Big games as relgious rituals.

When you look at our big games, it's easy to see the theory that football matches are religious rituals. Unless there actually is someone who doesn't get this, I'll not spell it out.


But they're oddly fragile rituals when you think about it. When was the last time a congregation left mass with the priest telling them that the mass had been a failure as the transubstantiation just didn't happen? Where a wedding had to be repeated on a different date because the first one failed? Or a new U.S. president had to be sworn in several times, etc.

Curious. Any thoughts? No, I'm not stoned BTW.

 

So you're just drunk? :bbpd:


Seriously, there are some strong similarities between religion and fitba.
It would be * weird to see buddhists and born again christians, all in Stone Island gear, meet up somewhere and beat the * out of each other.

 

I was actually going to do a thread about pre game rituals just there :smiley-laughing002:

 

Does them * a goat and then slitting its throat count ?

 

What about * it or can you only do that on match days?


Edit was it not a sheep you meant because that's what I 1st though :smiley-laughing002:

 

Dear * :smiley-laughing002:

 

A sheep! A goat would be soooooo weird!

 

No. I was in that half-asleep/half-awake state when I was thinking about it.

 

Almost the same songs every time, then YNWA. Then a roar as the teams come out, a bigger roar during the CL anthem, another when the huddle forms and yet another when it breaks. Then usually some chants of "Celtic" and we're off.

After that there is more variation but in recent years the pattern is pretty set. First song will probably be the Celtic song. The Symphony will get its first airing early too. At some point in the first half you'll get COYBIG and Willie Maley. Bad decisions will get howls of derision. Corners and spells of dominance will get chants of "Celtic". Opposition penalties will get whistles and spinning scarves. C***s like Neymar and Diouf will get booed when they touch the ball. If we score, you get JCGE and the song(s) of the player who scores (if he has one). It used to be if we were losing badly you'd get "over and over"; nowadays I have the impression that about half the stadium mutters a quick ritual "FS Ambrose" (like blessing yourself before leaving church) and leaves, meanwhile the GB will switch to singing rebs...etc, etc, etc.

OK, the Ambrose thing was tongue-in-cheek, but in all seriousness, it has religious ritual written all over it.

We even have our own TC rituals for those of us watching streams. In the days running up to it, people will post teams and make predictions, shortly before kickoff Albashamrock will post some links, if it's a really big game, someone will bump a certain thread (you'll know which one I mean when someone bumps it for the Sevco game), if one of our players * up, someone will post FS Ambrose or FS Loovens, etc, etc...


All that must surely be obvious to most people, but the point I was making was that whether the ritual worked or not (and it is an almost religious feeling it generates) is a lot more fragile than most rituals we are used to nowadays, depending as it does to some extent but not totally on events on the pitch. Most rituals in modern life aren't like that IMO.

Like I say, curious.

 

I have sort of seen football matches more in the Bartholomew Fair sort of way, but the religious element comes into that.

Back in the day massive fairs would mix upper class people with lower class people; they would flirt drink. swear and fight. The authorities would invariably let this behaviour slide. Looking back, people's frustrations were given an outlet; women had a voice, as did the worker, and they all literally went mad together letting go of all social norms and customs. It turns out that these festivals were important vents to frustrations that existed at the time and although they looked debauched were infact important to the stability of society. Football has been without doubt fitting this model, particularly for the working class. You go there you drink, you swear, you shout and let yourself go a bit, bond and engage in behaviour that sometimes isn't quite legal, but I don't think that makes it wrong. I think that it's actually important. There is without doubt a religious element and I think that is all part of the piece. People need to praise and worship and be part of things, I think it is in our nature. That is footballs attraction, it takes so many boxes as well as being a great game.

It would make a great Celtic book, instead of the generic narrative history we get, analyse how it actually worked on a social level. In saying that, I'm sure there is some academic who has done it already.

 

Hmmm. Interesting post.

 

It's actually pretty hard to celebrate an invalid Mass unless the priest actively wills to not do what the Church does. He could technically make up his own language on the spot and say "Hagkya jjvahah jbhj ah" for "This is my Body" and as long as he means to do what the Church does, that is confect the Most Holy Eucharist and offer it as a sacrifice to *, then it would still be valid, albeit illicit. If the priest purposefully intended to not do what the Church does, then it would be invalid. We can never really know the mind of the priest. It's always within the realms of possibility that even if he says everything and does everything he's meant to, that he's intending to do something different. But it's not likely, and the fiend would be outed in the end.

Masses can accidentally be rendered invalid. Elderly priests can sometimes forget to do things, like confect the Most Precious Blood. These are accidents, and the best choice would be to have a fellow priest or deacon assist the priest at the altar from then on if he's the only one available for Mass. I also know of some alcoholic priests who would use whisky during Mass rather than wine. Of course, that would be an invalid Mass. If a priest dies half way through Mass, another priest should be brought in to finish the Mass.

This is actually quite common. If you should up at your wedding impaired because of alcohol, it's an invalid wedding. To be validly married you need to do it again.

 

Aye, alright. * the fact that the guy died. Lets finish the mass first, then we'll call an ambulance :smiley-laughing002:

 

Hi, North. Nice to see you. How are you these days? Interesting post, mate.