Marcus Rashford - The Schadenfreude

Marcus Rashford is a 23-year-old English footballer, that plays in attack for Manchester United, he has a typical rag to riches story. He is known for his intricate dribbling and fearless pace on the pitch and has been able to question and bring real impact to Public Policy off it. Marcus’s philanthropic endeavours are truly remarkable for a man of such tender age. Which is why he brings to the surface the strongest and most absolute expression of Schadenfreude in people.?

Why does everyone always have a soft spot for the underdog? Have you noticed yourself rooting for the unknown young obvious minnow against legends? For all my friends that haven't developed true love (fandom as they call it) for sport or movie or anything else really.

Scientists have found our love for the underdog is quite real: A few different psychology researchers have investigated our love for the underdog, and they've found that it's pervasive, it can cause people to switch allegiances in a jiffy. A researcher at UC San Diego Nadav Goldschmied says that our love for the underdog is basically an expression of schadenfreude — pleasure we experience due to the misfortune of others. We resent powerhouse teams/players that win every year, the thinking goes, so we root for them to lose.

Marcus Rashford. What do we truly know about underdogs?

Marcus Rashford is the true embodiment of being an underdog, he probably never would have gone on to become the footballing superstar that he has become, had it not been for numerous surprising injuries giving him a once in a lifetime opportunity up the pecking order for Manchester United.

Now while many footballers/sports stars have their moment in spotlight, Marcus never looked back not only was he prolific he had the desire, but the mental strength also to sustain himself at the highest level. As an 18-year-old he found himself a regular at one of the largest sporting franchises in the world and being homegrown and a true underdog made him loved by one and all.

His Achievements above and beyond?

In all my years, supporting football in Europe, I have seen and heard stories of footballers going above and beyond their status as football players, some became sporting icons like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, some transcended their popularities by becoming global superstars in the world of fashion, i.e., David Beckham. But the Pandemic made Marcus a global phenomenon because of his philanthropic endeavours, he single-handedly took on the UK government’s decision to rescind school meals for children during the summers when the schools were off. He not only committed to this cause with his financial presence but used his presence in the footballing circles and the good boy image he had created for himself to do actual good and bring actual change. All this at the age of 23.

Why do we need to talk about him?

It is very difficult to explain, why Marcus was able to bring the whole sporting community together for a cause. But I believe it was the innate underdog inside him that brought everyone together, and even people that didn’t really have much say or felt strongly for it came together just because they knew Marcus wouldn’t stand for the wrong things. His humble beginnings as the boy of a single mother who worked petty jobs to bring her 5 children up, while being able to scramble a living for two (who ate like grown adults, with very specific diets; budding footballers as they were) creates even in haters a sympathetic note.

All in All, he is very likeable, and whether it be England or anywhere in the rest of the world, he brings to life in people numerous emotions of sympathy, schadenfreude. Which are all very strong emotions.

Now when this Marcus, steps onto a global stage and misses a penalty for his country, this sparks numerous hate comments, racist slurs, Twitter, as usual, being an epicentre.

This sparks a debate; do we really even want to change? Have the recent events in the world only taught us to be with, support the minority communities in their successes? Does someone like Marcus deserve this hate? Are we going to just revert to our old ways because of the unfortunate happening in a sporting event?

The point, I am trying to drive here is, we all know racism is a real problem, but to understand its true nature we need to ask ourselves this. This boy had the world feeling numerous strong feelings for him, before this unfortunate incident, love, pride, being the ultimate underdog story. But as soon as we get the opportunity to let our demons get a hold of us, we are back to our old ways. This is unfortunate, and some of us have had enough.

Even in the North Americas, we claim to have it all under control, but this is more systemic than any of us will ever know, hence we must constantly educate ourselves. Diversity and Inclusion are often looked at as just an agenda item that must be struck off the list, but to truly get to our potentials as a people, society, and the global citizens we are fast becoming, isms of all kinds HAVE TO GO, racism first and foremost.

It is with a powerful message, I want to conclude this thought piece, firstly with the images of a Marcus Rashford mural that was destroyed by vandals (At the top of the article), and then the love that poured in from across the globe that healed it. I have also added the message from Marcus, himself through which he responded to all the hate and the acts of racism that came his way.

Marcus Rashford Response.