The Assistant Professor of Football: Soccer, Culture, History.
The academic treatment for English-speakers who get that soccer is more than gamedays, stars and goals. Who wonder about the histories, subcultures and politics that make the game so different from many American sports cultures; and who care about a critical take on soccer as a global capitalist machine. A European-guided journey, with one expert "visiting professor" each episode.
The Assistant Professor of Football: Soccer, Culture, History.
Reformation Day Special: David Kilpatrick's 95 Theses (plus updates from Leeds on Red Bull, and from me on the former Chicago Red Stars)
Martin Luther (not the King) nailed 95 protest theses against the Christian church of his day to a church door in Germany on October 31st 1517. And Protestants , properly understood, have been protesting ever since. As we near "Reformation Day" again, David Kilpatrick, a Professor of English and Sports Managment, channels that spirit of protest to the world of soccer. His playful, bold and short book "95 Theses on the Reformation of Football: Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Glocal Football Governance" stands in a strong tradition of critical and intelligent football literature on this podcast. A listener himself, David and I roamed anywhere between 16th century Germany, the New York Cosmos, youth soccer and the mess that is FIFA.
In this longer episode before a Fall break, you will also get an update from Wayne (of the Red Bull and Leeds United episode 4 weeks ago) on the anointing of Jürgen Klopp as the head of Red Bull's soccer empire, and a critique of what is happening (or not) with the Chicago Red Stars.
HELPFUL LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:
David Kilpatrick's book
Mercy University's portrait of the book
David on his website and x/twitter
"Chicago Stars FC" launches new crest and explains "it's significance"
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Artwork for The Assistant Professor of Football is by Saige Lind
Instrumental music for this podcast, including the introduction track, is by the artist Ketsa and used under a Creative Commons license through Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/