Joga Bonito, Portuguese for the beautiful game, is also known as association football and in our country — where a different football reigns supreme — soccer. That same Portuguese is the official language of Brazil, host of the 2013 Confederations Cup and 2014 World Cup.
In this country, corruption runs rampant, which mirrors the organization that awarded Brazil the World Cup. However, that is a different story for a different time. Protesters have gathered to advocate issues across the political spectrum from rising public transportation ticket prices to police brutality.
Brazilians have pleaded the global public to not attend the events, which are being held in stadiums whose costs of construction and/or renovation are exponentially greater than the costs for the stadiums of Germany and Japan, previous World Cup hosts.
Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski wrote in their 2012 book, “Soccernomics,” that “We have to be clear that this is what’s going on: a transfer of wealth from Brazil as a whole to various interest groups inside and outside the country. This is not an economic bonanza. Brazil is sacrificing a little bit of its future to host the World Cup.”
The protests happening nationwide were timed to be held when the greatest media convergence before the World Cup would happen, which was the Confederations Cup.
The protests, riots and violence continued after the end of the Confederations Cup. The violence has even spilled onto the soccer pitch. A referee in Brazil was stoned to death and quartered, finally ending in the decapitation of his corpse after an on-field incident. He had removed a player from the game, provoking a fist-fight between the two, during which the ref drew a knife and stabbed the player, who would perish en route to the hospital.
Despite all of this, the allure of the World Cup is incredibly strong. I have friends who plan to travel to Brazil for the global tournament. I would be lying to myself and to the readers if I wrote that I would be boycotting the games. In fact, depending on how the year unfolds, I may be writing about those games for a reason other than love for the beautiful game.
How then can I reconcile the support I hold for the Brazilian people against the desire to partake in World Cup festivities? The answer I have arrived at may seem like a cop-out to some.
The Brazilians protesting are attempting to effect change in their government. Americans believe in doing the same thing. The Fourth of July this year was met with nationwide protest against the NSA as cities were sites of “Restore the Fourth” rallies, hoping to effect change in our own government.
Therefore, it is the spirit of these protests, both domestic and abroad, that I intend to carry forth, whether by writing columns or by expressing the opinions conveyed in those columns at the polls.
I’ll probably kick around a ball with friends along the way. Might as well score some goals while achieving others, right?
Logan Ladnyk is a UF journalism junior. His columns appear Tuesdays.
