost anything.  Women are treated as and thought as of incompetent to their male counterpart. In Iran, in the last few decades, women have tried to make a change in their status.

Soccer has provided hope for Iranian women.  Women were not permitted in the stadium to cheer on their team, or they were even forbidden to watch the game on TV. Can you imagine being in your own home and someone not letting you watch your own TV based solely on your gender? (I have a hard time imagining that!)  Women are expected to obedient and follow all of the rules set forth by the man of the house, no matter how archaic they may seem.  But when it came to the Iranian soccer team, women had had enough.  They were ready to cheer on the team in the stadium. Women went to the stadium and protested not being let in.  They did not let the cold weather deter them from cheering on the win in the World Cup.  The women pushed past barriers and enter the stadium.  While some saw this as act of defiance, most women saw this as a victory for Azadi, freedom!

Blog 9: Blow That Whistle Ref!

Refereeing is one of the, I would say, most controversial jobs out there.  People love to hate referees.  People in every sport, any level, are always quick to place blame on the refs.  Calls are always different from the stands’ viewpoint.  In most professions, decisions that affect of the livelihood of something are examined from every angle and in detail before that decision is made, but refs do not have the luxury of time.  Their decisions must be made in seconds.  Referees must either have really thick skin or have awesome selective hearing.  I’m not sure I can handle all those insults being hurled at me from both sides of the field or court.

In chapter 7, two team owners in Italy are compared to oligarchs.  The owners, the Agnelli family and Silvio Berlusconi, both take extraordinary measures their team is on top and Italy is well represented in the soccer world.  The Agnelli family, the owners of the Fiat company and the Juventus soccer club, began bribing referees to help their team be successful.  They were very private and secretive about these bribes.  They did not want the public to know that their team was depending on the bribed calls to ensure wins. Berlusconi, on the other hand, did not hold private meeting or worry about being secretive.  The more elaborate the bribe the more he wanted it to be known.  He knew how important the refs were to his success, and he wanted them to know it as well.  He also was not afraid to use the media as he saw fit.  The Agnelli family was intimidated by Berlusconi’s tactics, and eventually drowned in debt from all the bribes.

Blog 7: How Soccer Explains the Black Carpathians

In this chapter, we get to learn about the viciousness of the soccer world through the eyes of a player. This chapter is mostly about Edward Anyamkyegh while he played for Ukraine. He was a Nigerian, and he was considered a “prestigious purchase” for the team along with nine other Nigerian players (142). Edward played on a youth team, even making it to the Under 17 World Cup.  Playing on the Nigerian youth team, earned him that prestige.  You would think with this type of purchase, at the time he bought for a high price, he would have been honored, but instead he faced turmoil for during his time on the Ukrainian team. Edward arrived in Ukraine during a pivotal time, post-communist.  The Ukrainians were trying to create their own culture and traditions. Most of his team-mates did not support or like the idea of a Nigerian on the team, anyone who looked different from them. “His arrival in the Ukraine was a cross-cultural experiment.” (144) Even during the 2000’s and on, he still faced unheard of treatment. He and the other Nigerian players practiced separately from the rest of the Ukrainian teammates at times.  There was not a team feeling of unity.  The Nigerian players were referred to as “monkeys” by their own teammates. But the other club members did not see this as racism, but rather just the norm in the soccer world. They also considered the size of the Lviv and the Nigerian population was not enough to stir up a feeling of racism. Although Edward faced unfair treatment and practice in harsh conditions, he still tried to be optimistic and focus on the good.

Blog 6: Top Hats of Soccer

When I hear Top Hat, I picture a gentleman with great values and manners. But in the soccer world, a top hat is anything but. A top hat is an unscrupulous person.  They do not have the morals and values that most of the world has.  While many do look out for themselves first, Top Hats take it to a whole new level of greediness and selfishness.

Top Hats also known as cartolas (sounds eerily similar to cartel, and we all know the extremes they go to to remain in power). Soccer is professional sport that does bring in money. But instead of a team owner, there is a team club. The team club is in charge of paying the players and marketing and such. They also help build the fan base. Anyone can be a club member, just make a donation. Sort of like a country club, members pay their dues and get the benefits.  One member is in charge, aka the top hat. The hope was that top hats would keep things improving for the team, distribute money were and to who it needed to go.  But as the top hats gained power so did the corruptness.  They begin to pay off groups of people to bring violence to the game and they also began to launder dirty money.  Top Hats and other club members didn’t receive a salary, instead they could dip into the team pot when something was needed. Which you can imagine how that turned out! One powerful Top Hat for the Brazil club, Eurico Miranda, was so corrupt and only looked out for himself, he spent money that was suppose to last the club 100 years in two years.  He spent the money on his own political campaign.  Eurico’s actions as the top hat caused many players to leave the Brazilian club.  The greedy actions of one can affect the whole.

Blog 5: The Sentimental Hooligan

By definition, sentimental means excessively prone to feelings and hooligan means a violent young troublemaker. So if we put those together we get Alan Garrison. Well we would have the younger Alan Garrison anyways.  In his mind, he is still that youngster who enjoyed and thrived on violence, but now while he longs for that violent past, he thrives on reliving and sharing his memories from his youth. Garrison shares that he feels like the soccer fans have tamed in the recent years. Current soccer fans have lost some of the glory from his day.  He remembers when it was an honor to be considered a hooligan, and it was his duty to bring that intimidation through fear for his team, Chelsea.  He believed it was an honor to be considered an hooligan in his youth and throughout his adulthood.  He shares a story about his first attempt to jump the other team’s fan-base, and not come out on the victorious side.  This experience prompted him to start preparing for the next year and a way to be sure and be the victorious violent hooligan.  That no matter win or lose, his role would be successful. He would win the next fight, whatever it took. It was his passion to become a successful hooligan in life. While proud to be a hooligan, Garrison also considers himself to be educated on the topic. He retells how he worked hard all week so on the weekend the hooligan shenanigans could come out in full force. Something we all can relate to.  I guess we all have a little hooligan in us.