Sport and Globalization in London & Seville

After we returned from our trip to Granada we attended a Real Betis game that night. It was pretty cold weather by Spain’s standards but thankfully no rain. We arrived as a group about an hour before kickoff and everyone split off to either find food, team gear, or their seats.. Several of us walked to quickly get some street food in time before the Betis anthem. It was the standard stadium fare ie.  hot dog (or Frankfurt with crisps), a burger, and a beer. The atmosphere on the streets was electric. We even saw someone with a green flare gun. Looking around it wasn’t hard to identify the “hooligan” fans – young men having fun cheering and chanting about Betis, Rayo (the opponent of the night) or even Sevilla FC (Betis’s big intercity rival). However there were also plenty of families attending too.

In Sevilla, you’re either a Betis fan or a Sevilla FC fan. According to one of our instructors, Betis has a bigger following and more loyal fans than Sevilla but she’s also a Betis fan so there could be some bias there! Getting into the stadium took longer than we were used to due to the older nature of the Betis stadium (which was less equipped to handle the crowds) but once in, it was a lot of fun to see how excited all the fans got when the Betis lineup was being announced. Everyone was singing and chanting the entire game. Betis scored two goals in the first half so we all thought the game was sealed. The team has a 19 year old player, Charly Musonda, on loan from Chelsea that was especially speedy and fun to watch. But right after the second half started, the opposing team scored two goals within three minutes. Now that the game was tied, fans got even more into it and the cheering was almost non-stop. With ten minutes left the game got chippy and quite intense.

Betis had several quality opportunities in the final four minutes of stoppage time (with one shot that ricocheted off crossbar) but in the end they weren’t able to put a goal away. Overall, I think it’s safe to say that this was one of our favorite games to watch out of all the games we’ve been to on this trip. It was the highest scoring and there was so much energy in the crowd.

Day 1

 

We had previously met some of the kids playing with them at recess and touring the school, but today would be our first day trying to organize, teach, and connect with the kids. This first day we had third graders, so it was expected that they would know some English which would help us bridge explanation gaps. From the moment the group leaders met the kids and began the introductions, it was obvious that the kids were excited and eager to play some sports with us and get moving. One group even came out with an American flag! The first session of stations featured basketball, volleyball, American football, and baseball. Basketball seemed to be the fan favorite of the kids, which speaks to how basketball has risen as the clear second sport in Spain behind soccer. Baseball and volleyball proved a bit more difficult to explain, but some of the kids seemed well-versed in these games and would help explain to their friends. The second session of stations included soccer, frisbee, dodgeball, and English practice. Soccer was the clear favorite this time around and it was obvious a lot of the kids play on teams for their town, so competitiveness became an interesting of this station. Also interesting was the English station and most were surprised at how well these kids could handle English in a more active setting. The third and final session was precluded by a recess, where most of us were asked to play in a variety of different athletic pursuits from handball to gymnastics. And at any point during a game you could be swarmed by some of the younger kids pleading for autographs. Once the session began the kids were able to participate in tag, kickball, English-Spanish, and floor hockey. Tag was an interesting mix of energetic kids and a larger portion of kids who were too tired to commit to such a run-heavy exercise. This caused activity and group leaders to adapt to these kids energy levels. Also interesting was the English-Spanish, which quickly became a lesson in English for the kids and a Spanish lesson for us at the same time. Much of the vocabulary and grammar was lost in translation, so the kids cooperated to try to figure it out.

 

Day 2

 

At camp on Wednesday we worked with the 6^th graders, the oldest kids on campus. Even though we were exhausted from the day before running around with the other kids, we were able to muster up enough energy and excitement to make sure that our kids would still have a blast. After splitting into groups and doing a few icebreaker games, the kids were off and playing all different types of sports. For the first hour of camp, the kids rotated through stations of basketball, American football, baseball, and volleyball. The kids took a strong liking to American football and were very into learning how to spike the ball when they caught it, followed up by a silly celebration dance. The next hour, we played soccer, dodgeball, Frisbee, and did English exercises with the kids. To our surprise the kids already knew what dodgeball was, but they played a slightly different variation of it than we do in the States. In Spain, it’s called “matar” which means to kill, and is only played with one ball. It seemed like they had a lot of fun learning our version of it though, even if the rules of elimination weren’t always followed. We were still unsure about what to expect from the kids in terms of their knowledge of English, so we started off easy doing hopscotch games with English words and phrases. It was unbelievable how much English they knew and how large of a gap there is between the 3^rd and 6^th graders. After the madness that is recreo, we had our last set of stations: floor hockey, kickball, basketball, and another English station. We were again blown away by how much English these kids knew. At the end of the day we took a big group photo and said our goodbyes to all our kids.

