Abstract
This chapter considers the influence and effects of acculturation, bicultural stress and identity issues among US-born Mexican–Americans in regards to soccer. Sports are often a major reason people take pride in their culture. But what happens when someone identifies with two cultures that are rivals in the world’s most popular sport? Using in-depth interviews of US-born Mexican–Americans, and informed by social identity theory, related processes of social categorization and the more recent emphasis on the discursive construction of identities and categories, this chapter addresses how Mexican-Americans may be positioned to choose one identity or allegiance over another and how they mitigate the attendant bicultural stress that accompanies such decisions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Anderson, B. (1983). Imagined communities: Reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism. London: Verso.
Armstrong, G., & Young, M. (1999). Fanatical football chants: Creating and controlling the carnival. Culture, Sport, Society, 2(3), 173–211.
Arreola, D. (Ed.). (2004). Hispanic places, Latino spaces. Austin: University of Texas Press.
Bacallao, M. L., & Smokowski, P. R. (2009). Entre dos mundos/between two worlds: Bicultural development in context. Journal of Primary Prevention, 30, 421–451.
Bizman, A., & Yinon, Y. (2002). Engaging in distancing tactics among sport fans: Effects on self-esteem and emotional responses. Journal of Social Psychology, 142, 381–392.
Edley, N., & Wetherell, M. (1996). Men in perspective: Practice, power and identity. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.
Evans, M. D. R., & Kelley, J. (2002). National pride in the developed world: Survey data from 24 nations. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 14, 303–338.
Forster, M., Grigsby, T., Soto, D. W., Schwartz, S. J., & Unger, J. B. (2014). The role of bicultural stress and perceived context of reception in the expression of aggression and rule breaking behaviors among recent-immigrant Hispanic youth. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 30(11), 1807–1827.
Havard, C. (2014). Glory out of reflected failure: The examination of how rivalry affects sport fans. Sport Management Review, 17, 243–253.
Heider, F. (1958). The psychology of interpersonal relations. New York: Wiley.
Hogg, M. A., & Abrams, D. (1988). Social identifications. London: Routledge.
Kolbe, R., & James, J. D. (2000). An identification and examination of influences that shape the creation of a professional team fan. International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, 2(1), 14–28.
Korzenny, F. (1999). Acculturation vs. assimilation among US Hispanics: E-mail self-reports. Quirk’s Marketing Research Review. Retrived from http://aphumangeo.weebly.com/uploads/3/0/4/6/3046944/hispanicacculturationassimilation.pdf.
Lalas, G. (2013, March 26). Commentary: Why Mexico-USA is the best rivalry in international soccer. MLS Soccer. Retrieved from http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2013/03/26/commentary-why-mexico-usa-best-rivalry-international-soccer.
Markovits, A. S., & Hellerman, S. L. (2001). Offside: Soccer and American exceptionalism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Markovits, A. S., & Hellerman, S. L. (2006). Women’s soccer in the United States: Yet another American ‘exceptionalism’. Soccer & Society, 4(2), 14–29.
Oshri, A., Schwartz, S. J., Unger, J. B., Kwon, J. A., Des Rosiers, S. E., Baezconde-Garbanati, L., et al. (2014). Bicultural stress, identity formation, and alcohol expectancies and misuse in Hispanic adolescents: A developmental approach. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 43, 2054–2068.
Potter, J. (1996). Representing reality: Discourse, rhetoric and social construction. London: Sage.
Quinones, S. (2007). Antonio’s gun and Delfino’s dream: True tales of Mexican migration. Albuquerque, NM: Universityy of New Mexico Press.
Romero, A. J., & Roberts, R. E. (2003). Stress within a bicultural context for adolescents of Mexican descent. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 9(2), 171–184.
Ryska, T. A. (2001). The impact of acculturation on sport motivation among Mexican-American adolescent athletes. The Psychological Record, 51, 533–547.
Santillan, R. (2002). Mexican baseball teams in the Midwest, 1916–1965: The politics of cultural survival and civil rights. Perspectives in Mexican American Studies, 7, 131–151.
Schwartz S. J., & Unger, J. B. (2010). Biculturalism and context: What is biculturalism, and when is it adaptive? Commentary on Mistry and Wu. Human Development, 53(1), 26–32. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2840244/.
Schwartz, S. J., Montgomery, M. J., & Briones, E. (2006). The role of identity in acculturation among immigrant people: Theoretical propositions, empirical questions, and applied recommendations. Human Development, 49, 1–30.
Su, J. C., Lee, R. M., Park, I. K., Soto, J. A., Chang, J., Zamboanga, B. L., et al. (2015). Differential links between expressive suppression and well-being among Chinese and Mexican American college students. Asian American Journal Of Psychology, 6(1), 15–24.
Sugden, J., & Tomlinson, A. (1994). Soccer culture, national identity and the World Cup. In J. Sugden & A. Tomlinson (Eds.), Hosts and champions: Soccer cultures, national identities, and the USA World Cup. Brookfield, VT: Ashgate.
Tadmor, C. T., & Tetlock, P. E. (2006). Biculturalism: A model of the effects of second-culture exposure on acculturation and integrative complexity. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 37(2), 173–190.
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1986). The social identity theory of intergroup behavior. In S. Worschel & W. G. Austin (Eds.), Psychology of intergroup relations. Chicago, IL: Nelson Hall.
Valeriano, B. (2014). Latino assimilation, divided loyalties and the World Cup. Soccer & Society, 15(3), 291–313.
Vasquez, J. M. (2010). Blurred borders for some but not “others”: Racialization, “flexible ethnicity”, gender, and third-generation Mexican American identity. Sociological Perspectives, 53(1), 45–71.
Weiss, O. (2001). Identity reinforcement in sport: Revisiting the symbolic interactionist legacy. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 36(4), 393–405.
Zong, J. & Batalova, J. (2014, October 9). Mexican immigrants in the United States. Migration Policy Institute. Retrieved from http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/mexican-immigrants-united-states.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Coche, R., Meân, L.J., Guerra, O. (2017). Bicultural Stress, Soccer, and Rivalry: How Mexican–Americans Experience the Soccer Competition Between Their Two Countries. In: Kassing, J., Meân, L. (eds) Perspectives on the U.S.-Mexico Soccer Rivalry. Global Culture and Sport Series. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55831-8_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55831-8_12
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-55830-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-55831-8
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)