Whoa. That’s pretty complicated stuff. But you don’t need to spend hours reading complex paragraphs that aim to explain—or at least deconstruct—esoteric Marxist theories that are designed to illustrate the ways we have failed as a civilization.

To get that news, all you really have to do is read the Albuquerque Journal’s latest coverage of the events driving the Keller administration’s hopeful march toward re-election.

In fact, the whole ball of wax can be aptly summarized by the following term: Sports ball.

If you believe what the paper prints—and who doesn’t, after all, it is Burque’s newspaper of record—a big and most likely Brutalist stadium is on its way to becoming a reality for our town’s latest upstart soccer team.

BREAD AND CIRCUSES AND PORK

A longtime pet project of Keller—a former sports ball star himself, albeit of the American high school football quarterback variety—the idea for a new and sparkly iteration of the spectacle may soon be on its way to manifesting in an otherwise impoverished, pandemic-damaged burg.

Ironically the only other commercial venture that seems to be going great guns in our town is the movie biz, a whole dang culture and industry devoted to making the spectacle seem lovable, believable and desirable.

Before we talk about how the spectacle has infiltrated our lives, let’s talk about sports ball. Long before Debord and his fellow Situationists defined the progress—or lack thereof—of humanity, based on their various associations with capitalism, the Imperial Romans invented another term for this phenomenon; they called it “Bread and Circuses.”

Here’s the idea: Juvenal, a Roman writer known mostly for his arch satires, came up with the term “panem et circenses” to describe political efforts to generate public approval through the most superficial means, such as abundant food and entertainment.

Who the heck has time to rebel against—much less question—the actions and policies of the leadership class when they are so dang good at providing fun, publicly funded diversions for a city literally starving for a return to the normative?

By the way, Modern editorial commentators have also come up with a similar term. Though it slightly differs in use and application, the spirit of the term fits. Here it is, courtesy of the ghost of Albuquerque Tribune Editor Ralph Looney: “pork barrel politics.”

“America Needs A ‘Slick Politician Like Clinton In The Whitehouse””, November 24, 1992, Deseret News/Scripps Howard News Service:

https://www.deseret.com/1992/11/24/19017876/america-needs-a-slick-politician-like-clinton-in-the-white-house]

According to the account by the aforementioned local paper of record, Keller and local sports ball team owner Peter Trevisani announced the grand plan for more and better entertainment for Duke City denizens at a recent game being played by very popular sports ball team [New Mexico] United.

Here’s what reporter Geoff Grammer wrote: “Upon receipt this past week of a 400-plus page feasibility analysis, the Mayor will send a resolution on Monday to City Council to get a bond proposal placed on the November ballot—on which he will also be on seeking re-election—for a new, publicly funded downtown soccer stadium with New Mexico United, a privately owned team, as the primary tenant.”

“Mayor makes his case for a new stadium”, Saturday, July 24, Albuquerque Journal:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2412949/mayor-makes-his-case-for-a-new-soccer-stadium.html]

What follows is an analysis of that announcement filtered through the Situationist lens of Debord and the practical lens of what life is really like here in Albuquerque post-pandemic.

THE GLORY THAT IS SPORTSBALL

Ball games that employ highly paid, physically ideal athletes are very popular diversions in America. Of course they’re big business, too. Professional sports generated 75 billion dollars in revenue in 2019. Collegiate and professional sports ball programs ranging from football to basketball and baseball—and now soccer, too—are not only popular and profitable; they also provide definition to much of American culture.

“Sports Industry Insights”, October 17, ,2019, Medium:

https://medium.com/qara/sports-industry-report-3244bd253b8

Sports ball’s weighty influence on American culture begins in high school. Athletically talented, conventionally attractive and, most importantly, compliant adolescents gravitate toward a culture that rewards the above-referenced attributes and values. Their ranks fill high school sportsball teams, cheer squads—and oftentimes student government and publications, as well—while outsiders must form subcultures of their own.

Drama kids, band geeks, hippies, cholos, and the like don’t have access to the same resources as the so-called “jocks.” High school athletic programs, as a rule, are much better funded than any educational programs that involve the arts, vocational education or alternative education methodologies. It’s no wonder that this sporty cadre of students often goes on to success in American political culture.

