The beautiful game

This story appeared in the Spring 2019 Letters & Science magazine.

Marcelo Pellegrini learned the universal language of soccer from the kick of an empty soda can. Growing up in Valparaíso, Chile, he and his neighborhood friends would play with makeshift goals on imaginary fields to emulate the sport that captivates an entire continent — and much of the world today.

Through his new course, Spanish 468: Soccer? ¿Fútbol? The Beautiful Game, the UW-Madison associate professor of Spanish is transferring his childhood passion to the classroom. He’s challenging students to better understand Latin American history and culture through the lens of soccer, all while sharpening their Spanish language skills.

The underlying theme of the course is identity, and how the sport can serve as an expression of personal dreams, collective belonging and national pride. Pellegrini’s challenge is to convey the deeply passionate, culturally ingrained connection between Latin American soccer and its fans — to capture the magic, he says. “So many people would die for their team and their country. I haven’t found a text yet that can reflect on that accurately or with the same emotion.” It falls to Pellegrini to show how “it’s a matter of chasing something that is unattainable — glory.”

Why do soccer fans, or any sports fans, feel so attached to their teams? Explanations range from the sociological to the psychological. For instance, observing a sport can trigger “mirror” neurons in the brain that inspire imitation. “You feel that you’re doing what the players are doing,” Pellegrini says.

While the benefits of belonging to a community are self-evident, fervent fandom is not without its drawbacks. “You can get violent pretty easily,” he says. “You can get dogmatic.” As a reflection of larger society, the beautiful game can turn ugly as it intersects with the racial, gender and economic inequalities of the country or community it represents. Collective identity is as complex a phenomenon as it is universal.

During one lecture, Pellegrini and his students began to riff on the stylistic difference between Brazilian and Argentinian soccer. A student chimed in that he prefers American soccer, because it’s “sloppy and clumsy.”

“Is that a good thing?” asked Pellegrini, laughing.

“No,” the student answered. “But it’s ours.”