The final of the 2010 World Cup has become notorious for the style of the Dutch play, preventing the flowing and beautiful football of the Spanish. But if we criticise the Dutch, does this mean that we want a sporting event to be beautiful, and as such an aesthetic experience, rather just a sporting contest?

Considering other games in the World Cup, we might also ask if sport has a meaning beyond the mere entertainment of the game. What, for example, was happening when we found ourselves supporting plucky little North Korea against Brazil? What sort of communal self-reflection did its early exit from the cup encourage in France? Does sport invited us to tell stories and engages in dramas that impact upon our non-sporting lives?

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