Vilca, Mariana Naom

Written Composition III

Write an expository essay on Sports Fanaticism. Please, use double space.

Fan vs. Fanaticism: Which Side Are You On?

When you ask a foreigner if they know anything about Argentina they tend to say a few
standard answers, such as a curse word, "asado," and, perhaps the most common
one, Messi and/or Maradona. This is probably a reflection of how we are seen outside
our country, and of how important football is in most of our lives. However, we should
not let ourselves be deluded by this passion towards football as it is necessary to make
a distinction between football fans and football fanatics because they are not exactly
the same and they are used in different contexts.
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a fan is someone who
likes a particular sport very much; that is, it has a good connotation and we would use
this word to describe people who have a "healthy" relationship with football. This is the
case of those who enjoy watching the World Cup. As a case in point, in Argentina, it
becomes sort of like a holiday: everything is closed down for the day, except for bars
and pubs, obviously, and friends usually get together in one house to watch the game.
There really is a sense of togetherness, and even if you are surrounded by strangers,
you will get up to celebrate and hug them all the same.
On the other hand, there are fanatics who, according to the Longman Dictionary, have
extreme ideas, in this case, about football and are often dangerous. Moreover, this kind
of people is extremist and tends to take everything at heart. In Argentina, they are
called "barras" and the most notorious ones are "La 12" and "Los Borrachos del
Tabln". Whenever their teams (Boca Juniors and River Plate) play a match, they are
bound to cause trouble. Just this last match one Boca fanatic threw pepper spray to a
few River players because they were winning. There are many more examples of
violence caused by fanatics,; and sometimes people go as far as killing each other
because they support a different team.
As human beings, we are guided by our passions, and this passionate feeling can
follow one of two paths: liking something to the point of being a fan, and becoming
obsesseding over something so much that you end up being a fanatic. Extremes are
not the way to go, and sometimes these fanatics can, in fact, ruin the thing they love
dearly.
Very Good! 9