Thesis-2011-Marks.pdf (2.46 MB)
Team GB: united or untied? Contemporary nationalism, national identity and British Olympic football teams at London 2012
thesis
posted on 2011-05-13, 12:02 authored by Darren MarksAt the London 2012 Olympic Games, a football team representing Great Britain &
Northern Ireland will take to the field for the first time since 1972. This research uses
the often fractious and acrimonious debate surrounding this issue to gain insights and
understandings about contemporary national identity and nationalisms in the United
Kingdom. In particular, the objective is to show how these concepts may be
influenced, affected or altered by the existence or absence thereof of a Great Britain
Olympic football team at London 2012. A virtual ethnographic approach is adopted
and a number of websites are identified where discussion and debate has already
been undertaken between fans of the home nations teams: England, Northern Ireland,
Scotland and Wales. The expectation was that the debate would reflect parallel
political arguments regarding the constitutional make up of the United Kingdom.
However, it transpired that this was not the case and the association between sporting
and political arguments was less fervent and profound than was anticipated. This
suggests that there is a degree of satisfaction among fans concerning the footballing
and political status quo, particularly now that the way football is organised in the UK
reflects the political make-up of the UK more than ever. A number of themes emerge,
most notably those relating to anti-Englishness and the common conflation of
England and Great Britain. The issue of social class is identified as being significant
to these processes and the working class following and ethos that football has is
central to this. Comparisons are made with cricket and rugby union to illustrate these
points, and the significance of the England team’s continued use of symbols that are
usually associated with the UK, such as the anthem ‘God Save the Queen’, is
identified as contributing to instances of conflation. In these regards, the work of
several theorists is deemed to be helpful in detailing the contemporary significance of
nationalism. But it is the ‘banal nationalism’ of Michael Billig that is seen to be most
important and appropriate in describing the significance of the home nations teams to
continuing constructions of the nation.
History
School
- Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences
Publisher
© Darren MarksPublication date
2011Notes
A Doctoral Thesis. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy of Loughborough University.EThOS Persistent ID
uk.bl.ethos.548054Language
- en