It is so fun and so rewarding to have the opportunity to work with kids like this. Even though the language barrier can be tough sometimes, we are all able to connect on the level of sports and just have fun competing against and with the kids. Being able to play around all day is definitely worth being so exhausted and sore the next day; we are all really excited to go back next week!

On Monday February 22, we had the privilege of visiting a school for students with special needs. This school was situated outside the city of Seville near the Lora Tamayo School where we run the day camps. The students who attended the school had a wide variety of disabilities. Some were cognitive, or physical, or sometimes both. The school was funded and built by members of the community. They have dedicated their time and money to make sure that the school has amenities. Many times special needs schools are underfunded and have a poor staff retention rate. This school however, had many amenities that are uncommon in a school that is funded by the community. They have state of art bathtubs specially designed for students and caretakers to interact. Furthermore, they have lifts to pick up heavier students to transport them around the physical therapy room. There is a doctor and a psychologist on staff as well. There are over one hundred students with 5 physical therapists, teachers, and administrators. Students receive education until age 21, and the purpose of the school is to give these students the tools to succeed after they leave. This includes basic tasks like communicating when they need to go to the bathroom, or putting clothes on their own. This will help their future caregivers take care of the students

We had the opportunity to visit some of the students in the classroom. The teaching plan was changed to accommodate the needs of the students. While visiting a class with 15-16 year old students, we saw many interacting with the computer, listening to music, and working on art project. We then had the privilege of visiting the section of the school, which was for the extremely disabled students. The classroom was designed for students who cannot see, hear, or talk, in a way that familiarizes them with the room. For example, the room played into all different senses. The lights were kept dim as to not cause sensitivity to the eyes, there was calm relaxing music playing constantly. They were very attune to the power of touch. They had water beds and fabrics to further familiarize the students. The students and the staff were very gracious hosts and were kind enough to answer all of our numerous questions. They also provided us with snacks, drinks, and coffee after we gave the tour.

Visiting places like this puts many issues in our own lives into perspective. Seeing the world and other people’s situations gives you an appreciation for what you have and the importance of giving back to the community just as was done to build a school for these students.

To conclude our day, our kind host Rafa also toured us through the Bellavista neighborhood including the local day care center as well as an historic church site.

 

 

In all, it was a great day and we are very excited to return to the camp. It was outrageous fun and we think the kids felt the sameway.

On February 18th, we went to see the UEFA Europa League match against between Sevilla and Molde with some friends Wyatt and Cesar tagging along. The game took place at Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium in Sevilla, so Molde would be coming in to look for some key away goals in this first leg.

The game had a more international and exotic flair than the English games we had seen prior with the commentary being proved in both Spanish and Norwegian for the player introductions and subs. The stage was set for an exciting game and we were hoping to see a bit more than a 1-0 finish.

Molde held their own for the opening 35 minutes and seemed to know they were outclassed, but once Fernando Llorente scored in the 35th scoring back seemed to be a more difficult task. Llorente added another after the restart in the 42nd before Kevin Gameiro, subbing out Llorente, scored another in the 72nd. Molde never had the possession or the technical skill to score any goals, so they will be playing the second leg in Norway with a 3-0 deficit to fill. Sevilla were most likely coming into the game as the favorites. Tabling at 6th in La Liga and coming off a Europa League championship the last two years provided all the confidence they needed.

The Molde fans were not without their own songs and spirit in the face of a 3-0 failure. Their fans were shirtless and waving a large Molde flag, and their go-to chant was “Molde, Molde”, which was also quite catchy. Overall, the game was a welcome heating up of the action and the weather.The crowd was electric even though it was less than sold out. They has some very catchy chants like “Sevilla, Sevilla, Sevilla” and loved the drawn out yelling of “Gol”. Then in the second half they took to taking out their phone flashlights and lighting the stadium up like a rock concert giving the game a more collective experience as a spectator.

Today, we toured Wimbledon, home of the world-renowned Centre Court. It has hosted some of the best tennis players in the world since 1877. However, 1884 was the first year in which both men and women could compete in the tournament. The most distinct tradition that Wimbledon holds till this day is that the players are only allowed to wear white. This upper-class distinction has resulted in tennis getting a stereotype in which only white, upper-class suburban children play tennis. We were first lectured about the business side of Wimbledon and also learned that Wimbledon was actually a huge part in women’s rights during the late 19^th and early 20^th century. We were then escorted outside for the tour of the grounds. We first got to see Court 1, one of the main court which have stadium-style seating. There are no bad seats in the house, as every seat had a distinct and quite easy point of view. We were then taken around the hill where spectators sit on a slope, enjoy strawberries and cream, and watch the matches on a big screen. We then visited the court in which the longest ever tennis match was played. Along with this famous game, this court (Court 19) is also home to the media personnel that come for matches. The beautiful grounds that houses Wimbledon was a site to see, and it is no wonder that the biggest and most important tennis tournament of the year is held at Wimbledon.

