THE SOUND AND THE RED FURY: THE STICKING POINTS OF SPANISH NATIONALISM

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Notes

1. I am indebted to J. Rose's analysis of the political dimensions of the “state of fantasy”. I am also indebted to the work of Yannis Stavrakakis, particularly to his elaboration of political jouissance.

2. The document was subscribed, among others by the vicepresident of the Fundación Alternativas, Nicolás Sartorious; the chancellors of the universities of the Complutense and Autónoma de Madrid; the writers Almudena Grandes and Fernando Schwartz. There were many other signataries, including politicians, artists and lawyers.

3. The link between Zapateros’ “talante” (even his way of smiling) and his political weakness is often underlined in the press (e.g. see http://www.elsemanaldigital.com/articulos.asp?idarticulo=109313).

4. As is well known, the Spanish national soccer team is popularly referred to as “La furia roja”, an expression whose origin in the world of soccer goes back to its use by the Basque José María Belausteguigoitia, Belauste, in 1920, as he readied himself to score a penalty kick, which he scored with enormous strength and intensity. However, the historical roots of the expression “The spanish fury” go back in time to 1576, when Spanish troops sacked the city of Antwerp, effectively destroying it. Since the final game of the World Cup was played between Spain and Holland, references to the “Spanish red fury” by the orange team and the Dutch press have to be understood in connection to this historical episode.

5. As Žižek notes, for Leninism, the internal enemies, the revisionists were disqualified as hysterics: “They don't know what they want, they doubt” (Benitez).

6. The exact meaning of “massive” is disputed. Barcelona's police and the organizers of the demonstration, Òmnium Cultural, estimated that over a million people attended. A more conservative estimate puts the number around 64,000 people (Belmonte).

7. The way exclusion functions in sports events is not limited to soccer, of course, or the issue of national identity. When at the 1968 Olympic Games, Tommy Smith and John Carlos, two African-American athletes who had ranked first and third in the 200 meter race, respectively, performed the “Black Power Salute” during the US national anthem, the outrage generated was so enormous that they were expelled from the games. The matter is still controversial (in fact, Smith declines to talk about it).

8. Hours later, and given the reaction to his attitude, Ramos clarified, via Twitter, that he was just kidding, even if he seemed a bit serious (“Sergio Ramos”).

9. Although separate from the object of this analysis, it would also be important to point out other forms of resistance to the unparallel coverage of the World Cup in the press, in Spain and elsewhere. As A. Bairner shows, since most sports are embedded in patriarchy, women often do not feel particularly included in the enjoyment they generate and/or express resistance to joining in the dominant and very public celebrations of masculine power. Also, since sports celebrate youth, physical strength and competitiveness over other qualities, the social importance accorded to sports victories establishes a problematic hierarchy of desirable civic qualities.

10. Dedico este trabajo a los hombres de mi familia que me hicieron pensar en las emociones y complejas lealtades identitarias que genera el fútbol: a la memoria de mi abuelo Pepe, madrileño obrero, republicano, exiliado y sin embargo del Real Madrid; a mi padre Diego, emigrante, canario siempre aún fuera de Canarias, también del Real Madrid siempre que no jugara contra el Las Palmas; a mi sobrino Luismi, culé, como su padre argentino y su abuelo catalán-argentino; y sobre todo a mi hijo Álvaro, nacido y criado en el centro de Estados Unidos, que ha encontrado “su” pasión en el Atlético de Madrid, y que vivió con tanta emoción el campeonato mundial y la victoria final “del equipo que mejor jugó”.