I have a busy morning and don’t have much time today so I apologize for my brevity. I wanted to share two things from yesterday that set my hair on fire.
The first is the Arsenal thing. It’s David Rocastle’s goal against Middlesbrough from 1988.
I share this goal because we were having a discussion on my twitter feed about great solo goals in Arsenal history. We know most of them: Ozil v. Ludogorets, Cesc v. Spurs, Henry v. Real Madrid, Henry v. Tottenham, Henry v. Liverpool, and so on. But I asked my readers to send me their favorite “hidden gems” and this one was sent to me by reader @WilliamMBHolmes.
There were many others, worth watching as well: Walcott had two goals where he slipped and fell over then got back up and scored. And personally I loved watching every “great goal” by Bergkamp in this 10 minute clip. He loved leathering in a long-range shot, and a little dink over the keeper, didn’t he?
The second thing is a little more serious. One of my favorite podcasts, Hidden Brain, has an episode out right now called “Passion isn’t enough” and I want you all to listen to it or read the transcript.
This podcast features Eitan Hersh a political scientist at Tufts University and author of the book “Politics Is For Power: How To Move Beyond Political Hobbyism, Take Action And Make Real Change.”
Hersh’s argument isn’t complex but it is multifaceted. He lays out a compelling case that most of the most activated political voices that we encounter in our lives – either online or in person – aren’t really political animals, they act more like sports fans.
He calls these folks “political hobbyists”. These are citizens who maybe watch a lot of Fox News or CNN and who are very well attuned to the President’s latest twitter outrage but that they don’t act like people who are looking to wield true political power, but rather like people rooting for a team (their party, or even their politician). In short, they act like sports fans.
These fans, junkies, or hobbyists consume the controversies, the drama, and even go online to “own” their rivals but it’s all exactly like how so many sports fans go online to do the same thing to our sports rivals. There isn’t a clear difference between someone posting a Trump meme to “own the libs” and someone posting an empty cabinet to “own Tottenham.”
I know that many will disagree. That people will say that their voice online is important or that the side that they stand for is doing important work. For example, maybe someone reading this is anti-abortion and they might point out that standing against democrats in any way is “saving lives!” But I think Hersh would disagree (I could be wrong).
It feels to me like sending someone a meme, or even shouting at someone online to get your point across isn’t likely to influence any voters. It’s not likely to change any minds. It feels to me like Hersh is absolutely correct that if you want to make a difference, you probably need to start small and local. Organize a cleanup of the trash in your parks. Speak to your neighbors. Help each other. People don’t forget when you help them.
And more radically, I think Hersh is also 100% correct when he says that the political parties should be doing more to actually help people. It’s a great bit of theater when Nancy Pelosi tears up a speech by Trump but what single human life did that act make better? What if, instead of spending money on ads for how great the dems are or how much this party isn’t like that other party, the parties instead spent that money on the actual people in need?
Being very online and arguing about politics (or sharing the latest outrage) is fun and all but it does seem all rather meaningless. Imagine if Arsenal had a choice between spending money to make the fan experience better – lower prices, better players, more amenities, or even helping people in the community – or sending all of the registered fans advertisements about how great the Arsenal football club are? Which would be more effective in getting and keeping supporters?
Wise words, Tim. I’ve played this song many times over the years and it got into my head reading your post.
“For What It’s Worth”
There’s something happening here
But what it is ain’t exactly clear
There’s a man with a gun over there
Telling me I got to beware
I think it’s time we stop
Children, what’s that sound?
Everybody look – what’s going down?
There’s battle lines being drawn
Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong
Young people speaking’ their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind
It’s time we stop
Hey, what’s that sound?
Everybody look – what’s going down?
What a field day for the heat
A thousand people in the street
Singing songs and carrying signs
Mostly saying, “hooray for our side”
It’s time we stop
Hey, what’s that sound?
Everybody look – what’s going down?
Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you’re always afraid
Step out of line, The Man come and take you away
We better stop
Hey, what’s that sound?
Everybody look – what’s going down?
– Stephen Stills/Buffalo Springfield, 1966
Most people , including myself, got excited about the Pepe 72m transfer based solely on his 10 minute you tube clip. What do you think Arsenal fans would’ve been willing to pay today for Bergkamp based on his?
What a player he was.
Not a single weakness to his game. Scored probably every type of a goal in existence.
On the political front, I don’t have anything clever to say other than what’s been painfully obvious to anyone who’s been following politics in the last two decades or so.
It’s all broken, which is in large part due to stupidity and ignorance of the electorate, and I no longer find it worthwhile to spend my personal time trying changing that( I used too).
I get a kick out of reports of how much money the Trump campaign has amassed to influence the voters, as if it should matter at this point what his campaign’s message is, or how often he floods the airwaves with it.
