I don’t know if many of you are familiar with soccer or as it is called in every other country “futbol,” but the biggest sporting event in the world just took place this past month, The World Cup. It is the most highly anticipated event because one team from every country in the world has the ability to quality for this tournament. Unlike other tournament finals such as the NBA or NFL, the winner of this final is the Champion of the World and it means even more because they get to hold that title for four years. Thus, it takes the tournament to an entirely different level than any other sporting event and the title of champion is even more prestigious. Every four years it is held in a different country and it is so awesome because the tournament invites people from all over the world to attend. You will see presidents of different countries attend, artists of all nationalities, Kings, Queens, princesses, politicians, actors, and many more.
For my internet community I decided to join a world cup 2010 fan club. Anyone who wants too can join and it is a place where you can post about your predictions, talk about rosters, which teams are playing well, who you think will win what games, the players, scores, talk crap about the refs, argue plays, and get wrapped up in the spirit of the tournament. Everyone in the group has one thing in common, soccer. Whether they love it or are only members of the group to say how stupid it is, “futbol” is the topic at hand. I played futbol all the way up through college and played here at OSU. Playing in the Pac-10 had always been a goal of mine and so I have a strong passion for the sport. It wasn’t hard for me to find myself at home with the group. I knew all the teams in the tournament well so I was able to post a few things and respond to others with little hesitation. I felt comfortable talking to others in the group because I know what I am talking about and when you know a lot about a topic it makes it easier to talk to others about it as well. I felt like a member of the group when people started to respond to my comments and posts. I felt that when someone responded to my comments that my post was indeed valuable. Most of the times people would agree with me, for example on a play were the player was clearly off sides but the referees didn’t see it. On one occasion someone totally called me out and said I was wrong and must have been drunk when watching the game. I thought this was funny but I posted back with valuable evidence supporting my point of view and from there we had a brief but adult dialogue on a goal that was made, but should have been called back.
Agreements or disagreements, I felt a connection to this group and that I was accepted. In chapter 6 of Wood/Smith it talks about how communities in its original sense are being redefined. That instead of having to be in the same geographic area and talk face to face, it can also mean creating relationships and connections with people who share common topics. I would consider my online soccer group an online community despite the fact that I might be millions of miles away from anyone else in the group. Distance doesn’t matter. That is not what unites us; it’s what we have in common and that is something that computer technology has also redefined. Chapter 7 of Postman goes into detail on this aspect. Computers have replaced many aspects of our lives and redefined many others. The idea of community is just another one of the limitless examples that will continue to come with time.
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