First published in edition 28, Pevensey Bay Journal
Saturday 31 August 2019
image credit: cobbybrook.co.uk [detail]
‘Which team do you support?’ I’ve been asked that loads of times – and never once managed an impressive answer. To say ‘I quite like Bournemouth’ – sounds a bit feeble to someone who’s a passionate follower of Brighton. And what’s even worse – is if you ‘quite like’ more than one team. Even though many don’t manage it in their relationships – when it comes to football, people tend to be fiercely monogamous.
We’re a tribal lot – living in a binary world. A world where things are black or white. A world where the government is good and the opposition is bad (or vice versa). A world where you’re a Brexiteer or a Remainer. A world where differences and similarities are exaggerated. A world where if you support the Cherries – you can’t also support the Seagulls. We have this need to belong to some group or another – and it’s no wonder gangs are so popular among disaffected inner-city youth.
I used to be in a gang – but that was just the name for the group of friends I hung around with. No drugs or knives involved – just a football and a bottle of Corona (which sounds worryingly like the Four Yorkshiremen sketch!) When we’re older, we join organisations such as the Conservative Party, or a church, or the National Trust. It means we improve the odds of associating with like-minded people – which makes us feel less alone.
But doing that can act as an echo-chamber, as the views we hear tend to reinforce ours. Maybe we need to get out more – and have deliberate contact with people and ideas that are different. If we mix only with our own kind (the old with the old, churchgoers with other churchgoers) – not only are we unlikely to grow, but it’s easy to categorise and generalise (maybe even demonise?) those we don’t think are like us.
You can be a football supporter without following a particular team. It means you love the game – and don’t mind who wins. So maybe it’s also possible to value and respect other people – even if they’re not in our tribe?
The work of Father Tony Windross as a writer and author is marked. The Thoughtful Guide to Faith (2003) received interesting reviews. John Shelby “Jack” Spong, a retired American bishop of the Episcopal Church and a liberal Christian theologian, said this book will escape the walls of the church and be debated everywhere.
