The Blanco signing and rampant racial tension

By: Tom | April 19th, 2007

I hate to link to flamewars on internet messageboards, but this thread over on Bigsoccer (who apparently have abandoned the concept of moderating) is a sorry illustration of the racially-charged tension surrounding the Blanco signing.

The thread, which started off as a debate over whether it was possible the Fire could be sold and rebranded to the Mexican population as a Club America USA (a la Chivas USA), has descended into the kind of vitriol only the supposed anonymity of the internet allows. One particular point focuses on the question of Spanish-speakers dominating at Toyota Park once Blanco arrives, and a fear one fan expressed of being ‘overwhelmed’.

I’m not going to glorify the sorry comments the thread has descended into by quoting any further, but this does make me wonder what it is about the Blanco signing that’s causing such controversy, which I’ve mentioned before. After all, the same thing did not happen when the Fire looked to the Polish community by signing Peter Nowak or their previous attempt to woo the Mexican community with the signing of Jorge Campos in the 1990s.

There seem to me to be a few possibilities to explain this, none or all of which may be relevant:

(1) There was less fuss about ethnic groups and immigration in the 1990s. It wasn’t a hot-button political issue as it is today – with the fears of Mexican immigration “swamping the U.S.” in some quarters, and the kind of issues around language notable in Newt Gingrich’s comments on bilingual education recently;
(2) There’s something about Blanco in particular – his historic enmity with the U.S. national team, his abrasive on-field personality, the money he’ll be making (previous imports were not Designated Players making millions of dollars);
(3) People didn’t even care so much about the identity of American soccer, MLS and the Chicago Fire when it had only a couple of years history behind it in the mid to late 1990s;
(4) People were in fact just as upset up about those previous signings, but the internet wasn’t big enough to let Joe Blow spew it all up for everyone to see.

Which of those possible explanations do you think are relevant? Are there other explanations I’ve missed?

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Comments  

• Peter |  April 19th, 2007 at 10:50 am

  
  
  

  I think it is the Mexican issue. Some people are inherently afraid of those with different skin colors and languages. In the case of Nowak you had a guy who was white and playing in a city that is proud of its Polish heritage. Even people who are third or fourth generation US citizens will point to their Polish roots.

  The same kind of pride and identity doesn’t exist towards the Mexican community, which is often viewed as being little more than migrants coming to take low paying jobs. This is a fallacy but it is reality. Throw in the fact that Blanco is a polarizing player and that might explain why yahoos are using the anonymity of the web to voice their ignorance.

  Posted from United States

  

• Laurie |  April 19th, 2007 at 9:32 pm

  
  
  

  “the money he’ll be making (previous imports were not Designated Players making millions of dollars);”

  This one, definitely. It’s marginally okay for racist fans when the Mexican (or insert racial/ethnic class here) players are making less than or equal to the money of good ol’ REAL American players. But when they not only start making MORE money, but the front office wants to use them as a magnet to bring in more FANS from that racial/ethnic class? MAJOR problems. TOTALLY un-American.

  (Not my own thoughts, mind. Just channeling the rednecks.)

  Posted from United States

  

• Shandy Sisters |  April 20th, 2007 at 5:43 am

  
  
  

  A couple racist internet nerds does not equal “rampant racial tension”. We’ll be just fine. These racists are cowards who aren’t even really fans of the team. Let them leave, boycott, cry over their keyboards, we don’t need ‘em.

  Posted from United States

  

• Tom |  April 20th, 2007 at 5:48 am

  
  
  

  re: “Rampant”. Hey, I don’t write the hyperbolic headlines, I didn’t call it that in the text. Blame the subeditor (this is a blatant lie, obviously.)

  Seriously, though, it’ll be interesting to see if this manifests itself at actual games. The internet might encourage such expression, but it’s not as if these people aren’t real – and I could have pointed to many, many other threads on messageboards with similar thoughts expressed.

  Posted from United States

  

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