T&F Proofs: Not For Distribution 3 Commodification of Pride and Resistance to Profit Language Practices as Terrain of Struggle in a Swiss Football Stadium Alfonso Del Percio and Alexandre Duchêne INTRODUCTION In the winter of 2010, Football Club Basel (henceforth FCB), a major foot- ball 1 team located in the northern part of German-speaking Switzerland, launched a promotional DVD. This widely distributed film, titled FCB: Der Film (FCB: The Movie), is available in major supermarkets, in bookstores and in FCB’s stadium shop. It aims to provide FCB fans with insight into what goes on behind the scenes in one of Switzerland’s most successful football teams. It is, in reality, an unambiguous marketing product dedi- cated to a club considered to incarnate—as the DVD proclaims—both a cult and a cultural good (“Der charismatische Verein ist heute Kult und Kulturgut in einem” / The charismatic association is today both cult and cultural good). The opening section of the DVD displays pictures of local buildings (the Basel Trade Fair Tower, the cathedral, the town hall, a historic bridge), the local surroundings with the river Rhine, as well as local and international personalities. The DVD depicts everyone speaking in their own language and thereby presents the viewers with a wide range of linguistic varieties—from the local dialect to English or Spanish—and confers both a touch of local authenticity and a mark of internationalism on the club. These pictures alter- nate with images of the St. Jakob-Park, FCB’s stadium, the Muttenzerkurve (the most prominent stand in the stadium), the fans with their flags and ban- ners, and the team, particularly the most prominent and charismatic players. The soundtrack is composed of songs, testimonies and authentic ambient sounds at the stadium. The main melody of the DVD is a recording of a typi- cal chant (“Fuessball das isch unser Läbe”/ Football is our life), which fans at St. Jakob-Park always sing toward the end of a match and which documents football’s as well as fan culture’s potential to construct cohesion, community and identity. Testimonies from a former and the current coach, the team captain and a local player are also recorded on the soundtrack. These key spokespersons talk about passion, spirituality and emotions. They talk about Duchene & Heller 1st pages.indd 43 Duchene & Heller 1st pages.indd 43 7/15/2011 12:10:28 PM 7/15/2011 12:10:28 PM