Reykjavík Grapevine - 01.07.2016, Blaðsíða 10

The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 9 — 2016
10
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Our top story this is-
sue is the presidential
elections, which were
held on June 25. The
winner was historian
Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, who will be
assuming the office on August 1, end-
ing the 20-year reign of outgoing Pres-
ident Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson. How-
ever, some legitimate concerns have
been raised about how offsite voting
was conducted, and those complaints
have reached the Supreme Court.
Some of the losing candidates were
pretty sore about the whole affair,
with many of them choosing to blame
the media for their poor showing. A
strange complaint, as over the course
of the past few weeks you could not
avoid seeing interviews and debates
with all of these people. Well, they have
four years to try their luck again.
In other presidential news, none other
than Donald Trump has been reach-
ing out for donations—from Icelandic
members of parliament. Regardless of
where on the political spectrum they
are, every member of the Althingi re-
ceived a plea from the Big D asking for
cash. The idea is not only bizarre but
illegal, as accepting financial con-
tributions from foreign nationals is
prohibited by the United States Code.
Fortunately, no Icelandic MP has an-
swered the call to Make America Great
Again (at least, no one has admitted to
doing so).
While most of the world was largely
shruggo about our elections, Icelandic
football seems to have captured the
international imagination. This was
especially the case Monday evening, as
Iceland smote England, 2-1, in a game
that came to the surprise of nearly
everyone except Iceland. We will now
be moving on to France, bringing the
same amount of heart we’ve brought
to every game we’ve played.
NEWS IN
BRIEF
My hatred of sport goes way back.
When you grow up with such inter-
ests as Dungeons & Dragons, anime
and videogames, the kids who are into
things like football and basketball
are your mortal enemies. Sure, it’s a
cliché, but it’s not without a kernel of
truth. It’s only exacerbated by colleges
that put undue preference on their
athletes, and stars, both amateur and
professional, who are shielded from
the consequences when they behave
atrociously. And that’s not to mention
the astonishing levels of corruption
one finds in international sports or-
ganisations such as FIFA.
While all these problems are real,
it would be a mistake to write off
sports altogether because of them.
The recording industry is also rife
with problems, but you don’t see peo-
ple sneering at those who like music.
There’s a kind of snobbery, motivated
partially by classism, behind a lot of
the condescension towards sports and
sports fans. It’s embarrassing to see
supposedly “cultured” folks looking
down their noses at even the idea of
enjoying a good game.
Admittedly, I only just learned
the rules of football this year, after
months of watching my friends play
FIFA 15. But I’ve come to believe foot-
ball culture is culture. It’s just work-
ing-class culture. And when you start
to engage, you realise that sport can be
an art in itself.
Playing football is an exercise in
continuous improvisation. Even if
you work on skills and set pieces until
they’re muscle memory, once you get
on the pitch, you’re thrown into a sea
of chaos. Strategies must be devised,
and adapted, with split-second quick-
ness as you try to navigate a constantly
changing, fluid environment. Even
watching and interpreting a game is
an exercise in artistic interpretation.
When we talk about a team’s perfor-
mance, we talk about intent, achieve-
ment, strategies, statistics, strengths
and weaknesses; what qualities could
and should have been emphasised,
what could have been done different-
ly, and how the performance could be
made more effective.
Personally, a lot of the nationalism
that accompanies a high-stakes inter-
national sports game turns my stom-
ach. But, apart from the rotten apples
you’ll find anywhere in life, nobody
seems particularly pleased when na-
tionalism translates into hooliganism
and violence. Other forms of violent
nationalism could do with the same
level of criticism.
I won’t deny the endemic prob-
lems of professional sports, just as I
wouldn’t deny the endemic problems
of the recording industry, the film in-
dustry, or the arts world at large. But
these problems also won’t keep me
from enjoying any of these things on
their own merits. Football is art. It is
a valuable form of culture. And you
don’t have to like football to let other
people enjoy it.
Game On! How This Otaku
Learned To Appreciate Football
Words &
Photo
ISAAC
WÜRMANN
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