Unlike four years ago , this time around there’s a clear record of his policies and no amount of money and disinformation should be able to obscure it.
No amount of tv commercials, no mater how clever they may be , can make me go out and buy Coke or Pepsi , or a Bud Light for that matter. But that’s me.
I hope Democrats have enough common sense to nominate someone capable of beating the dictator wannabe in the general elections before he destroys the republic , but I dont hold my breath.
Bloomberg would be my pick for obvious reasons.
Trump can’t tar him with the socialist/ communist/ gay / women are too temperamental tripe( the last one is especially ironic).
Being short, supper rich, and having a record of supporting the stop and frisk policies – three things Trump is harping about , isn’t exactly a deal breaker for anyone these days.
$hit, a hint of racism on Bloomberg’s part – no matter how tenuous – might even be a plus for any Trump voters considering a jump.
And you know Trump would hate to run against him too. You can see it from his comments.
Trump is like a bad poker player who has too many tells and the only reason he’s still at the table is because the game is rigged and the other players don’t play dirty.
“I would love to run against Bloomberg “can be filed in the same category with the likes of “ I would love to talk to Mueller” , or “ No one respects women more than me”.
The exact opposite is true.
Me , personally, if ISIS were to run on the independent ticket against Trump, I might give them a look.
Rant over.
As an impartial observer, and purely as a matter of interest, can you briefly explain to me how any woman could possibly vote for Donald Trump? His disrespect is palpable. It’s not even subtle. “Turkeys voting for Christmas” springs to mind”. Bearing in mind, women make up half of the electorate, how on earth does he get elected?
The fact is, if you came out with a fraction on what he says in public, in a British workplace, you’d lose your job. This is in a culture where it is notoriously difficult to sack anyone. The mind boggles.
Hey Tim, did my pushun -ate comment go into moderation, or did the gremlins took it?
Very well articulated! Totally agree and have felt the same for a long time now but haven’t heard it crystallized like that. I love Hidden Brain btw.
I stay away from politics in large part to avoid all of the noise, to save myself from frustration and anger, and mostly because at the end of the day nothing’s going to change. The political pendulum will swing back and forth as it always has and the people in power will look out for themselves as they always have.
Man. Watching that Bergkamp video compared to recent matches is depressing. Obviously he had a skill level much higher than most of the current group, bar perhaps Ozil, but Ozil almost never shoots when a pass is an option.
I see a large number of goals from outside the 18 in that video. Obviously it’s a cherry-picked video. But it feels like we have no-one that’s any kind of threat to do that anymore, which then allows defenses to pack the box and without a Giroud or similar player, we either attempt low % crosses, or low % passing/dribbling.
Just listened to the podcast. Enjoyed it very much. Lots to think about. Thanks for sharing.
Hersch’s insight into political hobbyists, acting like sports fans, is a natural progression of the increased tribalism and polarization in politics. Dr Gooner’s comments about the temptation to do nothing in the face of how difficult it is to change anything as an individual reminded me of a spiritual dilemma we have in our existence. To what extent should we resist politics (and actions generally) that we consider to be unjust or harmful?
Eastern spiritual traditions, such as Buddhism, teach that the human condition is one of suffering. Grasping for things (e.g. wanting a different political order) is the source of this suffering and the path to enlightenment (absence of suffering), is to accept “what is”. However, to accept “what is”, when that “is” involves exploitation, deception, greed, etc seems to be morally wrong, particularly in our western traditions of ethics. In other words should we try and change things when attempts to do so may be futile and it just causes us suffering?
Perhaps the solution is to change ourselves (strive to become the best person we can become) rather than try to change things beyond our control: McNulty’s education in “The Wire”!
However, to accept “what is”, when that “is” involves exploitation, deception, greed, etc seems to be morally wrong, particularly in our western traditions of ethics. In other words should we try and change things when attempts to do so may be futile and it just causes us suffering?
I’m not good at philosophy, but in my simple mind my absence of action doesn’t really equate with acceptance, not in the strict sense of the word, though I can see that perhaps passively it might be viewed that way. What is more pertinent is that attempting to change the political order of the largest, most complicated bureaucracy (funny word, isn’t it? a rule by the bureau? I imagine a large chest of drawers handing out orders) that this planet has ever known, in a meaningful way, on my own, is laughable. That doesn’t mean I do nothing. I vote. That is the one sanctioned way to express my views on this governmental system, the minimum and maximum expected of me as citizen. I could go beyond that by picketing, boycotting, writing letters to my congressman, donating money to candidates and trolling social media in support of whomever. Those are things I consider worse than useless because they simply detract from my time to do actual good in the world and make me kind of a bitter, angry person, still without hope of effecting meaningful reform. So, I ignore 99% of politics, but I vote. That’s my way of coping with what’s happening. That’s not the “right” way or the only way, but it’s my way.
we broke the british transfer record to get DB10 ..
how times have changed in just under 25 years.
in 1972 we bought Alan Ball for £220k .
where is it going to end?
