Soccer Becomes Part of European Culture

MEET the fans in the stands at football games across Europe. They wear face paint, shout at the teams they love to hate and go crazy when talking about the players they think truly stink.
    In Europe, soccer has so long a history that it has become part of the culture. But each European country has its own "football culture."

Britain: British football is not necessarily the best in the world, but its football marketing is no doubt the most successful of all European countries. The English Premier League draws global television audiences, and Michael Owen and David Beckham have become worldwide superstars.Part of the reason comes from Britons' love of the sport.
     Many British football fans enjoy gathering in pubs to talk about their favourite teams and players and to watch games together.The Winchester Hall Tavern [①]in London is one of the most famous football pubs in Britain. The large old Victorian pub is equipped with five TVs and a big screen. It's so large that it never gets packed.[②]

 Partly due to the excessive drinking in the pubs, Britain also produces some infamous hooligans[③] who have become an increasing headache for police officers in Europe.

Germany: According to a 1996 report to the European parliament, German fans tend to come from the middle class of society, and can be divided into three broad types.
   The "consumer-oriented" fan will sit in the stands or seek a quiet spot on the terraces and just wants to see a good game.
   The "football-oriented" fan dresses in his team's colours and badges, is a member of the supporters' club, stands on the terraces and supports his club through thick and thin.
    The "adventure-oriented" fan will change his spot on the terraces from game to game and wants to see something happen, whether it has anything to do with football or not.

 Italy: Italian football culture is an extended form of town patriotism. The battle lines of the football "ultras"[④]are the same as those of the ancient rivalries between regions and towns.
   When supporting their national team abroad, Italian fans may, like other nations, temporarily forget traditional city and regional rivalries. When the World Cup Finals were held in Italy in 1990, however, the "ultra" groups could not overcome their differences to join forces against international rivals.
    The Napoli fans abandoned the Italian national team to support their local hero Maradona, who was playing for Argentina.
    In response, the northern "ultras" supported any team playing against Argentina.
   The majority of the hard-core "ultras" are working-class, with a large proportion of skilled and unskilled blue-collar workers. There are also many students and professionals among Italian football fans.

   France: Football in France has never attracted the numbers of live spectators[⑤],       or inspired such passionate support, as in other European countries. Despite the current popularity of the sport, even major cities cannot have more than one team, and matches attract on average only a third of the spectators of their equivalents in Italy, England and Spain.
    In terms of popular interest and enthusiasm[⑥] for the sport, however, football has enjoyed a "renaissance"[⑦]in France during the 1980s and 1990s, following a "decline" during the 1960s and 1970s.
    The interest has increased largely due to the successes of French teams in international competition and the accompanying large-scale investment in the "promotion" of football.
    The revival of popular interest in football and the increase in attendance at football matches have led to a diverse group of fans.
    The majority of spectators are both from the working class and the middle class. Some have even described the fans in France as: "With the exception of the upper classes, all of society is found in the stadium."[⑧]

①.  Winchester Hall Tavern:温彻斯特酒吧，位于伦敦城中，是英国球迷聚集率最高的酒吧之一。

②.  get packed:感到拥挤。

③.  infamous hooligans:声名狼藉的小流氓。

④.  ultras:超过某一限度，范围。

⑤.  spectator:观看者，观众。

⑥.  enthusiasm for:热爱。

⑦.  renaissance:the Renaissance(14,15,16世纪的)文艺复兴时期。

⑧.  “With the exception of the upper class,all of society is found in the stadium”:整个社会已无阶级区别，整个社会都建立在看台上。

Summary:

本文分别叙述了英国，德国，意大利和法国的足球现状和球迷风采。从“足球”这一特别的角度出发，揭示了足球已深深地溶入到欧洲文化中，成为欧洲文化中不可或缺的一部分的文章主旨。并且，本文在介绍各国足球现状的同时，巧妙地揭示了这几个欧洲国家最真实的社会现状和人民的人生观。