El Clásico
If you are one of the big soccer fan, for sure you will obviously know what El Clasico is. El Clasico is one of the most traditional derby football match in Madrid, played between two football clubs, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. Both teams are popular among all over the world because those two have world’s top players. Not only in Spain, but El Clasico is watched by every soccer fans.
Although these teams have a controversial from their tradition: conflict between Castile and Catalonia. Football was only the tool to fight against General Franco, who cracked down Catalonia, and to show their identity for citizens in Barcelona. That is why supporters of these teams are often violent and are hostile toward each other. In European soccer league, it is free for players to transfer to another team, but in the case of these two teams, it is neither strictly taboo to move from Real Madrid to FC Barcelona nor FC Barcelona to Real Madrid.
Well, we all now know that there are enthusiastic people who are supporting these two teams, but what makes this special soccer match a religion? As Bruce David Forbes mentioned, “Two general categories of popular culture that many think provide a functional religion for their enthusiasts are sports and television” (Bruce). There are some ritual practices that are done in their home stadiums, Camp Nou (Barcelona) and Santiago Bernabeu (Madrid). Supporters sing team songs, hoist a team flag or an emblem, or even insult the opponent to show supporters’ love and bond to their supporting team. For people who are truly a follower of these teams, their home stadium is a sacred place and where they do some ritual practices showing their faith to the great power, the players.
As Emile Durkheim said, “God simply is a symbol for the society itself” (Durkheim), star players in both teams are considered as a god in these Spanish society. Just as like when Jesus Christ rescue someone from the danger, star player will save the team from losing and lead to victory. In both cases believers have strong trust in god. In FC Barcelona, it is often said that the star player of this team is Messi, and in Real Madrid, Christiano Ronaldo. We can tell that these players represent the team by looking at a large number of supporters who are wearing their replica uniforms. All of the information above was about the popular culture as a religion.
On the other hand, there are some aspects of “Religion in Popular Culture” in these teams. As I mentioned before, Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are definitely the players who represent the team, but also, they are symbols of Christianity. For example, Messi often make the sign of the cross after he scores a goal. Also, Ronaldo, known as one of the most fashionable soccer player, often wear cross necklace in plain clothes. They are for sure one of the good role model that is using mass media such as TV or magazines to spread Christianity using their fame. Because many young soccer players adore these star players, there are good chances of them to copy the star players and become Christian.
