A couple years ago, the eminent football writer Brian Phillips wrote an article that was ostensibly about Sepp Blatter saying stupid things but was, in a broader sense, about the burgeoning cultural cachet of soccer in the United States. He said that the growing popularity of soccer manifested in countless little things, most aren’t easily measured. “You see grown-ups playing soccer in the park. You see college bros in Messi Authentic Jerseys China killing time at the airport. Manchester United shows up on the front page of nytimes.com — not once, but regularly. Strangers you meet know about the Champions League.” The point is that soccer, and the particular rituals and traditions that accompany it, are becoming more and more a part of the fabric of everyday life, often in ways we aren’t consciously aware of.
“A custom associated more with fútbol than football, jersey swapping has become as much a part of the N.F.L. postgame ritual as handshakes and prayer circles. Players consider the transaction, freighted with personal meaning, the ultimate show of respect.” The shirt exchange, of course,Kansas City Chiefs has been a long-standing tradition in soccer for decades. Seattle Seahawks The NYT piece traces the origins of the practice back to an international friendly between England and France in 1931. The French, who had beaten the English for the first time in international play, had asked their neighbors across the Channel for their shirts as momentos. While the practice among NFL players seems to be a fairly recent phenomenon, Jets wide receiver Brandon Marshall is quoted in the piece as being aware of jersey exchanges as far back as 2007.The article also quotes equipment managers who say that the emerging custom is making their jobs more difficult as they try to ensure that there are enough shirts for each player in stock.
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June 2018
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