Monday, March 15, 2010

Mapping London's loyalties

I was 15 when I received "THE SOCCER TRIBE," a book by social anthropologist DESMOND MORRIS.
I have read the book several times since my teenage years.

The book weds Morris' theories about the tribal aspects of ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL with more than 580 photographs and illustrations.

One of my favorite illustrations was a scarf mapping the approximate territories of London's four most popular clubs, ARSENAL, CHELSEA, TOTTENHAM and WEST HAM.

The map indicates, for example, how Hackney is Spurs territory while neighboring Tower Hamlets is solidly Hammers. Harrow's loyalties are split between Arsenal and Chelsea, according to the map, while Spurs and Gunners fans share Enfield.

Looking at the map the other day, I wondered if London's soccer borders have changed in the years since 1981.

While we sat in a Kensington pub this past December, Inger and I were surrounded by Arsenal supporters. Has support for the Gunners grown in the capital since Arsene Wenger's arrival (and the publicity surrounding Nick Hornby's "Fever Pitch")?

I would love to see a more current version of this map.

4 Comments:

Blogger Webbie - FootieAndMusic said...

Good post and good point.
Like that pic of the scarf as well.

1:51 PM  
Blogger RogField said...

Funnily enough, someone has updated the map: http://bigthink.com/ideas/26493#comments

A number of comments, including from me, have mentioned that having Hackney down as Spurs doesn't seem right - if it's true that it ever WAS tottenham territory, then the encroachment of glory hunters from the other side has been remarkable. Even in Haringey, not more than a couple of miles from Spurs' stadium you can find significant support for our neighbours.

12:09 PM  
Blogger erik hogstrom said...

Thanks for the update, RogField. I imagine Hackney would be a bit of a battleground for Spurs and Gunners.
The new map is also interesting in how it portrays London south of the Thames.

6:18 PM  
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