Alan Ball? Past his best when he came to us and Arsenal we’re starting to go into decline after the 1971 double season. A shame really. Wrong time, wrong place. Always quite rated him, likewise Alan Hudson. How would they perform in 2020?
Difficult to say.
Alan was the previous time we broke the transfer record befire Dennis.
I blame the white hummels..
Agree on the political tribalism and what should happen. But why do parties and candidates spend on advertisements? Because they work. Not always. Not always as we think, but it’s a big industry all by itself for a reason. It works.
People think they are smart and won’t make decisions just because someone on the tv told them to. That’s true, but people aren’t really rational. We rationalise our decisions well though. We think it is our idea, our candidate, or our club.
But here’s where I disagree. People do forget. Maybe not personal help, but institutional help. They take it for granted. They nitpick everything wrong. Then they vote for the guy who makes a huge marketing splash. That’s why they advertise.
And that’s why voices matter. In a small, tiny way. For instance, with the many years of reading your sports blog, you have enough authenticity that if you expressed a political opinion I’d at least think about it, even if I disagreed.
Keep speaking. It’s how the right wingers (not Walcott) got back on their feet and in positions of power. They never shut up. Of course going out and doing something ‘real’ is more important, but it isn’t mutually exclusive.
Bergkamp was a genius on a football pitch. It is beautiful to see a mind that can conceive any way of tricking the opponent knowing that the technique is there, perfect, flawless, to execute whatever the mind has conceived. Perfect technique and athleticism liberate the mind and the mind becomes insanely creative, sees different things, other paths to reach the goal. And this in split seconds. What a player!
On politics, well, I naively thought that education would bring better politics, that voters would cast their votes more intelligently. Then came Bush jr, twice, Berlusconi, so many times, Orban, Erdogan, Poutine (although he elects himself, I guess),Trump, probably twice, and many others. I crept back in my hole and chose football over politics. Now I just vote.
i absolutely love the bergkamp video. it was a tribute his professional excellence as a goal scorer. the irony is one can make an argument that his goal scoring is not what he was particularly revered for. it was his ability to make everyone around him better. he was the ultimate facilitator; absolutely brilliant! can you imagine training with that guy every day, let alone lining up along side him on match days? how about defending against him on match days, knowing he’ll see everything that you don’t and every mistake that you make? he’s master yoda with football boots. what a class act.
RvP told Amy Lawrence a story about how he sat in the hot tub watching DB10 train after normal training had subsided: DB10 was doing these drills where he would pass and move at full speed, 100%, and then (I can’t remember correctly here, maybe shoot on the volley or something). RvP decided he would sit in the bath until DB10 missed, he never missed. That was when RvP decided he wasn’t training hard enough.
Dennis Bergkamp somehow managed to make Ray Parlour look like Carlos Alberto. Ray would make his run and Dennis could be looking the other way, but the through pass was always inch perfect. Ray didn’t even have to check his stride. Dennis didn’t even need to look up. Magic.
Dennis Bergkamp is the reason I am an Arsenal supporter. The greatest player we’ve ever had, all due respect to Henry, Vieira et al.
What great sportsmen have is balance. Federer is another example. Even when they’re moving at great speed, they somehow keep their head still. Strong as well. I can’t remember seeing Dennis on the floor. Compare and contrast our current squad!
I’m assuming City will appeal?
I’ll believe it when I actually see it.
Dennis was fabulous. Don’t let anyone mention Ozil in the same breath. Not even remotely in the same class.
My favourite Arsenal goal of all time was the one against Newcastle. He’s got his back to goal, is closely marked, so a delicate touch puts the ball round one side of the defender, while he ran round the other side. Dummies the keeper and sidefoots it in the net. Poetry in motion. How he even had the presence of mind to think of that during a match, let alone enact it inch perfect, is one of life’s mysteries. I was watching the game in Derry, Northern Island, where they’re not overly fond of Brits. Couldnt stop myself shouting out. Yes! Spent the rest of the game wishing the ground would swallow me up.
Everyone – Huge news. City banned for 2 years from Europe. 5th place is now a CL qualifying spot. That is seismic news for us – 4th may have been a reach… but 5th? Maybe…
$h*tTy will appeal to ca$$ and will get a pay increase!
UEFA’s evidence is based on hacked emails and Citeh have the best sports lawyers in the world.
Going to be interesting…