The introduction of the book presents us with a recurring theme that we have seen throughout the class; sports are integral in forming culture and a sense of identity, and serve as a unifying point for different cultures and backgrounds. Through the class so far we have focused a lot on the early history of soccer, and how it came to prominence in South America. There are many commonalities in the story of how soccer developed in countries such as Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina, such as the Europeans coming to the new world, a need for a pastime or community hobby, and the acceptance and integration of soccer amongst the middle and working class. Sports helped serve as a cultural base for these emerging cultures, and became integral to their identity.
The history of jewish communities in Latin America is something I know nothing about, and doesn’t seem to be talked about much. I like how the book is focusing on Villa Crespo, as narrowing the focus to one neighborhood and community will show more details into the history and the struggles that Jewish immigrants encountered during their early years of trying to integrate and come into their own in Argentina. It will also be interesting to see the history of Club Atlanta and how that developed and became a symbol for the community of Villa Crespo and jews in Buenos Aires. Sports clubs and organizations often reflect the state of their community and fans, so it will be interesting to see how Atlanta’s development coincides with the story and development of the jewish community in Argentina.
Jewish people were faced with massive trauma and change post WWII, dealing with the effects of the Holocaust and conflict in the Middle East over establishing Israel. The book will likely cover how embracing football helped overcome the trauma of recent jewish history and come into their own as Argentines. I imagine that the book will also go into more detail with how jews in Buenos Aires were integrating, but doing so in a way that kept their core values intact. This theme of Old World eurocentric values clashing or combining with New World values is common in sports history, and it will likely be a major point throughout the book.
