In his excellent book Nations and Nationalism Since
1780 E. J. Hobsbaum recalls his youth in prewar Austria, a country whose
citizens he describes as having little in common except that most wanted
to become part of Germany. Then the Austrian national soccer team played
Great Britain, and suddenly he realized that he had become Britain in the
eyes of his companions, who had immediately been overcome with pride in
a nation they scarcely thought of otherwise. The good Englishman remains
convinced to this day that had the match not ended in a draw his erstwhile
Austrian friends would have beaten the stuffing out of him. Starting from
this, Prof. Hobsbaum spends several pages discussing the importance of
sports in defining national consciousness. He was right.
Like interbellum Austria, Ukraine is a country with a great many problems,
not least of which is a weak sense of what it is or wants to be. Yet, when
Kyiv Dynamo plays, the most indifferent citizen of this country, who might
not be able to put three words together in Ukrainian, becomes a jingo patriot,
and he feels the fate of his beloved team as a personal matter of life
or death. When Valery Lobanovsky's beloved boys beat Madrid Real all Ukraine
heaved a sigh of relief followed by a pride they feel far too seldom. Now
that is a national idea for you. Thanks, coach! You have done more for
Ukraine than all those pantywaist politicians put together. Maybe you ought
to think about running for president...






