Polityka, lokalne konteksty i mentalność ultra – historia ruchu ultras w Europie
Politics, local contexts and the ultra mindset – the history of the ultras movement in Europe

Summary/Abstract: The article presents the history of the ultras movement in Europe. On selected examples, it shows that although the characteristics of this culture are present in many countries – loyalty to one club, search for an authentic experience of being a fan, glorification of group identity, support of the local community, escape from commercialized forms of involvement in football, spontaneity, cultivation of traditional patterns of masculinity – their expression is mediated by regional contexts. On the one hand, one can talk of one “mentality” of ultras as a universal set of values, shared by fans in different countries. On the other hand, however, in every country different aspects of the ultras culture serve different purposes – for example, in the British Isles, they are used to revive the spontaneous atmosphere at the stadiums; in Poland – to manifest political identities. The article starts from the Italian roots of the ultras movement to show how the Italian style was incorporated in other parts of Europe, how local modifications have influenced it and how the ultras style has been assimilated with the particular interests of individual ultras groups.

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