One example he looks at is the phenomenon of the “Pyro,” an ultra-loyalist who uses pyrotechnic flares and smoke bombs to generate an obscuring wall of smoke. Montague also looks at the rigid regulations imposed upon the Ultras, comparing tactics across different countries and how their environment shapes the experience. Drawing from interview and experience, Montague shares the stories of fans who devoutly follow clubs from England and Italy to Serbia, Turkey, and Russia. He leads readers through the Ultra lifestyle and highlights the incredible lengths to which Ultras will go to demonstrate their loyalty to their football club or national team. Montague examines the passion and intensity of the Ultra culture and its influence on the game. Montague spent multiple seasons in various football countries, exploring football culture, the passions of its international fan base, and the objectives and politics of football management. Listen to the discussion here and follow some of the comments on Twitter via #FSFUltras.1312 Among The Ultras is a compelling look at the world of football fandom, written by the award-winning journalist James Montague. This is what makes 1312 so compelling, for Montague gained unprecedented access in his travels to stadia around the globe. The Ultras are effectively the last, unknown frontier in football, made even more difficult to pin down because they eschew the media spotlight-and journalists, naturally.
Importantly, as the session emphasizes early on, Ultras are distinctly different from the brand of British-origin hooliganism that so often dominates public memory and associations – at least, within the Anglophone world – of extremist football fandom and the culture that surrounds it.
Thus the close intersection of sports and politics in Ultras culture around the globe and why their development, globalization, and post-Cold War evolution is so tightly intertwined with socio-cultural trends and geopolitical developments.
But they’re always a very political or politicized bunch. The conversation (and book) was so enlightening because, as Montague noted, while there’s so much known about the game and culture of football, very little is known about the Ultras.īut who are the Ultras? As Montague pointed out, even the Ultras themselves have a difficult time conveying an exact definition of who they are. Today the Football Scholars Forum met with journalist James Montague to discuss his latest work, 1312: Among the Ultras, A journey with the world’s most extreme fans.
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