From: Alan Olsen <alan@clueserver.org>
Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1998 00:45:27 +0800
To: "Brown, R Ken" <brownrk1@texaco.com>
Subject: Re: Soccer Moms?
In-Reply-To: <896C7C3540C3D111AB9F00805FA78CE2013F84C8@MSX11002>
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.3.96.981016001308.5070C-100000@clueserver.org>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



On Tue, 13 Oct 1998, Brown, R Ken wrote:

> 
> In the middle of an interesting article about digital cash, forwarded
> here by Bob Hettinga, there was the line:
> 
> > After all, the kind of soccer moms who elected Bill Clinton
> 
> "Divided by a common language" as I am  I genuinly don't know what that
> means. And I can't even guess from context. I'd have expected a dig at
> liberals or feminists or welfare recipients at that point; and I can't
> work out what soccer has to do with it.
> 
> Do mothers play soccer much in the USA?
> 
> Football (as the 95% of the world's population that aren't either
> English-speaking North Americans or else Rugby fans call the Beautiful
> Game) is associated in my mind with young men, specifically working
> class men. It's connotations are entirely macho, even violent.  When a
> big match is on men gather in pubs and bars and shout at TVs whilst
> knocking back the lager. You avoid the centre of town if you don't want
> to risk getting involved in a fight.  People get *killed* at football
> matches.  That's pretty much true in every big city inthe world outside
> North America (and Japan where the fans are polite). 
> 
> This honestly isn't a troll - I am in fact bewildered by the phrase.  

Basically the phrase refers to suburban housewives.  (Mothers who have
time to take their little sprogs to school soccer games and the like.)

The image of suburban housewives getting involved in World Cup style
brawls and rioting does have a certain appeal though. ]:>

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