“Upff, yellow card, surely” : applying the rules of the game in talk

Abstract

This paper describes contexts and functions of references to food in British football commentary. It considers both the media text proper, i.e. the football commentary, as well as the reactions of the football fans at home. When the commentators refer to meals or other items of the semantic field ‘food,’ it is invariably the food of the television viewers at home. These references are markers of colour commentary and are used to pass the time during uninteresting parts of the game. The contexts in which these references occur fulfil a variety of functions. To give two examples: they help bridge the co-presence gap between the viewers and the game on television in this mediated discourse situation. One instance demonstrates how this may result in the media reinforcing hegemony by excluding some of the fans at home. Secondly, the references highlight the uniqueness of the football World Cup by contrasting it with the fans’ mundane activities. Besides some quiet back-channelling, which is typical for the TV viewers’ verbal behaviour regarding the media text, there are no reactions at home. ‘Food’ in colour commentary goes unnoticed, a topic fundamental to human kind and presumably, for this very reason, invisible and unmarked in talk.