Football: The Great Unifier and Divider

The semi-inebriated running flag man, the oversized floppy flag man, and a hyper-agitated screaming adolescent, what unnatural force has brought these three seemingly unrelated Spaniards together today? The answer is simple; they are all fans of the Malaga football club. Few institutions evoke such unbridled and blind passion. Football unites people from every social level, members of the conservative Partido Popular, the socialist PSOE, rich, poor, young, and old. Overwhelmed by the roar of the din and the frenetic yet synchronized movement of the crowd; I sat and thought. Fractures spread across Spanish society: differing political viewpoints, differing views on the past, and an overall lack of patriotism. The pride and sense of national identity that I have come to associate with the United States is conspicuously absent in Spain. Football has the power to bring people together and to unite them in a common cause. Alarmingly though, the common cause is the shared disdain for the opposing team and their fans. Looking across the rows and rows of blue clad Malaguenos, it was a true cross section of society. They moved as if they shared a single collective mind. Each foul was protested in flamboyantly exaggerated fashion, and each missed opportunity was followed by a chorus of shouts and jeers. They were possessed by the love of their football club and their hatred of the opposing team. On this afternoon Malaga played their Andalusian neighbors, the dreaded and hated Seville Football Club. Across the stadium a small undulating section of red bodies stood out in the sea of blue. Brought by the same mystical, allegiance producing football addiction; they were a body apart. They ran against the grain of the unified Malaguenos, becoming an object of wrath and venom. It became clear, as Seville related vitriol poured out around me, that football is the great unifier and divider of Spain.