Episode 68 - The absence of the power of myth in Australian soccer, and the flimsiness of cultural memory

Download and listen to his episode here.

Paul and Ian are back in the studio for what will be their final show in 2020.

In 100 Years Ago Today, the soccer season in New South Wales is still going, and thus we have reports from Newcastle about cup finals; the ongoing post-war recovery of soccer in the St George district; and musings on the condition of football in the country of Bashan (today mostly part of Syria).

For our centrepiece this week, Ian decides to provide a mini-lecture on the point of myth and myth-making. Beginning with a reading of Bruce Dawe's classic ode to Australian Rules football in Victoria, 'Life Cycle', Ian seeks to demonstrate how the absence of myth - and the depth of feeling that such myths engender within a culture - are in one part a cause of soccer's socio-cultural marginalisation. But which comes first? The cultural centrality which then produces myths which reinforce that centrality, or myths which create cultural centrality? (spoiler - it's largely a synchronous exercise)

Ian lists moments in Australian soccer history which could, perhaps should be part of our collective cultural memory, but which are not - for reasons which we have gone over many times. Whatever the cause, the sink of Australian soccer cultural memory keeps draining itself too quickly, whereas other sports replenish their reserves of cultural memory at a much more sustainable rate.

(see also this demonstration of Charlie Harper's spending habits)

Are there any Australian stories which can tap into the tropes of the archetypal Australian myth or story? Ian thinks so, and uses the example of The Homesick Miner as a case in point. But Paul strugglres to be convinced. How can a marginal and marginalised and dispersed sport ever come close to attaining a cultural position where it can create a narrative for itself which epitomises and extols deep cultural purpose and continuity? If we keep resetting the narratives, and if people abandon their own histories, and if we fail to replenish our sense of continuities, how can we ever create what (for example) Australian Rules has in (for example again) Victoria - a self-perpetuating myth factory which (regardless of its historical accuracy), ties its adherents to a common past, common present, and common future (though Paul does not use that phrase exactly).

 In the episode's final segment, Paul wraps up the year's work by first acknowledging just how exhausting a year it was for many amid the detritus of the pandemic and the effort to contain, and their effects on so many of us. For Victorians especially, there was the added burden of being unable to commune and do research outside the home, but also the near total lack of any soccer to see live.

Paul then looks briefly at the state of Australian soccer history work. It's still disjointed and piecemeal, it's still small-scale, and it's still incrementalist in nature. Once keen amateurs move on from the field either from lack of support or sudden lack of interest. The field also lacks scholarly support, with the scholarly wing that might theoretically be able to support independent research hampered by the increasingly deleterious state of the humanities within Australian universities. 

But there is also good news. New people take up the mantle of historical research, and when added to the already existing cohort of keen amateurs, it could be said (well, Paul says it at any rate) that the Australian soccer history scene, on a collective front, might be the strongest it's been for 20 years, since the early-ish days of OzFootball. They're collating histories, filling in gaps, rustling up stats, and sharing their archives

There also appear to be good things happening within history and heritage committees attached to state federations. Certainly, we hear of promising developments in Queensland and New South Wales, and in Victoria the hiring of Tony Petsoglia as (part-time) History & Heritage Coordinator could very well be a game changer in Australian soccer history work.

Oh, and Fairplay Publishing keeps on putting out interesting books, with no signs that it's going to slow down in 2021.

Paul closes out the show by first listing his five favourite episodes from the year. and then thanking the wide range of people who make the show worthwhile - the audience of course, but also our many guests and several co-hosts. and the FNR production crew who make things work, especially Josh.