Europe vs the US: The Ryder Cup
There are few competitions which pitch the whole of Europe against the US, but the Ryder Cup does
this. Began in 1927 as a competition between Great Britain and the US, it was expanded first to
Ireland and then continental Europe in 1979, partly to include the new generation of top class
Spanish golfers. Since then the “Europeans” have won nine times, so the chances of victory are
certainly boosted by drawing upon a wider group of talent.
But will fans be waving the European flag at the competition? Will supporters’ faces be painted with
blue and yellow stars? Probably the fans are far too classy to resort to these crude nationalistic
insignia, but it is unlikely that Europe can evoke this kind of frenzied fervour in its supporters in any
case.
Despite the efforts of the European Union to promote a sense of European identity since the 1970s
through the European anthem, the European flag, European cities of culture and Europe Day on May
9th ( have you ever heard of it?), support for European identity as such is low. The Eurobarometer,
which introduced the question in 1973, has recorded a continually low score at around 4 per cent of
Europeans feeling that they are European only and has even fallen in recent years with the upsurge
of anti-EU parties and sentiment. The question in the Eurobarometer is phrased “In the near future,
will you think of yourself as a ..European only, European and own nationality, own nationality and
European, own nationality only”. Own nationality and European along with own nationality only
reach 43.4 per cent and 44 per cent respectively. This has led scholars to talk about “nested
identity” with people feeling European in addition to their local or national affiliations. Great Britain
leads the way in national only sentiments at 64.7 per cent, whilst 19 percent of Luxembourgians (the
most pro European country) see themselves as European only. Will European identity emerge from
its nest for the Ryder cup?
To answer this we need to know who are the Europeans. Men are more likely to think of themselves
as European than are women as are those with higher levels of education and higher income. This
of course corresponds also with those in higher social classes having greater European identification.
Young people are more likely to think of themselves as European as well, having grown up in a world
where a borderless and united Europe was taken for granted. Interestingly, those with a more left
wing orientation are more likely to see themselves as European and those with more right wing
orientation as nationalistic, supporting restrictions on movement people around Europe, for
example, which is a major element of EU policy. The higher class supporters of golf are therefore
more likely to see themselves as European, but since they are also likely to be older people, this
might undermine the trend.
Feeling European is highly correlated with the extent of travel and the ability to speak other
European languages. Here the effect of various mobility programmes such as ERASMUS might have
had an effect as large numbers of young people move around for their education, but might
reinforce British exceptionalism as young people from here are less likely to go on these schemes or
to learn foreign languages.
Whilst people usually have a firm sense of the boundaries of their own country, in fact most people
in Britain do not know which countries are in the European Union or where its borders lie. They
nevertheless feel qualified to voice strong opinions about it. Few respondents in studies could even
say what rights they have as a result of being European citizens, so the sense of citizenship is very
weak. The continual enlargements and various accession agreements probably help to muddle the
picture. Yet this could be important for the Ryder Cup - what budding golfers might there be in
Serbia or in Croatia?
Most people also have a strong sense of the history of their country; they learn it in school. But the
history of Europe is more diffused and complicated and many people do not learn it in school. The
arcane administrative complexities of the European Union are generally only studied by those taking
it as a specialist subject at a higher level. In European countries such as Germany, however,
citizenship lessons are more likely to include information about Europe and the EU, which might
explain why their young people are more pro-European as well. Might there be an argument for
including this information in citizenship education for young people in Britain? If people are to vote
in a referendum on the EU, don’t they deserve to be better informed?
European symbols are rather low key, boring and administrative after all – a standardised passport
and car number plates do not inspire passion. They do not provide a warm fuzzy sense of emotional
belonging in most people, nor inspire people to go out and paint their faces.
It is clear that for those outside the European Union, it represents an ideal of regulated prosperity,
peace and security as well as the setting of high standards in environmental cleanliness and quality
of life. Ukraine has just suffered a civil war over the signing of an Association agreement with the
EU. Many people in countries from North Africa, the Caucasus and the Middle East would love to
enjoy the regulated and mundane harmony that Europeans take for granted. But these slowly
evolving and hard won achievements are unlikely to have people waving European flags in the Ryder
Cup.