aupa_athletic’s profile

Thanks for this rumple. As my user name suggests, I grew up an Athletic fan. Having been to a game at San Mames, I can tell you that there really is nothing like it in sports. It's about as non-corporate an atmosphere you can have in major sports. There are very few billboards, not even many snack bars. People bring their own sandwiches and wine. If you don't bring you own wine, the guy sitting next to you will give you some of his.

As mentioned in the article, Athletic are known to be some of the most polite and respectful in the game. They're just about the only fans in Spain that will applaud an opposing player for a nice bit of play. Racist taunts against foreign players that have plagued other Spanish clubs are virtually non-existent at Bilbao.

Talking to fans, they'll simply tell you that they'd rather lose with Basque players than win with non-Basques. It's got nothing to do with xenophobia and more to do with believing that a sports team should truly represent the region that supports it.

posted at 1:18 PM CDT on April 14

The tradition of excluding people based on race, religion or nationality does not seem like a good tradition to me. Athletic's decision not to employ non-Basques, smells more than a little suspiciously of xenophobia.

Of course, this begs the question what is a Basque? It's far too complicated to get into here, but what seems to be happening now is that Basques are trying to re-define what a Basque is.

As the article mentions, there is a player born in Mali who is coming up through the Athletic farm system. He has lived in the Basque Country and plans on learning the language. He is, essentially, a Basque.

I have a friend who was born in Seville--one of those Spaniards that Basques allegedly detest so much--who grew up in Bilbao, is a devout Athletic fan, and considers himself Basque. I'm not sure of the details, but I remember him telling me something that if you live in the Basque Country long enough, you have the right to self-identify as Basque regardless of where you were born. Equally, someone who was born elsewhere, say Latin America, but had Basque ancestors can also be considered Basque, which is why the team is searching throughout the world for players.

Essentially, Basques are expanding the definition of what being a Basque is and the team is trying to reflect that.

You mention that Barca has moved forward. Well, Athletic is trying to do that, but in a different way, one that ensures that players are closely tied to their community.

As the article mentions, Athletic is forced to invest a tremendous amount of resources to develop local players, something that has benefited the region, including people who have emigrated there from other parts of the world.

This may seem a bit silly or xenophobic, but it's just a different way of going about constructing a team and a culture.

posted at 3:27 PM CDT on April 14