1 Dead, 18 wounded
By: André | March 16th, 2010Carlos is here again. After Franck asked him to help me writing here and I aproved the idea, Carlos said no, but he gently agrees to send me some texts to post here. And this is a very important issue. Before you read the text, I want to say something. I was a student on a famous Business school here in Brazil and my Sports Management professor (he’s kind of important in the football world) once said he went to England to know how the banished violence from football and a man said to him ‘Marco, if you treat them like animals, they’ll acta as animals’. The whole Brazilian footbal model must change. FAST!
No, this isn’t the headline of another firefight in the Afghanistan war. It describes a couple of deadly skirmishes between “factions” (as the authorities called them) of Flamengo and Vasco fans, before the ball rolled in the “Classic of the Millions” between Rio de Janeiro’s two most popular teams.
The news story I read in the media said the police speculated the incitement to violence could have come from the internet war of words flying between fans of the two teams, with some ugly trash talking in-between. I read some of these comments, and I was shocked by the ugliness of the tone. To be fair, the vast majority of comments were good-natured hazing. But the most troubling thing is that the few troublemakers were encouraged by those who should be calming passions and defusing tensions.
One of the most telling comments was by a woman who said she was all psyched to go to the game, with ticket in hand, but the climate of tension surrounding the game convinced her it was safer to stay at home. The courageous souls who braved a trip to the game were lucky if they had a police escort, which was arranged to maintain order. Maracanã Stadium was hailed as a place for “warriors,” as if this is a virtue the fans must aspire to.
That’s the wrong message. A football match should be an occasion for fun and family entertainment. And Maracanã Stadium, the temple of football, should not be a glorified war zone. For every word, like “peace,” in reference to how fans should comport themselves, I read 20 or more ugly provocations and curses. Words have consequences, and those who have gained a position of influence with football fans, for being exceptional wordsmiths, have a special and unique responsibility to use those words wisely.
Words do have consequences.
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Comments
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Thanks for posting about this – you’re right that it’s important we are all aware of how our words can help to either incite or calm the crowds.
I agree a bit with the woman you mention in your post – I’d love to see a match at the Maracanã (and I’ve been in some rough stadiums in my life), but things like this make me much less likely to go anytime soon.
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Thank Carlos. He’s the one who wrote this.
I used to work with football, all the tickets selling process and in my opinion, Brazilian football is something that must change, but the issue that concerns me the most is the way the supporters are treated. Some supporter groups have benefits and these are the ones that create this chaotic situation.
Is quite sad the moment we’re going through.
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You must be referring to the organized fans (torcidas organizadas), André? I’m with you. The majority of fans just want to have a good, peaceful time, but there are always the troublemakers, who get whipped up into a frenzy of odious intensity. Also, as that comment showed, football in Brasil is not very woman-friendly because it is too rowdy and dangerous. And that’s a shame, because women have a civilizing influence on things, not to speak of being beautiful eye candy!
I was deliberately vague, but I will say this: some writers, who pull texts out of their ass instead of their head in fan blogs, have to take ownership and responsibility for their words. They can’t just lock themselves in a cocoon of hubris and deflect responsibility by way of projection, which is to blame others for their own actions, even if it’s only words.
I’ll say it again: words have consequences. You can’t yell fire in a crowded theater.
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