Date: Mon, 19 Apr 2004 07:48:50 +0200
From: Martin Hardie <z3118338-AT-student.unsw.edu.au>
Subject: Re: AUT: Hooliganism and class composition -  and Tour de France


Jens (not Voigt I presume)

I am back ...

>So what is all this euforious obcessions with sports about ?
>  
>
I suppose it s because I am a cyclist. I have  a mate, an economist from 
Newcastle Uni, Bill Mithchell, who set up a web site called cyclingnews. 
I used to help him out and write now and then. Bill sold the site as he 
had to concentrate on the Coffee (centre for full employment and equity) 
he set up at newcastle. I started writing for the new site after I left 
Timor and had good access to Spanish cycling and had nothing much else 
to do.

Since that time I have lived off and on in the Basque Country and have 
seen and tried to understand how cultural activities such as cycling 
(and other sports) serve as an expression of basqueness. I think it is 
interesting when many seem to feel that a state or "Nationalism (with a 
capital "n") really provides no avenues for them. What I am trying to 
say is maybe that most Basques I know are Basque and e.g. vote for 
nationalist parties or support nationalist politics but  see themselves 
as being independent whether they are in Spain or not. There are some 
interesting things tied up with sport here - like the Basque country's 
internationally recognised national surfing federation, and the 
Euskaltel team. On another front the Basque government recently proposed 
to recognise the political rights of "illegal" immigrants - i.e. those 
not recognised as legal (sin papeles) by Spain would be given the right 
to vote and be Basque for political purposes within the Basque Country. 
There all sorts f strange things tied up with this that  am just trying 
to fathom and cycling is my point of entry as I can hang out with these 
guys - ex pros and current pros, ride  with them and talk to them easily.

Another thing I only recently found out that I am trying to understand 
the importance of it the fact that feudalism missed the Basque country - 
everyone was in pre modern times a "indigenous" landowner - there was no 
distinction between lords and serfs, everyone was regarded as nobility.

Finally for now I think  the things I see there are interesting to try 
and position in respect of the place of local identities vis a vis the 
global space - again a reference to cycling helps me express this in 
broad terms to "that" audience (i.e. cycling readers) - the different 
expressions of globalisation evidence by the multinational US Postal 
team (russians, Spanish, Colombians, Czechs, Belgiums, North Americans 
etc etc) backing the American hero (with the help of US Postal, and a 
number of multinational businesses) and seen as a US team with its huge 
15 million dollar budget and  the local identity of Euskaltel backed by 
the local (government) phone company, the local governments and local 
supporters made up of people who feel Basque from the Basque Country, 
Venezuela and Asturias. I this regard US Postal seem to me like 
McDonalds, Real Madrid or something whereas there is something quite 
different going on at Euskaltel which is not national in the traditional 
sense.

So maybe this is why the "euforious obsessions".

At the moment I plan to become embedded in the Tide for the upcoming 
Pyrenees and with the Euskaltel team as well. But my route will commence 
not in France but in Pamplona. I think I should start the trip and the 
story with a few days in Pamplona at the San Fermin festival being 
chased by bulls in the morning. By the end of that week I should be 
ready for the Pyreneees party.
 
Best

Martin



>The 'Orange Tide' of the Basque's is clearly part of the local Spanish nationalist conflict  -  just brought outside Spain and exposed globally for everyone to follow. One of the interesting things in your account is that it came as a surprise for everyone. I.e. it was not prepared and organized as such from the beginning ? I can tell the excact same story about the smaller, but surely enthusiatisc danish followers of Bjarne Riis showin up at the TdF  -  those were the better parts of 'wage labourers' on vacation with family, camping equipment etc. having suddenly a 'purpose' for their travel (other than just eating and drinkning).
>
>I think there is some substitutional culturally 'tribal' mechanisms working here. With all of the 'old workers movement's total collapse not only politically and not only economically (as organs of defending 'wage labour'), but also culturally/ideologically (as somehow honestly expressing the 'conditions of wage labour') workers seek some other collective framwork of expression. Which is then the local 'tribes'  -  the local football-club, the winning sportsman/woman of the region or the successive national team in international games. It is some kind of compensation and it works pretty well.
>
>I don't know either where this thread is going, but let us just see.
>
>Cheers
>
>Jens
>
>
>
>
>  
>
>  
>


-- 
http://www.auskadi.tk/
"the riddle which man must solve, he can only solve in being, in 
being what he is and not something else...."



     --- from list aut-op-sy-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---