This Wednesday we travelled to Olympic park with famed British sports historian Martin Polley. Before our trip to Olympic Park, which was the site of the 2012 Olympics, Professor Polley gave us a presentation regarding the history of the Olympics in London. We discovered that London became the first city to host three Olympic games in 2012, with the first being held there in 1908 and the second in 1948. Professor Polley also explained how the Olympic games in London have transformed over time with more nations being included in the later years, more sports to compete in and also more gender equality. Furthermore, we learned of the transformation of the grounds London used for Olympic competition. In 1908, the sight of the Olympics was one grand stadium with a track surrounding a grass field and a pool 100m long for the swimming competitions. Almost 100 years later, the London games used over 25 different sights stretching throughout all of the UK and some parts of Ireland. After Polley’s presentation we took a trip to Olympic Park to tour what was the sight of the 2012 Olympic games.

 

Upon arriving to Olympic park we began talking about the sustainability and “greenness” of the area which was instantly noticeable. When London won the bid for the Olympic games in 2012 it wanted the primary site to be created in east London in order to facilitate the regeneration of an area that had been traditional filthy and run down. Due to this goal, the 2012 Olympics took a lot of “green” measures when creating the site. There are a lot of green spaces all throughout the site and some of the buildings were constructed to operate partially on solar power. Another measure that was taken by the games was to transport a majority of the materials needed by rail or water to reduce road usage and pollution.

 

The 2012 Olympics tried to make its self distinguishable in many ways and one of the more unique things it tried was to make the grounds useful after the Olympics. For example, the large stadium is being converted into use for a soccer team in the UK and the area that basketball was played in is now open as a gym to locals. The swimming pool is also open to locals and clubs and we were even able to see some local divers training while we visited. Other buildings are being reconstructed to be used as office space and the park in constantly open to runners and anyone who would like to stroll the ground.

 

To conclude our trip, we toured the London Aquatic Centre. Here we saw many locals from the community enjoying the state of the art facilities where membership was not much more than at any other pool. Also, those of us who wanted were able to go for a swim with Professor Carlson and Martin Polley.

 

Olympic park truly proved to be a unique and sustainable area. Considering the immense amount of money that is involved with the Olympics, it was nice to see at least an effort to give back to the people. We all enjoyed our trip a lot and we would like to than Carleton for the opportunity, Martin Polley for the tour and presentation, and the Olympic Park officials for allowing us to visit the area.

Saracens Blog Post

 

Yesterday we had the pleasure of visiting Allianz Park in Hendon, London. We were lucky enough to watch Saracens, currently top of the table in the Aviva Premiership, take on Bath who are sitting in ninth. From the very beginning the experience felt different than the our previous trips to soccer matches had felt. Allianz park is located in the middle of a large field and unlike most premier league stadiums, lots of people drive and park to watch the game. As we walked in we passed a long queue of cars waiting to park. Once we were past the gate we saw thousands of people getting ready for the rugby match.

 

 

Unlike soccer matches, Rugby fans are allowed to drink in the stands during the game. Most people of age had some sort of drink in their hands. The coffee stand was offering Irish coffee, the booth next to it offered different wines and spirits and the main concessions sold anything from a half pint glass to a four pint bag of a large number of different beers. Not only was there alcohol a plenty, but the food outside the stadium was excellent. My flatmates and I enjoyed a typical German Bratwurst before the game. Once it was time to get started we filed into the stadium and took our seats on the far end of the pitch. Saracens would be defending this end in the first half of play.

 

As the game started and Saracen began losing early on to Bath we noticed that unlike soccer fans, rugby fans were a bit more tame. Even while watching their team lose they didn’t immediately jump on the referee with a slew of different curse words and gestures, like we had seen at some of the soccer matches we attended. Instead, for the most part, the people around us just cheered on Saracens and watched intently. After a rough first half Saracens was down by 13 points making the score 13-0 Bath in the lead. This didn’t last long however as Saracens roared back in the second half to first tie the game at 13-13, then pull ahead and and win with a final score of 19-13. The game of rugby itself was somewhat confusing to watch for the first half of play. As someone who plays American Football I found myself often confused with what was actually happening on the pitch. While the tackling, running and contact reminded me of football, the stops in play and transitions between possession were hard to keep track of. Often, someone would get tackled and in the pile that ensued that hit someone would get noticeably hurt and lie at the bottom of a pile trying to protect themselves, the referees would wait for the contact to die down and would then blow their whistles to have trainers go look at the injured player. This happened with some frequency and players would typically get wrapped up and go right back out. Only once was a player injured to a point where he was taken off the field and that was for a head/spinal injury. Otherwise everyone kept playing. By the end of the match there was at least one player with his head wrapped in an attempt to stop him bleeding, it wasn’t working very well, which could easily be seen when the camera zoomed in on him, a large individual with blood soaked tape wrapped around his head.

