More on the World Cup

Soccer and sex are substitutes it appears, at least for South African tourists.

The influx of soccer fans would increase demand on South African sex workers, at least that was the belief . . . But it seems fans . . . that traveled . . . have created a flop in sex-worker business.

reports CNN.

Before Americans get excited, hoping they can use ESPN Classic to keep their husbands off their back, it doesn't appear that sex and sports are substitutes in general. In fact, the surprisingly low demand may be a product of the the implicit higher cost in South Africa.

From the archives: why soccer is called soccer.

Sport Demographics

I found this map on ESPN.com. It tells an interesting story about sports demographics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The blue states considered Brazil's outser from the World Cup the bigger upset of the year while purple voted for Kentucky's quick defeat in the NCAA basketball tournament. (Ohio is green because it voted for Cleveland loss in the NBA playoffs and the D.C. metro states are red because of a similar loss in the NHL playoffs. Gray states had ties.)

So what separates the purple from the blue? Since the majority of states are purple I think it's easier to ask what sets the blue states apart?

Well, we'll start with a theory, based on the "ambiguity effect," that says people discard options where it's hard to assess the probability. That means I'm assuming basketball fans will vote for the NCAA upset while soccer fans will tend towards the World Cup upset, because it's easier to put in perspective.

Under this theory, blue states should be states with lots of soccer fans. And who likes soccer? Yuppies and Latin Americans. Indeed, it turns out that the Yuppie states (Northeast, but notably not Maine) and the states with large Hispanic populations (Florida, border states) voted for the World Cup upset.

But what's up with Georgia and Louisiana? They don't have large Hispanic populations. Perhaps they don't care much about NCAA basketball either.

Should we cheer for Ghana?

A few developmentbloggers have been following the World Cup enthusiastically, cheering for African teams (now just Ghana).

I don't understand.

Does anyone really believe that if Ghana wins the World Cup the Africa will grow faster? That malaria incidence will drop? Is the World Cup an AIDS vaccine that someone eluded researchers all these years?

I understand that many Africans are rooting for Ghana. They want their team to win just like most Germans want Germany to win. If Ghana wins, Africa will celebrate. It might help Africa's image, somewhat, in part of the world and, maybe, raise a few African''s self-esteem. It might also draw a few people toward soccer and away from academics, though, too. Or it might distract governments from priorities like health and toward . . . well, building stadiums. Most likely, the marginal, ephermal joy of a victory will fade quickly and Africa will remain largely the same place it was a month ago.

There is a utilitarian argument that we should cheer for Ghana since Ghana probably has the largest fanbase (unless East Asia has likewise unified behind it's representatives). But that logic would force everyone to root for the Yankees every October. After all, New York is the biggest city and the Yankees are the most popular team. It also presumes that who you cheer for will impact the game's outcome. Any argument that compels me to both cheer for the Yankees and believe in a "spooky action-at-a-distance" principle is asking too much.

History of Soccer

Two things everyone should know about soccer:

1. Soccer is the "original" name for the game. There were many kinds of "football" in the 19th century which is why FIFA is the international organization for "Associaton Football." British people added -er to everything back then, dropped the a, and ended up with "soccer."

2. Back in the day, what made a game a type of "football" was that you played on foot, not on horseback. It has nothing to do with whether you kick the ball with your feet. If you have quasi-Marxist sentiments like me this story should warm your heart.

More here.

Never ending backlog of links

1. Political economy of education (never finished reading this)

2. Second best commencement speech I've read (on positive psychology)

3. Death by Caffine

4. Maybe we should just let Africa host more World Cups instead of sending aid

5. Glaeser on climate change legislation

6. Charter Cities

7. The "ethicist" at the New York Times gives horrible, unethical advice about kidney donations

Cultural Imperialism

I'm puzzled about all the excitment over the World Cup.

Isn't it just the legacy of colonialism? Soccer's historical roots in England are weak (the game is less than 200 years old) and in the rest of the world it's a legacy of the British Empire and cultural imperialism.

Economists and other sensible people would have us believe that soccer is popular because people like to play the game. The rules are simple; all it requires is a ball, some rocks to mark the goal, and a field; and everyone enjoys a little exercise and competition--especially kids.

But this belies the truth. Every people has its own historical set of games and recreational activities, just as it has its own language, music, and culture in general. Soccer is popular because it was imposed through imperialism and globalization. The fact that Africans love soccer isn't something to celebrate--because it provides some joy in what is for many a short, drab life--it's something to protest. Africans should play African games, just as they should wear African clothing and speak African languages.

If Africans don't like that, too bad. If we allow soccer to become the "world's sport" and the World Cup to become a semi-annual ritual sucking up the time and talent of countless billions of young men (and, one day, women), everyone will suffer from the lost diversity. Everyone has a stake in ensuring that languages, sports, and musical traditions don't die.

Links:

Has American Pop Music Displaced Local Culture?

Kwame Anthony Appiah with relevant thoughts