“The Case Against High School Sports, October, 2013, The Atlantic:

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/10/the-case-against-high-school-sports/309447/

The thing is that these sorts of athletic activities, at any level, are not particularly culturally substantive activities, nor are they truly restorative. They are designed to glorify and promote the hegemony of the status quo. As a consequence, they often ensnare regular citizens with their performative nonsense.

And, beyond a few players and owners at the top of these organizations’ self-defined pyramid, these athletic activities really don’t contribute to this city’s economic well-being (unless you still believe in trickle-down economics).

As for this proposed development’s direct economic impact, I predict that a publicly financed stadium—whose primary tenant would be a privately owned team—will bring more service industry jobs to town, and then local business leaders will argue whether such forms of employment deserve a living wage that allows them to pay their rent on time while owner Trevisani (once closely associated with Thornburg Mortgage and a former college sportsball player) continues his own career as a millionaire investor.

USL Championship players, like those on [New Mexico] United roster, make upward of $75,000 per year. According to an Albuquerque Journal article published as the league began its expansion into New Mexico, “USL Championship players are paid and there is no league salary cap. Most player contracts are for one year with a club option beyond. Some NMU players receive housing stipends along with a monthly paycheck. Most contacts include a universal incentive based on team (not individual) production.” Notably, at the time of publication, Trevisani has not disclosed exact salary figures.

“New Mexico United Soccer: A Primer, Part I”, March 5, 2019, Albuquerque Journal:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1288568/debut-nears-for-expansion-new-mexico-united.html]

Meanwhile, the median annual income for a concession worker at a stadium, where such spectacles are brought to life, is around $26,000. Unlike the folks on the field, these workers often lack health care and housing options.

“Concessions Stand Worker Salaries” Glass Door:

https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/concessions-stand-worker-salary-SRCH_KO0,24.htm]

QUESTIONING THE STATUS QUO

Besides all that, sports ball is fun to watch. It’s a satisfying distraction from what lurks beneath the uniform-clad, crowd-cheering surface.

It seems counterintuitive to question something that seems like such a positive development. That’s how the spectacle works, though. Consumers are provided with something that is ostensibly glorious and close to their hearts so they don’t have to notice or consider—even if only for the span of a soccer game—their own economic and physical fragility.

When that phenomenon is repeated, there is the potential for many to become enthralled by the performative experiences and identities of athletes and celebrities. These conditions create a population whose own suffering is belied by the widely held notion that their leaders are working for the greater good.

That’s because these citizens have entered a phase of life where they identify and connect more with the spectacle and its agents than they do with their own economic and physical well-being.

In a city plagued by a nascent affordable housing crisis, homelessness, violent crime, questionable policing, economic dissolution, and a post-pandemic malaise that can be observed simply by driving up or down a stretch of east Central Avenue, I must question whether proceeding with a publicly funded soccer stadium during an election year is wise.

Don’t get me wrong—I totally dig el beisbol. Under the proper circumstances, a Downtown stadium could be a nice addition to our civic infrastructure. As it stands, such plans are merely a dangerous distraction from understanding and doing something about the actual state of this city. Even if one discounts the essentially leftist basis for this argument, the move is questionable except as a political ploy.

THE REVITALIZATION OF DOWNTOWN

While some may argue that such plans play into a grander scheme to revitalize downtown Albuquerque, that is not necessarily an outcome. Throw in the fact that the whole deal smells like a pork-flavored legacy project that voters will have to pay for as a general obligation bond sale—those bonds would have to be guaranteed by future sales tax and property tax revenues—and the stadium plan seems a lot like a calculated PR move intended to improve Keller’s election outcome.

The idea for a sports stadium has long been tied to the notion of a refreshed and revitalized downtown Albuquerque. In 2015, former Mayor Richard Berry proposed development of a Downtown stadium, hoping to complete the project as his term neared its end in 2017. Of course, much of what Berry anticipated as a fine reminder of his time in office never materialized—but at least he waited until nearer the end of his term to make such a pricey nonessential proposal.

In any case, the overarching theme of making Downtown safe, attractive, economically successful and livable has become a spectacle in and of itself. Keller is looking for a sure ticket to re-election and the stadium proposal coincides with a lot of what he hopes will make him re-electable.

Former St. Pius X quarterback Tim Keller understands the hold that sportsball has on some Burqueños and he is prepared to use that as political device to benefit his campaign.