Soccer and the American Dream

Description

The American Dream is founded upon the ideological belief that ‘you can be anything you want to be’, regardless of your current class position, and is one of the most emotive, pervasive and ideologically embedded concepts championed by American citizens. Providing contemporary insight into the American Dream via the critical lens of soccer – the world’s pre-eminent sport but still a minority interest in the US – this book challenges the notion that America is different, exceptional or unique in the global order, either in real socio-economic-political terms or in perceived cultural terms. Soccer and the American Dream offers an overview of soccer in the US and uses case studies to explore the motives of American university students in undertaking a soccer scholarship, considering the impact of family, social class and career development upon social mobility and upon the game itself. Providing a fascinating new insight into the nexus of sport, education, culture and society, this is a topical resource for students, scholars and practitioners across the fields of soccer, higher education, youth sport, sports development, sports coaching and sport management. Cover Half Title Series Title Copyright Contents List of figures and tables Preface Acknowledgements Abbreviations Resource 1: player questionnaire (part 1) Resource 2: player questionnaire (part 2) Resource 3: player interviews (semi-structured) Resource 4: profession categories used for the player survey Resource 5: major fields of study Resource 6: support and challenge dynamics questionnaire Resource 7: athletic directors and coaches interviews (semi-structured) Introduction 1 What is the American Dream? The narrative of the American dream Soccer and mainstream American culture Chapter summary 2 Soccer and the USA American exceptionalism and sports space The early beginnings: intercollegiate soccer Overview of United States professional soccer Soccer as a viable career for US students Men’s potential salaries Women’s potential salaries Chapter summary 3 Research design Theory and methodology: overview Interpretive research paradigm The pilot study The pilot study: interviewing Interview: framework of analysis Selection of universities Questionnaire Semi-structured interviews Data analysis Chapter summary 4 Results Player questionnaires Player questionnaire (part 1) (Resource 1) Player questionnaire (part 2) (Resource 2) Chapter summary 5 Discussion Family and social class Chapter summary 6 Conclusions ‘Soccer and American Exceptionalism’ Index