Fast Football and Philosophy

Does Absolute Power Corrupt Absolutely? America and FIFA

In this episode Jack and I discuss corruption, plain and simple.Is a cryo chamber elite recovery or just posh cheating? This week, we tackle the murky line between gamesmanship and outright rule-breaking, from the days when lifting weights was “ungentlemanly” to the small matter of FIFA, World Cups, and suitcases full of suspicious cash. We sprint through Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, and Montesquieu to ask: who decides what counts as cheating, and why does it always seem to involve billion-dollar tournaments in America? Expect corruption, classic philosophy, and a few absurd detours as we try (and probably fail) to play fair. Next week: Derrida - bring a dictionary! Just like Financial Fair Play, we here at FFP have designed this podcast to be educational. Whether it works is a different matter entirely.

Shady Saints Stripped of Success (?): Cheating in the Modern Game

In this episode, Adam and Jack see how philosophy can helpus frame and properly discuss ‘cheating’ in the beautiful game. With Southampton interns doing a somehow worse job than Adam pantomiming as a tree in his Year 1 nativity scene, one has to ask, ‘is this really what the game has come to?’ We set the scene with Spygate and then Jack regales us withtales about  Greek gods, Immanuel Kant, Machiavelli, and one of the greatest half-French philosophers of our time, the controversial figure of Joey Barton. The fun doesn't stop there either: we apply this all over the place Rangers vs Dynamo Kyiv, Jose Mourinho vs the world, right down to how Spurs weren't ever going to get relegated due to Adam's buy-in to a conspiracy theory originally proposed by... James Corden. Who says philosophy is only for those in ivory towers? Just like Financial Fair Play, we here at FFP have designed this podcast to be educational. Whether it works is a different matter entirely.

Season 2 Finale: What Have the Mighty Magyars Ever Done For Us?

That's folks, the end of season 2. I know, I know, you're sad. But fear not! We'll be back bigger and better than ever before in time for season 3. For now, satiate your appetite for all things FFP with this episode loosely based on reward and punishment, promotions and relegations, the Greek God Bacchus, Jack's need for therapy, and, of course, the Mighty Magyars and their legacy. We hope you enjoy it! Just like Financial Fair Play, we here at FFP have designed this podcast to be educational. Whether it works is a different matter entirely.

No Pyro No Party: Football's Ultras - a Force for Good?

Intriguingly, 'ultra' comes from the Latin 'ultrā', meaning 'to go beyond'. In this episode, Jack and I discuss football's ultras, from Partick Thistle through to Milan to ask the question: what is it that they do? Jack invokes some ancient and modern philosophy to tell us why the 'ultra' phenomenon is so ingratiated into football's psyche. Can singing that Huddersfield Town fans shag dogs really provide a much-needed sense of belonging? Can you really have a party if there's no flares? Will Jack stop flip flopping on the verisimilitude of Irish bars abroad? Find out in this week's episode, our second season's penultimate! Just like Financial Fair Play, we here at FFP have designed this podcast to be educational. Whether it works is a different matter entirely.  Sound Effect by: https://pixabay.com/users/alexis_gaming_cam-50011695/M - Pixabay [https://pixabay.com/users/alexis_gaming_cam-50011695/]

Football: The Greatest Story Ever Told?

Football just might be the greatest story ever told. However, inhis famous novel Nausea Jean-Paul  Sartre warns us of astark decision we have to make, 'We have to choose: live or tell!' His character Roquentin (admittedly a bit of a miserable bastard) says we impose a narrative on our lives which without them are chaotic, raw and meaningless. But if we are honest we should have the cojones to live truthfully, no narrative just raw chaos!   League football was set up in England in 1888 bringing ithierarchies, an order, and an endgame to football. In other words a narrative. Now the beautiful game has been organised into the greatest story with histories, myths, legends and dramas. It also has a point, which makes it non-existentialist. But was Wham! right? Should we 'choose life' or go with the stories? At FFP we're asking a question that is at the heart of the organised chaos that we call football.   Just like Financial Fair Play, we here at FFP have designed this podcast to be educational. Whether it works is a different matter entirely.