Reflection on Globalization...and the Wonderful Summer

In reading and discussing the book How Soccer Explains the World, An {Unlikely} Theory of Globalization, by Franklin Foer, I couldn't help but think back to my summer stay in Barcelona, Spain because a chapter in Foer's book is dedicated to discussing FC Barcelona and its role as a beacon of respectful Catalonian pride.

I had the amazing experience of being in Barcelona when the Spanish National Team played and won against the Netherlands to win the 2010 FIFA World Cup. There I was equipped with a mini Spanish flag, sitting outside a small cafe engulfed in a sea of spectators in front of a temporary outdoor set up of a television.

I was surprised by the number of people who appeared in the streets and bars to support the Spanish national team and the number of people who were wearing Spanish flags as capes, because, after all, I was in the capital city of Catalonia, one of Spain's autonomous regions who has professed its desire to become its own country.

Catalonians consider themselves Catalonian, not at all Spanish, value their own language of Catalan over Castilian Spanish, and Catalonian flags can be seen hanging from

many apartments' balconies in Barcelona. Interestingly enough, a few days before the game there was a Catalonian independence rally.

Later, however, I realized that a few players from FC Barcelona were playing on the national team, so supporters could have just watched the game to see their Barca idols play. But, after I heard the numerous chantings of "España, España, España..." I began to think that many Catalonians had forgotten their dislike for Spain and their desire for total autonomy. Through the critical soccer game, Spain seemed to meld into one united nation with all its people becoming just Spanish under one national flag.

The celebrations after the game exemplified this sentiment. People ran, danced, and yelled through the streets. Giant waving Spanish flags could be seen and vuvuzelas could be heard. The win was a victory for everyone, Spanish and Catalonians alike.

This is where globalization comes in. After reading Foer's book I became aware of the effects of globalization. On the one hand, globalization gloriously unites people across borders. The World Cup match seemed to globalize Spain and its Catalonian region, bringing them together in the common purpose of rallying behind a soccer team made up of Spanish and Catalonian athletes. But globalization also blurs these borders and lightens distinctions among nationalities and cultural groups. As with my night in Barcelona, the Catalonians blended in with the Spanish, Catalonian distinctions seemed to disappear, and Catalonian superior autonomous sentiment seemed to fade, and Catalonians began to lose their unique identities.

But overall, the night was exciting, the epitome of soccer fanaticism and celebratory nationalism. Foer would have loved it.

Here's to unity...and the loss of cultural distinctions: