Creating or awakening national pride through sporting success: A longitudinal study on macro effects in the Netherlands

Abstract

Like many other countries, the Dutch government increased investments in elite sports in the last decennium, partly driven by the ambition to organise the Olympic Games in 2028 in the Netherlands. One of the most important legitimations for this ambition is that elite sports events and national achievements should foster national pride, social cohesion and international prestige.

In this article we present and discuss the results of a study on the relationship between Dutch international sport achievements and the development of national pride. The outcome is based on 27 longitudinal measurements among the adult Dutch population in the years 2008–2010 in which European and world Championships men’s soccer and a summer and winter Olympic Games took place.

The results support the common belief that international sporting success of Dutch athletes contributes to the testimony and expression of national pride and belonging. However, the extent to which national pride can be increased by national sporting success seems to be rather limited. The data show that national performances in international sport events may lead to small, short-term eruptions in feelings of national sporting pride and well-being, especially among athletes, men and non-immigrants. However, the results indicate that national pride is a rather stable characteristic of national identification that cannot easily be increased by improving national sporting success and winning more Olympic medals.

Keywords

Elite sporting events gender and ethnicity national pride sporting pride sporting success

Introduction

On Sunday, 11 July 2010, the Dutch nation finally lost its hope of winning the most prestigious, professional and globalised sport event: the men’s football World Cup (Giulianotti and Robertson, 2007). The Netherlands had reached the final for the first time since 1978 and the players were eager to finally overwrite the loss in 1974, when the Dutch football team was ‘robbed’ of their expected victory by their neighbour and biggest (football) rival West Germany.¹ In the years that followed the Dutch football team and their players, of whom Johan Cruyff was undoubtedly the most famous, became internationally known for their characteristic offensive playing style, referred to by Winner (2000) as ‘brilliant orange’. However, the Dutch team has only managed once to win a big tournament: the European championships in 1988. Since then, media attention and the number of fans and followers expressing their national loyalty through sport have grown, as have the expectations to repeat their ‘heroic past’. During the last decades of football successes and promises, the orange colour has developed into the national colour. Orange (in Dutch: Oranje) refers to the Dutch royal house, to the descendants of Prince Willem van Oranje-Nassau (1533–1584), who led the revolt against the Spanish rulers during the ‘80-year war’ and is seen as ‘father’ of the Netherlands as an independent country. Over recent decades, during international sporting events and especially during football championships, an ever increasing fan base watches matches dressed up in orange: the ‘orange legion’.

The increasingly expressive nature of the orange legion not only reflects the hope of repeated sporting success, but also the process of a search for national identity by a country ‘in crisis’ (Lechner, 2007: 361), which started in the 1990s as a result of the impact of large-scale immigration and the development of ‘Europe’ (see also Council for Social Development, 1999). Several, mainly English, sport sociologists (e.g. Hargreaves, 2002; Maguire, 1999; Tuck, 2003; Vincent et al., 2010) have argued that echoes of more prosperous times for nations may be heard (and constructed) in the strive for sporting success, such as the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century. Maguire and Poulton (1999) highlighted that sporting events are suitable occasions for different forms of national ‘identity work’ (Lechner, 2007), for instance, reconstructing historical events – legendary (‘stolen’) victories – and appropriating national symbols and rituals, and moral characteristics, that are mirrored in typical national playing styles. National awareness and pride are particularly stimulated and cultivated in international sporting competitions through national categorisation (‘us versus them’) and through acts such as flag waving and playing national anthems (see also Van Houtum, 2002). Maguire and Poulton (1999) also argued that through significant and repetitive media attention towards national symbols and stories, major sporting events are able to reawaken the ‘sleeping memories’ of an alleged sense of lost communal and national identity. Victories are not even necessary for expressive ‘testimonies’ of national identification. Participating in international championships in football is sufficient to trigger demonstrations of national pride (Tuck, 2003; Vincent et al., 2010). However, being charged with organising the football world cup and winning the world cup title are both, in particular, associated with the regeneration and revitalisation of a country (see Dauncy and Hare, 2000 with respect to the World Cup in France in 1998).

Although the economic crisis since 2008 has not affected the Netherlands as much as other European countries – the Netherlands is still an affluent country with a rather low unemployment rate – the Dutch political and social climate has been rather unstable in the last two decades. The Dutch seem to have lost their image of being a tolerant nation since the brutal murders of two social critics of multicultural society in general and Islam in particular: The up-and-coming politician, Pim Fortuyn, was killed in 2002 and filmmaker, director and columnist Theo van Gogh in 2004. The winning goal by the Spanish in 2010 not only dissolved the dream of becoming world champions, but also became a meaningful moment and a metaphor for the lost hope of regeneration in a small country experiencing a socio-political crisis.

Notwithstanding the economic crisis, the Dutch government made substantial political and financial investments in top-level sports and acknowledged it was supporting the ambition of hosting the Olympic Games in the Netherlands in 2028 (Van Bottenburg et al., 2012). Supported by a ‘neopatriotic revival of national pride’ (Lechner 2008: 21), sport was one of the few areas that was saved from national budget reductions due to the economic recession that has been ongoing since 2008.

The enormous viewing figures recorded for those watching Dutch athletes at prestigious international sporting events, such as football championships and the Olympic Games, seem to provide enough empirical evidence for the positive influence of international sporting achievements on the population’s well-being and national pride. However, is this relationship as straightforward as it seems? Do Dutch people really become happier and prouder of their country following a high Olympic medal table ranking or from a successful performance in international football championships? Or do international elite sporting events mainly offer a stage to express feelings of national pride that are already present? Furthermore, the possible influence of national sporting success on a sense of national pride might differ for various socio-demographic groups (e.g. by age, gender and ethnicity).

The central question in this article is whether, and to what extent, national sporting success contributes to increased feelings of well-being and national identification (belonging and pride) amongst the Dutch population in general and amongst social groups distinguished by gender and ethnicity. We will answer this question by analysing 27 assessments from a longitudinal survey amongst representative samples of the adult Dutch population between 2008 and 2010. Data were collected around four large sporting events (UEFA European Championship in men’s football 2008, the Olympic Summer Games 2008, the Olympic Winter Games 2010, FIFA men’s World Cup 2010) and in a summer and winter season not involving these massive sporting events (2009).

Development of national identification and sporting pride

Similar to many other countries, awareness of a national identity in the Netherlands only developed in the 19th century, after the political unification of the Netherlands into a constitutional state and monarchy, accepted in 1848 (De Haan, 2002). This national awareness, or sense of belonging or ‘being Dutch’, was stimulated by developing national legislation and government intervention in society, as well as by the role of nation states as legitimate players in international relations (Council for Social Development, 1999). The process of state formation in the Netherlands and other (European) countries did not occur smoothly, but was characterised by power and community struggles, religious and/or ethnic rivalries, the forming of alliances and the invention of traditions (De Haan, 2002, Featherstone, 1990; Hargreaves, 2002; Hobsbawm and Ranger, 1983). The global development of internationally organised competitive sports – based on national representation by countries’ strongest athletes – has been taking place since the end of the 19th century. This sportisation process coincided with the growth of international relations between nation states, the intensification of national sentiments and nationalism and a spurt in globalisation processes (see, for example, Maguire, 1999; Van Bottenburg, 2001).

A new era of increased globalisation and changing national and supranational relationships began after World War II, such as the founding of the European Union (Lechner, 2007, 2008; Schyns and Dekker, 2008). Until then, regional identities, class, gender and, in the Netherlands, confessional pillars in particular, had constituted the most dominant forms of social identification and organisation, including sports. Moreover, mass immigration from former colonies of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Indonesia, Surinam, Dutch Antilles) and migrant workers from South European and North African countries (Turkey, Morocco) led to ethnic-specific forms of identification and organisation and to increasing tensions and conflicts at the turn of the 21st century.

Influential authors, such as Featherstone (1990) and Smith (1995), have argued that one of the paradoxes of modernisation is that increasing globalisation goes along with increased national and local identification. Developments such as globalisation and multiculturalism have fostered political interference in the (re)construction of national symbols and values to emphasise and strengthen distinct national identities. Both on the level of separate ethnic groups/nations within a nation state and on the level of nation states, sport has become a popular and accepted manner to express national identification (Hargreaves, 2002). The globalisation–nationalism paradox is probably best recognised in professional sports such as football (Maguire, 1999). Despite the fact that virtually all players representing the Dutch national team play for foreign clubs and/or have a non-Dutch ethnic background, the position of the Dutch team as the embodiment of national belonging and cohesion has only increased over past decades. Even foreign ownership of famous football clubs, such as the English club Chelsea, now owned by the Russian Roman Abramovich, does not seem to decrease local identification.²

Alongside more theoretical studies on the development and meaning of national identities, empirical comparative public opinion studies have appeared, assessing what characterises national identity within different countries (Jones and Smith, 2001) and which factors influence a sense of national pride and togetherness (Evans and Kelly, 2002). These studies have shown that the Dutch rank low – together with the Germans – on subscribed feelings of national belonging and pride (see Schyns and Dekker, 2008). This outcome suggests that Dutch people identify less with their country and possess less national pride than people in other countries. However, the low ranking may also be caused by a cultural – Calvinistically inspired – restraint to avoid being explicitly patriotic or nationalistic, such as the avoidance of pride based on nationality. As Lechner (2007: 360) argues, ‘The Dutch elite derived national pride from not being nationalist’. Also Besamusca (2010: 19) states that the Dutch almost pride themselves on the absence of patriotism and flag waving.

National identification in the Netherlands is not absent, but is mainly shaped in a more expressive, festive manner, for instance, at Koninginnedag [Queensday] and during international skating and football championships. Sports seem to be an important escape for Dutch people to be able to express feelings of national and moral superiority in an enlightened manner without explicitly being nationalist. De Foer (2006: 428) writes:

It is only around a sports field where it is not politically incorrect to express that one feels cleverer or better or more beautiful or more modern than the others. Choosing a shrill, bright orange recognised everywhere as a national symbol and a tendency to sing national glory with vibrant clothing, strange attributes and loud music demonstrate the need for that outlet […] That tendency to haughty arrogance is even more pronounced in football… Any respect for scale differences has long been forgotten.

Influential theorists in the development of national states and nationalism have considered distinct national identities to be ‘invented traditions’ (Hobsbawm and Ranger, 1983) or ‘imagined communities’ (Anderson, 1983). The imaginary or ‘invented’ character of social communities, where people identify with each other without really knowing one another, does not mean that these forms of identification are superficial. On the contrary, people certainly can feel attached to their country (of origin) in deeply emotional ways (Anderson, 1983: 14), referring to ‘a shared language, values, myths, memories, traditions, institutions, customs, organisations and deep attachment to territory’ (Hargreaves, 2002: 31). For many people, national identity constitutes an important geographical identification of who they are, apart from more local and regional identifications (Phillips, 2002). Global identifications, such as cosmopolitan or European citizen, do not (yet) correspond to people’s self-identification as such (Pichler, 2008). Jones and Smith (2001) have shown that despite certain national differences in the way people give meaning to national identification, there are many striking similarities between countries as well. Both objective characteristics (country of birth, country of residence, speaking the language) and several more subjective aspects (feelings of attachment) form central elements. The more self-imposed aspects of sense of belonging to the Netherlands and pride of being a Dutch citizen will form the main aspect of our research. Feelings of national identification and pride for both nations and nation states are not given facts, nor are they static, but have to be fed and reproduced continuously with stories and events such as sporting narratives (Maguire and Poulton, 1999; Van Hilvoorde et al., 2010).

Top-level sports policy legitimised by national pride

In recent years, the political engagement with elite sports, based on sports supposed effects on society at large, has increased. In particular, the contribution to social cohesion and national pride has become an important legitimisation of elite sports policy (Houlihan, 2002; Maguire, 1999). Compared to other countries, the Netherlands was relatively late in tagging top-level sports as a sector of national importance, possibly due to values such as modesty and temperance, often related to Dutch Calvinism (Lechner, 2008). In 1979, the Ministry of CRM (Culture, Leisure and Social Services) was still stressing that promoting top-level sports should be regarded in the light of individual development and had nothing to do with striving for international prestige. From the 1990s on – alongside the intensification of the search for national identity (Lechner, 2007) – the Dutch government has increasingly legitimised its sports policy by claiming that top-level sports performances may contribute to national belonging, pride and international prestige (Ministry of VWS, 2008, see also Van Bottenburg et al, 2012)

The countries of the former Eastern Bloc from the days of the Cold War were not the only ones to preclude the Netherlands for a considerable amount of time in supporting their elite sports policies from a functionalistic macro-sociological perspective (and were therefore despised). The United Kingdom’s government, for example, had also decided in 1975 to subsidise top-level sports as a supposed solution to the economic and political crisis of the time (Hargreaves, 1986). Relatively new nation states, such as South Africa and several Eastern European states, too, are trying to enlarge national awareness and feelings of pride and togetherness through top-level sports (Topič and Coakley, 2010; Welschen, 2010). Whereas in the past international sporting events were used to emphasise legitimate hegemony of a particular political regime, such as communism, nowadays the focus is more on strengthening national pride and togetherness. Emphasising ‘we’ has become more important than rebelling against ‘them’.

In their comparative analysis of 24 countries, Evans and Kelly (2002) demonstrated that the inhabitants of many countries indicate they gain national pride from sports performances, in addition to achievements in science and technology and art and literature. A recent international comparative population study by the BBC (Mower, 2012) also showed that the majority of inhabitants in 18 of the 20 countries studied indicated that national Olympic sports performances contribute to feelings of national pride.³

However, Evans and Kelly (2002) suggest that sporting success may be an extra-important aspect of national pride for small countries, Topič and Coakley (2010) argued that for small countries with relatively small populations and a limited national sports budget, it may be difficult to truly attain prestigious elite sports results and to organise large events.

Does (sporting) national pride have no gender?

Although the relationship between top-level sporting events and the expression of national identification is undeniable, it is not clear to what extent international sporting success really creates or increases feelings of national pride and belonging. Furthermore, it is not known whether possible effects may occur to the same extent within various social groups (Denham, 2010). From a functionalistic, macro-sociological perspective sport is expected to do ‘good’ and, from this perspective, sport is supposed to tackle social developments such as increasing individualisation, decreasing solidarity and (growing) opposition between social groups (see, for example, Coalter, 2007; Houlihan, 2002). Policy makers tend to endow top-level sports mainly with integrative power, based on populist notions, such as ‘sport bonds’. Geographical and civil dimensions of national identity are supposed to ‘overwrite’ other social markers of identification, such as gender, ethnicity/race and religion, at least temporarily. For example, both white and black South Africans recognised that winning the World Rugby Championship in 2007 and the organisation of the World Football Championship in 2010 were important symbolic milestones in the construction of national unity and reconciliation, even though rugby was deemed a symbol of Apartheid (Nauright, 2010; Welschen, 2010). Several studies of non-white (female) sports idols in Western countries have also shown that the media play an important – albeit mostly paradoxical – part in creating an inclusive national identity, of ‘being part of it’ (e.g. Bruce and Hallinan, 2001; Elling and Luijt, 2009; Jackson et al., 1998). However, research has also shown that the extent of national identification is not as great in all social groups (Council for Social Development, 1999) and that viewing behaviour and spectator experience in sports contests is not socially neutral either (Wenner and Gantz, 1998; Whannel, 2002). In his North American study, Denham (2010) demonstrated that men experience more national sporting pride than women and the lower educated more so than the higher educated. The meaning of European or world championships in men’s football has grown enormously over the years for nearly everyone. Nowadays, women also watch the event in large numbers. Nonetheless, the question remains to what extent Dutch sporting success has the same impact on different groups when it comes to feelings of sporting and general national pride. Football’s multicultural nature may ensure that several ethnic groups feel united as citizens behind a national team, but European and world championships offer ethnic minorities also possibilities to identify with their ‘home country’ or ‘own people’ at the same time. Therefore, our basic assumption is that possible effects of international sports performances for national identification depend on their context and may differ in relation to sporting events and social groups (see also Van Hilvoorde et al., 2010).

Methods

From May 2008 to August 2010, a total of 11,185 Dutch people aged 18 years or older were questioned, divided over 27 representative samples amongst the Dutch adult population (in terms of gender, age, educational level and region). The surveys were conducted with samples from the Consumer Jury internet panel of GfK Panel Services Benelux. This digital consumer panel consists of 10,000 households and 20,000 individual members of 15 years and older. In 2008 a total of 89 percent of the Dutch population was online; in 2010 this percentage had increased to 93 percent (GfK panel services, 2012). In particular, (lower educated) elderly are underrepresented in the online panel, as are (non-Dutch speaking) ethnic minorities.⁴

For each assessment, a ‘fresh’ sample group was drawn, so that the same participants were not questioned on a longitudinal basis, which might have influenced their answers. Only some respondents from underrepresented groups, such as participants from a non-Western background, were questioned again after some time. We also tried to reduce sampling bias on the basis of the contents of the questionnaire, by not explicitly indicating that the questionnaire was about sports.

Seventeen assessments concerned standard questionnaires among a sample group of 450 people aged 18 to 80, representative according to age, gender and educational level. In order to be able to make well-founded statements about ethnicity, a sample group of 225 additional people of non-Dutch origin were questioned in 10 surveys. To select this group, we applied the common Dutch definition of ‘people from non-Dutch ethnic descent’, which means that at least one of the respondent’s parents was born abroad (i.e. not in the Netherlands).⁵ On average, the response was 76 percent for the ethnic Dutch population and 74 percent for the additional migrant sample groups.

The overall data pool consisted of 51.7 percent men and 48.3 percent women. A quarter (24.6%) was younger than 35, and 22.9 percent was 65 years or older. About a third (36%) had a ‘low’ educational level (lower/intermediate secondary and lower vocational); 40 percent had a medium level (higher secondary and intermediate vocational) and a quarter (23.7%) had completed higher education (higher professional, academic). In the cumulative data pool the disproportional non-Dutch group was weighted to arrive at a ratio of 81.3 percent ethnic Dutch people, 9.6 percent from a non-Dutch Western background, and 9.1 percent from a non-Western background.

All surveys comprised a number of standardised questions and statements about national pride and belonging, sports participation and general well-being. Before and after major sporting events, additional questions were asked about the intended, and actual, (media) involvement in the sporting event concerned (watching TV, reading, talking). Afterwards, respondents were also asked to what extent they were proud of the achievements of the Dutch participants. Around the FIFA men’s World Cup 2010, a few questions were added regarding the extent to which people’s houses in the street were decorated, as well as an open evaluation question as to why people were (not) proud of the Dutch team’s performance.

The statements about national belonging and pride had five answer options ranging from ‘I strongly agree’ (1) to ‘I strongly disagree’ (5), and an ‘I don’t know’ option. A ‘national pride’ scale variable was created based on three statements with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.73 for the total population and 0.73 for ethnic Dutch people. The three items and their respective percentages for (complete) agreement and their average scores were: ‘I am proud of the Netherlands as a whole’ (56.2%; 2.50); ‘I would rather be Dutch than belong to any other people in the world’ (44.5%; 2.65); ‘I feel strongly connected to the Netherlands’ (65.9%; 2.32).⁶

Respondents were also presented with seven societal performances and asked to what extent these made them proud of the Netherlands with four answer options from ‘very proud’ (1) to ‘not so proud’ (4), as well as an ‘I don’t know’ option (compare Evans and Kelly, 2002). A total of 75.2 percent indicated they were (very) proud of the Netherlands because of sporting achievements; 73.3 percent felt proud because of scientific and technological performance. The scores relating to ‘(very) proud’ for other aspects were as follows: the social security system (61.5%); achievements in art and literature (52.3%); economic performance (49.6%); the way in which democracy works (49.6%); and honest and equal treatment of all groups in society (39.2%). We regard the extent to which people indicated they were (very) proud of sports achievements as ‘sporting pride’ and have taken ‘scientific pride’ as a control variable in order to determine the influence of successful sports performance.⁷

In addition to ‘national pride’, ‘sporting pride’ and ‘scientific pride’, we also distinguished the degree of well-being as a fourth dependent variable; this may possibly change under the influence of participation and success in large sporting events. The extent of general well-being was determined on the basis of the question as to how (un)happy people felt in the past week, with a four-point answering scale (1 = very happy; 4 = not at all happy) and an ‘I don’t know’ option. The extent of well-being was also regarded as an independent variable in relation to the level of sporting and national pride experienced.

We assessed to what extent differences occurred in the national pride, sporting and scientific pride experienced, as well-being around four large sporting events: the Olympic Summer Games (OG 2008), the UEFA European Championships in men’s football (EC 2008), the Olympic Winter Games (OG 2010), and the FIFA men’s World Cup 2010 (WC 2010). In addition to specific point comparisons with a baseline measurement (0) in May 2008, we also examined the extent of influences that occur during an entire period of events, compared to a ‘neutral’ period (summer 2009 and winter 2009, respectively). To do so, we distinguished the following seven (event) periods:

0-measurement 2008 – week 21 (one measurement) – general reference category;

EC 2008 – weeks 23–29 (five measurements);

OG 2008 – weeks 32–38 (four measurements);

Winter 2009 – weeks 7–10 (two measurements) – reference category winter;

Summer 2009 – weeks 21–39 (five measurements) – reference category summer;

OG 2010 – weeks 6–11 (four measurements);

WC 2010 – weeks 23–30 (four measurements).

The 437 answers to the open question asked after the conclusion of the World Cup Football in 2010, as to how proud people were of the Dutch team’s achievements, were coded on the basis of their descriptive content (in vivo). In total, 596 codes were allocated (maximum three per respondent), divided over nineteen different encodings with a positive and ten encodings with a negative connotation. In the Results section, the most commonly used qualifications for being proud or not will be addressed and illustrated with examples of the statements made.

Following the theoretical and empirical insights, outlined in the previous paragraph, we tested five hypotheses:

Dutch sporting success in large international events contributes to feelings of well-being, sporting and general national pride.

National sporting success will influence feelings of well-being and sporting national pride to a greater extent than general national pride.

National sporting success in men’s football (European Cup and World Cup) is of greater influence on well-being and (sporting) national pride than the Olympic Games.

The influence of Dutch sporting success on feelings of well-being and (sporting) national pride is not equal among all social groups:

the effects will be greater among men than among women;

the effects will be greater among ethnic Dutch people than among people from non-Dutch ethnic descent;

the effects will be greater among sports participants than among non-participants.

The influence of Dutch sporting success on feelings of well-being and sporting national pride is greater among people with stronger national identification (national pride)

Results

As in many other countries, Dutch people indicated that they are essentially proud of their country as a result of appealing international top-level sports achievements (see Evans and Kelly, 2002). Even for people who do not care whether Dutch athletes perform well internationally or not (approximately half of the total adult population), international sports achievements come third after scientific and technological achievements and the social security system.

Figure 1 shows the course of the sporting pride measured in the period 2008–2010 for the ethnic Dutch adult population. The extent of sporting pride shows a clear fluctuation in the years when large sporting events take place. In the ‘neutral’ sports year 2009, fewer people acknowledged feelings of sporting pride than in 2008 and 2010, when the Olympic Games and the football championships took place. It is striking that the highest point (84.6%) of sporting pride among ethnic Dutch adults was not found after the successful 2010 football World Cup, but in week 9 of that year, during the Olympic Winter Games. We found the lowest measured level (67.7%) in the neutral summer week 21 of 2009.

Figure 1.

Feelings of sporting pride in several winter and summer weeks in 2008, 2009 and 2010, ethnic Dutch adult population, in percentages for ‘(very) proud’.

Small sports peaks in a stable pattern of national pride

When we look at the influence of sporting events on general feelings of national pride among the ethnic Dutch population, we see a reasonably stable pattern over the years (Figure 2). In total, a little more than half (57%) of the ethnic Dutch population scored positive on the constructed national pride scale. The highest point measured lies in week 23 of 2010, the week before the men’s football World Cup 2010. The lowest lies in week 35 of 2008, the week after the Olympic Games.

Figure 2.

Feelings of national pride (scale) in several winter and summer weeks in 2008, 2009 and 2010, ethnic Dutch adult population, in percentages for ‘I (completely) agree’.

The cumulative data for sporting pride, scientific pride, national pride and well-being for the total population are shown in Table 1, as well as possible differences between groups and periods around sporting events. The data confirm a few significant revivals in (sporting) national pride and well-being experienced around sporting events. Just as emerged from the point measurements, we found more and greater differences when we zoom in on sporting pride compared to general expressions of national pride. The national pride measured was the highest in the Olympic Winter Games period in 2010 (80.4 and 68.1%, respectively) and differed significantly from the 0 rating in 2008 and the ‘neutral’ winter period in 2009. Sporting and national pride was also significantly higher around the 2010 football World Cup period. We can see comparable differences for general well-being, which was highest during the 2010 football World Cup period (80%). Whereas sporting pride was significantly higher around all four surveyed events, we could not find any differences for scientific pride. Only during the 0-measurement (baseline) and in the neutral 2009 summer did scientific pride ‘beat’ sporting pride.

Table 1.

National pride (scale), well-being, sporting and scientific pride, according to several socio-demographic characteristics and periods around sporting events, Dutch adults (cumulative measurements 2008–2010).

	National pride (scale)		Sporting pride		Scientific pride		Well-being
	% (very) positive		% ‘ yes’		% ‘yes’		% (very) fine
Total	54.2		75.2		73.2		76.6
Period ^a
May 2008 (0-measurement)	51.8		72.3		73.2		76.8
Winter 2009 (neutral)	55.5		73.0		72.1		69.7
Summer 2009 (neutral)	52.5		69.5		73.5		76.6
EC 2008	53.3		76.8	/**	73.9		77.1
OG 2008	51.5		76.2	/**	73.7		76.5
OG 2010	58.1	**/-	80.4	*/*	72.6		75.4	-/**
WC 2010	56.6	/*	75.4	-/***	73.5		80.3	/*
Gender
Woman	51.8	***	74.8	−	69.7	***	73.9	***
Man	56.8		75.6		77.0		79.5
Age
18–24	47.2	***	73.8	*	65.5	***	79.8	**
25–34	47.9		73.3		67.8		77.5
35–44	49.6		75.1		70.6		75.1
45–59	54.8		75.3		74.5		75.2
60+	66.3		77.2		81.8		77.9
Ethnicity
Dutch	57.0	***	76.3	***	73.0	***	77.2	**
Western non-Dutch	46.4		72.6		73.4		75.2
Non-western non-Dutch	37.9		67.9		75.1		72.0
Education
Lower	58.9	***	76.3	***	69.4	***	73.1	***
Middle	52.7		76.5		73.9		78.0
Higher	50.3		71.4		77.5		79.1
Sports participation
Yes	55.5	***	80.6	***	75.3	***	85.7	***
No	53.4		71.3		71.8		70.1
Well-being
(Very) fine	56.8	***	76.4	***	75.0	***	100
(Very) poor	46.7		71.8		68.4

= p < 0.05; ** = p < 0.01; *** = p < 0.001

Significance around event periods compared to 0-measurement (May 2008) and neutral summer or winter measurement 2009, respectively.

OG 2008: Olympic Summer Games, EC 2008: the UEFA European Championships in men’s football, OG 2010: the Olympic Winter Games, WC 2010: the FIFA men’s World Cup 2010.

Based on socio-demographic differences, we may conclude that men are prouder of the Netherlands than women, older people more so than youngsters, lower-educated people more than the higher educated and ethnic Dutch people more than people from non-Dutch ethnic descent (see Table 1). We found the largest differences when we looked at age and ethnicity: young adults and ethnic Dutch people score approximately 20 percentage points higher than older people and people from non-Western ethnic descent. We also found significant differences in national pride in relation to the extent of well-being: people who feel (very) happy are markedly prouder than people who do not feel as happy.

Similar to Evans and Kelly (2002), we found no gender differences when it comes to sporting pride, and that other differences between social groups were relatively minor as well. The largest differences were found with respect to ethnicity and sports participation. People who were active in sports themselves (81%) are markedly more proud of sports achievements than people who do not participate in sports (71%). Regarding scientific pride, we noted more and larger differences between social groups – in gender, age and education, for instance. Higher educated people were often prouder of scientific achievements than of sports achievements; for their lower educated counterparts, it was the other way around.

Higher national sporting pride for everyone?

We conducted several regressive analyses in order to assess whether the above bivariate correlations for the influence of international sporting events on sporting and general national pride and well-being remained the same if we controlled for other associated variables. We chose linear regressions so that we could also account for potentially small influences on feelings of pride, from ‘proud’ to ‘very proud’ or from ‘not at all proud’ to ‘not proud’. The results for the football World Cup 2010 are shown in Table 2, with separate analyses for men and women, and for ethnic Dutch people and people from non-Dutch ethnic descent.

Table 2.

Betas for the influence of the men’s football World Cup 2010 on national pride, general national pride and well-being, according to gender and ethnicity, Dutch adults.

	Sporting pride (low → high)		National pride (scale; low → high)		Well-being (low → high)
Total	Beta	Sig.	Beta	Sig.	Beta	Sig.
WC 2010 (summer 09 is ref)	0.06	**	0.00		0.04	*
Gender (woman is ref)	0.00		0.04	*	0.02
Ethnicity (Dutch is ref)
Western non-Dutch	−0.01		−0.08	**	−0.03
Non-western non-Dutch	−0.03		−0.10	**	−0.03
Age (young → old)	−0.06	**	0.14	**	−0.02
Education (low → high)	−0.06	**	−0.09	**	0.02
Sport participation (yes)	0.09	**	0.04	*	0.16	**
Well-being (poor → fine)	0.01		0.10	**
National pride (low → high)	0.34	**			0.10	**
Adjusted R ²		13.5		5.7%		3.9%
Women
WC 2010 (summer 09 is ref)	0.04		−0.02		0.01
Ethnicity (Dutch is ref)
Western non-Dutch	0.00		−0.09	**	−0.05
Non-western non-Dutch	−0.05	*	−0.14	**	−0.07	**
Age (young → old)	−0.06	*	0.15	**	−0.02
Education (low → high)	−0.04		−0.09	**	0.03
Sport participation (yes)	0.08	**	0.03		0.17	**
Well-being (poor → fine)	−0.02		0.06	**
National pride (low → high)	0.33	**			0.06	**
Adjusted R ²		11.8%		6.6%		4.1%
Men
WC 2010 (summer 09 is ref)	0.08	**	0.03		0.06	**
Ethnicity (Dutch is ref)
Western non-Dutch	−0.03		−0.07	**	−0.01
Non-western non-Dutch	0.00		−0.05	*	0.02
Age (young → old)	−0.05	*	0.14	**	−0.02
Education (low → high)	−0.08	**	−0.09	**	0.01
Sport participation (yes)	0.10	**	0.05	*	0.15	**
Well-being (poor → fine)	0.03		0.13	**
National pride (low → high)	0.35	**			0.13	**
Adjusted R ²		15.3%		4.9%		4.1%
Ethnic Dutch
WC 2010 (summer 09 is ref)	0.08	**	0.02		0.03
Gender (woman is ref)	−0.01		0.02		−0.00
Age (young → old)	−0.06	**	0.15	**	−0.02
Education (low → high)	−0.06	**	−0.09	**	0.02
Sport participation (yes)	0.10	**	0.04	*	0.18	**
Well-being (poor → fine)	0.03		0.10	**
National pride (low → high)	0.31	**			0.10	**
Adjusted R ²		12.0%		4.1%		4.4%
Ethnic non-Dutch
WC 2010 (summer 09 is ref)	0.01		−0.04		0.07
Gender (woman is ref)	0.01		0.09	*	0.10	*
Age (young → old)	−0.04		0.15	**	0.00
Education (low → high)	−0.07		−0.09	*	0.02
Sport participation (yes)	0.06		0.03		0.08
Well-being (poor → fine)	−0.08	*	0.06
National pride (low → high)	0.43	**			0.07
Adjusted R ²	18.7%		4.3%			2.1%

= p < 0.05; ** = p < 0.01.

WC 2010: the FIFA men’s World Cup 2010.

The results show that only the experience of sporting pride and, to a lesser extent, also general well-being were significantly higher around the World Cup 2010. When we conducted separate regressions according to gender and ethnicity, effects only occurred amongst men and ethnic Dutch people and not amongst women and non-Dutch ethnic people. However, the influences we found were small, as were the total explained variances of the models. We found the strongest explanation for sporting pride and well-being to be the national pride experienced and own participation in sports amongst men. The respondents’ educational level also showed some influence: lower-educated people experience more sporting pride. The general national pride experienced was mainly influenced by socio-demographic characteristics (educational level, age and ethnicity) and the experienced well-being, and did not seem to be particularly high around the World Cup 2010, not even amongst men or ethnic Dutch people.

We also conducted these analyses for the period around the 2010 Olympic Games (not shown in Table). These showed no higher degree of national pride and general well-being than in the neutral 2009 sports winter, neither generally nor in specific groups. We did, however, find a significant increase again in the national sporting pride experienced (p < 0.01). Specific regression analyses according to gender and ethnicity showed that sporting pride only increased amongst men (p < 0.01) and that positive associations occurred amongst both people from non-Dutch ethnic descent and ethnic Dutch people (p < 0.05).

The Football World Cup: small country, great achievements

When people were asked to what extent they were proud of Dutch sporting achievements after the various events, ethnic Dutch people seemed to be most proud of the achievements during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games (85%).⁸ They were about as proud of the achievements during the Summer Games in 2008 (83%) as during the Football World Cup (82%). ‘Only’ two thirds of ethnic Dutch people felt proud of the performance after the conclusion of European football championships in 2008, in which the Dutch team achieved successes, but mainly at the beginning. Contrary to what we found for general sporting pride, men more often than women indicated that they felt proud of the achievements of the Dutch athletes after an event. As in earlier findings, ethnic Dutch people were prouder of specific sports achievements of Dutch athletes than people from a non-Dutch ethnic.

The results also revealed the major role of the media in enhancing the involvement in international sports tournaments, certainly when ‘the orange team’ is doing well. Prior to the World Cup, a quarter of the ethnic Dutch respondents (more women than men) indicated, for instance, that they were not planning on following the event in any way (i.e. not to watch, read or talk about it). Afterwards, it seemed that only one out of ten people had not been involved in any way at all. Similar differences were found for the 2008 European Cup and to a somewhat lesser extent for the Winter Olympic Games. For the 2008 Olympic Summer Games there was hardly any difference between people’s intentions of non-involvement and their actual behaviour (22 and 19%, respectively). Prior to the World Cup, six out of ten ethnic Dutch adults stated that none of the houses on their street were decorated. In the week after, only a quarter indicated that only their house or other houses on their street had not been decorated.

It is not surprising that most respondents indicating that they were proud of the Dutch football team’s achievements during the 2010 World Cup referred to the successful final result. The three most used phrases for their feelings of pride (n = 501) were ‘good performance’ (21%), ‘2nd place World Cup’ (19%) and/or ‘place in the finals’ (17%). Also frequently mentioned was that this final result was particularly outstanding for such a ‘small country’ (20%). Other – much less frequently used (2–4%) – statements were that the Dutch team showed ‘good football/play’, put in a ‘good performance as a team’, that the players ‘did their best’, that they played ‘fairly’, that the result was ‘unexpected’ and/or that the team reached the final ‘without losing’.

Isn’t it great that we ended up 2nd in a World Cup!

Because they made it that far.

The fact that they reached the final, such a small country, such a great performance. I am very proud of it.

They didn’t lose one match until the final, that’s skill for you! And that for such a small country, we can be rightly proud of this.

The whole team was one without embarrassing incidents or whining. They were played as one, wonderful.

A few respondents also referred to the positive consequences, mainly named in policy texts, of good international sports achievements. On the one hand, people referred to enhanced social cohesion (‘the orange feeling’) and, on the other hand, to increasing international prominence and the positive image that the Netherlands sends out (both by sports achievements and ‘the orange legion’).

It was like one big family, no differences between black and white, that shows it really can be done.

Because they are an exponent of the Netherlands. Trading spirit and the will to achieve.

A small country, still well-known in the world of football. Getting to the final is a huge achievement, and all countries witnessed the orange feeling of all the Dutch.

It’s nice that such a small country plays with the big boys on a world level. That communal orange feeling is also a nice business card, better than the usual hooligan wars between clubs.

Respondents who indicated that they were ‘not (at all) proud’ and even some who witnessed national pride, mentioned also several critical aspects (n = 94). The ‘tough’ (36%) and/or ‘bad’ game (19%) were mentioned the most frequently, referring to the ‘un-Dutch’ (not offensive) and aggressive playing style. Many also indicated that they were ‘not proud’ just because they had ‘no interest’ in the football World Cup. Other terms that were mentioned by non-proud respondents were ‘commercial’ and/or ‘hype’ and one respondent stated the completely opposite feeling of pride: ‘shame’.

I find the whole palaver around it quite disgusting.

They played mediocre matches. The final was an insult to sportsmanship! From time to time, I was ashamed of ‘our’ team!

Whereas this comment directly referred to a negative impact of the sport performance and unfair behaviour of the Dutch national team, in general terms a similar number of respondents that witnessed national pride also agreed to experiencing feelings of ‘national shame’.⁹

One of the respondents mentioned that in the end he had succumbed to ‘the orange feeling’ after all, despite the little involvement he felt.

It does nothing for me… a waste of time and money etc. Nevertheless, I did follow the matches the Netherlands had to play, the last two of them even with an orange-look-and-feel.

This last statement also shows the sometimes paradoxical expression of the ‘orange feeling’.

Discussion and conclusion

In this study we have assessed (political) claims about the opportunity of elite sporting success to foster national pride and belonging in the Netherlands, by undertaking a longitudinal survey between 2008 and 2010, when two Olympic Games and two men’s football championships took place. The results show paradoxical evidence for the meanings and effects of sporting success for national identification for the whole population. The outcomes s of this study demonstrated that internationally appealing Dutch sporting achievements do not directly lead to an increase in general feelings of national pride, although sporting achievements do seem to nurture these feelings through eruptions of well-being and national sporting pride.

Internationally, the Netherlands might stand out more in terms of characteristics such as democracy and social equality, related to their history as a social welfare state (Lechner, 2007, 2008), than in terms of appealing sports achievements. Nonetheless, similar to Evans and Kelly (2002), we found that international sports performances are most often mentioned by Dutch adults as making them proud of their country. In periods free from large sporting events, only scientific achievements came close to or even out-measured sporting pride. This may be related to the specific story-telling capacity of sports (Van Hilvoorde et al., 2010), combined with intensive media attention (Vincent et al., 2010) and commercialisation (including Dutch supermarket ‘wars’ related to orange collectors’ items during football championships, e.g. GfK Panel Services, 2012: 114–117). Compared to Dutch technological or social ‘performances’, sports achievements are less abstract, unambiguous and politically more neutral. Moreover, the Netherlands has had a long tradition of appealing sporting achievements, especially in football, swimming and speed skating, that may continuously feed the hope of repeating their ‘heroic past’ as a small nation with great performances (Lechner, 2008). Our results fit in with Maguire and Poulton’s (1999) notion of the awakening of ‘sleeping memories’.

The results showed that our first hypothesis, which stated that sporting success contributes to well-being, sporting national pride and general national pride, could only be partly confirmed. We found that Dutch sporting success in four large-scale international sporting events showed clear increases in sporting pride and some positive effects on well-being. Increases in general national pride were less clear cut and multivariate analyses showed no separate effect of sporting success, but only partial indirect effects through increased well-being. Although sports achievements do not seem to be responsible for the existing ‘orange’ feelings and hardly seem to enhance them either, they do seem to be important for national ‘identity work’ (Lechner, 2007) and particularly for the ‘testimony’ of national pride. The place in the World Cup 2010 final, for instance, added a new chapter to the Dutch sports canon of the achievements in men’s football history. However, testimonies – or Foucauldian ‘confessions’ – of national sporting pride around major sporting events merely seem to be small ripples in a rather stable pattern of national identification.

The second hypothesis, in which it was claimed that national sports success is of greater influence on feelings of well-being and national sporting pride than on more general national pride, was confirmed. Watching international sport events, for most fans and consumers, is not only related to sport-specific aspects such as the drama and outcomes of the games, but also an important social event. It relates to pleasure and feelings of belonging with family and/or friends and appeals to other forms of social identification (e.g. masculinity) or (sexual) admiration (Wenner and Gantz, 1998; Whannel, 2002). This became especially clear during the football World Cup 2010, when in the evaluation survey only one out of ten respondents indicated that they had not followed the championships in any way. Also citizens who may be ‘neutral’ or even ‘negative’ about national sport success may be drawn into a – short-lived – euphoria, without effecting more stable feelings of national pride.

The study does not confirm the third hypothesis, which predicted that the greatest influence of sporting success on national (sporting) pride and well-being would be found around football tournaments. Our data showed the strongest effects during the Winter Olympic Games 2010 and the football World Cup 2010. These outcomes may be related to three different factors: the opportunities to create univocal stories; the extent of successful sports performances; and macro-sociological influences (economical recession). Compared to the Summer Games, the Winter Games are far more focused for the Dutch public; the Dutch mainly participate and win medals in speed skating. During football championships the storylines and achievements of the national team are even more straightforward. Although the final achievements of the Dutch team in the past sometimes seemed less important than the demonstration and promise of the particular offensive playing style (Winner, 2001), the final result also seems to count. Although the men’s football team played in a less attractive and less ‘Dutch’ style, the Dutch showed more pride due to the World Cup 2010 achievements than during the European Cup in 2008. The final result triggered feelings of pride in most people, even though many respondents criticised the aggressive game the team played. The display of moral, national superiority, which is regarded as a national characteristic of the Dutch, without being explicitly patriotic (De Foer, 2006; Lechner, 2008), lost against (the alleged) effectiveness just as the World Cup was within reach. The third possible explanation for the findings is an intervening influence of the economic recession that started after the 2008 sports summer. The economic crisis might have negatively influenced well-being (Jehoel-Gijsbers and Hoff, 2009; Stuckler et al., 2009) in the ‘neutral’ winter of 2009, which was used as a reference for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Economic crises may also lead to a more national, inward attitude (and greater Euro-scepticism) and to increased pressure on national belonging and pride (e.g. Hargreaves, 2002), which may have contributed to higher scores during the sport summer of 2010.

The data partly support hypotheses 4a, 4b and 4c, where differences were expected for gender, ethnicity and sports participation. The findings support Denham’s (2010) study that top-level sports performances do not contribute equally to national identification and pride. In particular, professional media sports such as football are still mainly masculine domains (Maguire, 1999; Whannel, 2002). Nonetheless, general figures about national sporting pride were equally high for women as for men, which may be explained by a (partial) feminisation in both elite sporting success and sports audiences. Half of the group of recognised elite athletes by the national sport federation NOC*NSF (excluding professional football players) is female (Van Bottenburg et al., 2012) and in the recent Olympic Games (Sydney, Athens, Beijing) most Dutch medals were won by female athletes (Elling and Luijt, 2009). Such developments might have increased social identification with national athletes. However, when we specifically look at the direct influence of sport success, we only found positive effects on sporting pride (both winter Olympics and World Cup) and well-being (only World Cup) and among men. Despite the partial feminisation of the orange legion in recent years, men still seem to be more involved in and prouder of football results than women. Regarding ethnicity, only ethnic Dutch people witnessed higher national sporting pride due to the results in the World Cup; during the winter Olympics, national sporting pride increased among both ethnic Dutch and immigrant groups. Men and the ethnic Dutch population not only experience higher general feelings of (sporting) national pride and well-being, they also ‘profit’ most. Where gender and ethnicity of the performing Dutch athletes may (partly) be overwritten by their national representation – they represent ‘different shades of orange’ (Elling and Luijt, 2009) – the results show that the (sporting) national pride of sport audiences rather tends to show an increase instead of decrease in respect of gender and ethnic differences. Apart from gender and ethnicity, also age, education, sport participation and well-being showed separate effects, with older people, the lower educated and sport participants showing higher national (sporting) pride.

The results clearly confirm the fifth hypothesis: the extent of national pride determines the sporting pride experienced more than that sports achievements lead to an increase in national pride. The findings raise questions about the political feasibility to foster national identification through investments in sports. Our study echoes Coalter’s (2007) argument that such political claims mostly lack sound empirical evidence. One of the most important legitimisations of the top 10 ambition in Dutch sports shared by the government is that international top-level sports achievements would contribute to feelings of national pride, belonging and international prestige. However, people abroad only know some of the male football stars, even if they do not become champions. Olympic champions are mainly ‘our’ national heroes. Leaving exceptions such as swimmer Michael Phelps and athlete Usain Bolt aside, most Olympic heroes do not attain international fame. The average Dutchman does not know or hardly knows any Korean, Norwegian or Spanish Olympic champions either. For more international prestige, the Netherlands seems to be more dependent on the quality and performance of their national football team than on its government’s support of other top-level sports performances.

From the answers to the open question after the conclusion of the World Cup 2010, it clearly emerged that many Dutch people also relate sporting pride to our ‘small country’ and to the carnivalesque and peaceful behaviour of the ‘orange legion’. The findings do not at all indicate a negation of nationalism, which is supposed to be typical of the Netherlands and its people (Council for Social Development, 1999). Rather, the results are in line with the conclusion drawn by authors such as Lechner (2007) and De Foer (2006) that the carnivalesque expression of the Dutch around sporting events does indeed spring from patriotism and alleged national superiority. “If the nation is really a conversation we have with each other about who we are, as a prominent Dutch historian once put it (Kossmann 1995), then Dutch soccer discourse helps to define what the nation is” (Lechner, 2008: 5). When Besamusca (2010: 19) stated that only the monarchy ‘evokes symbols of nationalism comparable to that of other nations’, she did not recognise the important meaning of sports for Dutch society and, in particular, the powerful symbols of nationalism that are evoked by the Dutch national team.

In more and more countries, a world championship in a popular sport and/or the organisation of a large sporting event seems to hold great promises for their citizens and policy makers (Houlihan, 2002). The crucial role played by the media and commerce in awakening and stimulating (the expression of) nationalist sentiments, as authors like Maguire and Poulton (1999) argued, is supported by our data. Even people who stated not to be interested in large-scale sporting events had partly ‘succumbed’ to the inescapable media attention and their friends’ or neighbours’ orange enthusiasm. It also seems that, at the time of the world football championships, all serious and more critical media were drawn into the dream of a victory (Vincent et al., 2010) and into an unprecedented belief and trust in the society-wide ‘more-than-football’ benefits, such as social unity and belonging (Dauncy and Hare, 2000). The failed bid that the Netherlands made for the organisation of the FIFA men’s World Cup 2018 showed that citizens and policy makers can also be drawn into critical media reporting. The support for the organisation of the World Cup tournament diminished when the media reports became critical of the possibly negative effects and FIFA’s high demands (see Elling, 2011).

Apart from the aforementioned possible intervening influence of the economic recession on our research outcome, our findings may also be influenced by other unknown broader social developments. Although we took several measures to reduce sampling bias, the content of the questionnaire and the specific moments of assessment (e.g. in the summer holidays) may also have partly affected the representativeness of the study. For future research we suggest a higher frequency of assessments and larger sample groups to strengthen the validity and reliability of the data. Furthermore, longitudinal surveys over a longer period are necessary to more reliably determine the influence of sporting success on national pride.

When it comes to feelings of national identification, sport is definitely an important trigger for expressions and testimonies of national pride and belonging. Top-level sports achievements are important for symbolic stories about who ‘we’ are, what we share and what magnificent sports heroes our small country produces. The research results show that large-scale sporting events can contribute to small eruptions of national sporting pride in society. National pride, however, turns out to be a rather stable characteristic that is not affected by good sport performances, or weak performances for that matter, as during Euro 2012. The orange legion may be temporarily brought to silence and Dutch sporting pride reduced, but orange pride will remain and await the next (sporting) occurrence for celebration.

Footnotes

Funding

This research was part of the research programme Sport: Passion, Practice & Profit (2007–2010), funded by the Ministry of Sports.

Notes

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