Football World Cup Ethnology
Football (soccer for my US friends) is not really my cup of tea although I enjoy "good" games (see below for my definition of "good"). The fact is though that soccer is interesting to analyze in order to get insights about the way we, humans, function.
I guess one can be quite disdainful with this very popular game, but in fact it is worth observing and thinking about it a bit more. Observing players, coaches, assistant coaches, the public, referees, journalists... gives us interesting insights into our human condition. It's a bit like the very funny ethnological observations contained in this slide-show that was sent to me by a friend. Download and enjoy!
Download Footballteamtactics_M_.pps
Now a few words about a "good" game...
A good game is one where:
- players actually play football not theater
- teams try to achieve their goals and create interesting situations not to destroy the opponent's game and waste time
- referees apply rules with good old common sense not in a bureaucratic fashion...
- the public has fun watching the game, not fighting and destroying stuff
- human respect is part of the process because no "result" is worth achieving with violence
In a way a "good" football game is like a "good" company or a "good" government: focused on what matters to create better customer / user / citizen experience. And perhaps it could become better with less rigidity and conversatism: for example it may be time to start using technology for referees to make better decisions... In football too progress and innovation can be good.
Amazing how many things can be said about what the critics sometimes call a "stupid game where idiots push a leather ball"... Even the ball itself has its story and we humans like stories,don't we? That's certainly something the marketers of this event understood very well...
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