"I am an independentist, but I go with 'la roja'"

Barcelona"I am an independentist, but when Spain plays I want them to win for the Barça players and for Catalans". This phrase often resonates on our terraces from the mouths of friends, acquaintances, or even some politicians. There are also those who say: "I don't feel Spanish, but I like their football". This Sunday, in the Spain vs. Saudi Arabia match on the second day of the World Cup, many Catalans will once again experience this apparent contradiction: separating their detachment from the State from the euphoria for the goals of Luis de la Fuente's team. The ball seems to have the ability to blur strongly marked ideological lines in ninety minutes.

But, what national implications does cheering for the Spanish team really have? Academia has long studied this crossroads under the umbrella of "banal nationalism", a concept coined by social psychologist Michael Billig in 1997. The main idea of this concept is to describe an "invisible and semi-unconscious form" of identification with the nation, present especially in those countries or regions where theoretically it is no longer necessary to be waving flags or proclaiming national status because it has already been successfully assumed. According to Ferran Archilés, a historian at the University of Valencia, the profound success of this mechanism is that it "naturalizes the nation", that is, it makes citizens feel it is completely natural to be part of that country without the need for great stridency or permanent demands.

However, the popular excuse of "I don't feel Spanish, but I support la roja" presents certain fundamental nuances for specialists. Alejandro Quiroga, director of the master's degree in nationalism studies at the Complutense University of Madrid, points out that these "feelings of national identification are prior" to passionate adherence to the football team. That is, if one is moved to the core by Spain's victories, it is likely that a latent identity already exists in the background, and the mass sporting event simply comes into play and acts as a "reminder" of this belonging. Along the same lines, Archilés adds that cheering for the national team solely because you like the football spectacle or because of ties with the players from your local club "is not banal nationalism because you are not identifying with the Spanish nation, which is what the team promotes." This identity mechanism genuinely acts only when the person links themselves to it reflexively or without having previously thought about whether "to feel like a nationalist or a Spanish nationalist".

Football and the 'statu quo'

The great triumph of these tournaments lies in the ability to cloak themselves in supposed political neutrality. Many fans cling to the idea that football is a simple sport separate from politics, a belief that Quiroga considers "completely false." The expert emphatically states that "by defending a national football team, one is at least defending the statu quo", which inevitably implies weaving a clear "emotional bond with that nation." The historian from Madrid summarizes this by unmasking the true intention of those who ask to separate sport from the State: "Anyone who tells you that football and politics should not be mixed is clearly telling you that the establishment must be defended," thereby preventing any impulse for change.

In the propagation of this identity, experts say that the role of the media is key in shoring up indelible "mental frameworks." During the television broadcast of the match against Saudi Arabia, the continuous use of language through expressions like "We played well" will act to delineate a border between "us and them," constantly reminding us – and imperceptibly – to which community we belong. It is a type of everyday nationalism that "is so present that you no longer see it." After all, in the Spanish state "the power that football and the national team have is extraordinary, and so is the capacity to disseminate a national imaginary," states Archilés. The euphoria of the terraces, therefore, always goes much further than what the ball does: it transforms a subtle assumed identity into authentic "hot nationalism." A top-corner goal before starting.