 

 

The experience as a whole was great. The game of rugby and the atmosphere around it was truly different than any I personally had experienced to date. It made a rugby fan out of me and it is certainly a game I would watch again if I were to have the opportunity. I think our trip to Saracens helped gain me a greater understanding of not only how the game is played on the pitch but also how it is supported by its fans and how deeply it is followed and appreciated.

Today our class toured Dr. Hannah Moir’s sports science lab at Kingston University. The University has a remarkable facility set up for young students to study all aspects of sports sciences. Students get to use these state of the art tools to help them identify movements, injuries, percentage of body fat, muscle mass, and more. As a part of our day, we got to use some of these tools. Two people from each group got to put on sensors that allowed us to track their movements on the computer program. We watched as they jumped up and down seeing just the sensors and we could then use that imaging to measure different aspects of their power, strength, and movement ability. Then we got to work in the lab with some current students. They showed us what they were working on that day which was testing for diabetes. This part had us all measuring our muscle and body fat percentages on one of their machines. It’s pretty cool because most of us have never seen or dealt with any tools like this before. Apparently, classes and programs like this are common in the UK and a lot of football clubs use these tools to better their team performance. However, we don’t usually see things like this at US schools. Maybe we can get something like this implemented at Carleton?? Hopefully someday! After we finished up the lab with the students, we went back into the testing room and put sensors on our biceps and thighs. That’s when we all competed against one another to find out who has the most strength when pushing against something. It was interesting to see the computer input the data and graph out our muscle spasms. All in all it was a super fun and awakening experience. It’d be great to see something like this back home!

 

This Tuesday we traveled to Kingston to learn more about a very successful fan owned professional club AFC Wimbledon’s stadium at their Kingsmeadow stadium. AFC Wimbledon is extremely unique such that it is one of the only football clubs in the United Kingdom where it is supporter owned. This elicits a whole host of novel advantages as well as problems that we have not seen in clubs like Arsenal. The stadium for AFC Wimbledon itself seats barely over 2,000 people and is shared with another football club. With its limited seating capacity, one of the pressing questions we had for chief executive Erik Samuelson is how AFC Wimbledon is able to generate enough revenue to compete in League Two of English football. Erik went briefly into the club’s grassroots history to illustrate the community support and mission of AFC Wimbledon. Their unique competitive advantage to remain profitable lies within their ability to do what many bigger clubs fail, not overinvesting. They avoid paying transfer fees all together and pay players proper wages.

 

The beauty of AFC Wimbledon that it is truly a community organization, and that was evident when we visited the club. Men, women, and children in the neighboring areas have dedicated countless hours and money in an attempt to better the club. In addition, AFC Wimbledon’s community roots created a natural resistance to owners’ attempts to moving the club to a larger corporation or selling it to a private investor. The difficulty will emerge as the club is not generating enough money to move up in the league (the team is in league 2). Without greater funding it will be difficult for AFC Wimbledon to joint the championship or to the premiere league. Even Erik said that he thinks that the club will eventually be sold to a large private investor.

In addition, James Mathie from Supporter’s Direct came to talk about AFC Wimbledon supporter’s ownership structure. Supporters direct is a UK based company whose premise is to make a trust to provide funding to community or member based clubs. This is exceedingly important because a major shortcoming of member owned club is a lack of financing. Mathie said he is focused on giving poorer supporters a voice in the politics of football. He also said he was a big proponent of the Green Bay packer model of football in America. Clubs in Germany must be 50 percent +1 supporter owned and their model are among the most successful in Europe.

Upon the completion of their new stadium, Erik plans to retire, but he offered some insight to upcoming issues AFC Wimbledon must face. In order to compete at the higher levels, additional capital is necessary and their supporter’s group majority ownership status will be challenged. Will a rich investor like Roman Abramovich for Chelsea buy the club and pour millions of pounds in pursuit of sportive success? Or will AFC Wimbledon be able to maintain its capital structure? Only time will tell.

Big thanks from Carleton to Erik and James for making today happen. We were extremely fortunate to hear directly from a club chief’s executive and gain an insider’s view on how this supporter owned club survives and thrives in English Professional Football.