<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22AARON%20MORRISON%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By AARON MORRISON AP National Writer</a>

NEW YORK (AP) — Breaking is in Victor Montalvo’s blood. He is a descendant of twin breakers — his father and uncle — who were performing in Mexico long before they taught a young Montalvo to spin on his back.

Born in Kissimmee, Florida, the 28-year-old who also goes by B-Boy Victor has mastered the foundations of the dance form. He has power. He has the flavor and swagger expected of a diehard b-boy. His movement syncs with the breakbeat flowing from the DJ’s turntables.

He hopes to take breaking further than his relatives ever dreamt, to battle his way to a medal ceremony, when the now-global dance art debuts at the Olympic Summer Games less than two years from now.

“I feel like I have a really high chance,” Montalvo told The Associated Press.

He is among dozens of champion b-boys and b-girls — a term for a male or female entrenched in the culture of hip hop — who are charting a path to the 2024 Games in Paris. The International Olympic Committee announced two years ago that breaking would become an official Olympic sport, a development that divided the breaking community between those excited for the larger platform and those concerned about the art form’s purity.

But after the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.redbull.com/us-en/event-series/bc-one">Red Bull BC One World Final</a>, held earlier this month in the birthplace of hip hop and a short distance from the very streets where Black and Puerto Rican New Yorkers pioneered the art of breaking, the field of Olympic competitors is starting to take shape. The Nov. 12 event also attracted some of the original b-boys and b-girls, as the hip hop community prepares to celebrate 50 years since the culture’s founding in 1973.

“You never thought that something you were doing for fun was going to go around the world,” said Douglas “Dancin’ Doug” Colón, a b-boy of the first generation of breakers from Harlem who beamed with pride over the dance form’s acceptance into the Olympics.

Along with Colón, first generation b-boy Trixie sat near a circular stage in the center of Manhattan’s Hammerstein Ballroom. One by one, Red Bull BC One World Final competitors from Canada, China, France, Italy, Kazakhstan, South Korea and Venezuela took to the battle stage. The energy drink beverage company runs the world's largest breaking competition.

The OGs offered blessings to their descendants by giving them dap — a friendly gesture of greeting in the Black and Latino communities that communicates solidarity and well wishes to the recipient. Joe Conzo, Jr, a photographer known in the community as “Joey Snapz,” who documented hip hop in the Bronx from its infancy, also sat stageside taking pictures of the Olympic hopefuls.

“Nothing’s going to change the culture, the culture stays the same,” Colón said. “Even though it’s now an Olympic sport, people back in the hood will still be doing their thing.”

Victor Alicea, a Red Bull BC One World Final judge, told the AP that judging competitions within the hip hop culture has always been very subjective. But that won’t be the case with the Paris Olympics, where officials will use a newly developed judging system to decide which b-boy or b-girl bested their opponent in one-on-one battles.

The Trivium judging system, created for the debut of breaking at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, is a digital scoring platform that allows judges to react in real time to breakers’ physical, artistic and interpretative qualities or their “body, mind and soul.” A panel of five judges scores each breaker on creativity, personality, technique, variety, performativity and musicality. The scores can adjust throughout the battle, based on how a breaker responds to their opponent.

Scores can be lowered if a breaker “bites,” or copies, a set of moves from their opponent. Misbehavior, such as deliberate physical contact with an opponent, and other unsportsmanlike conduct can also lower a breaker’s score.

“I look for someone that takes over the floor. It’s a battle. It’s not just you dance and then I dance. You’ve got to bring it,” said Alicea, who is also known as B-boy Kid Glyde.

Montalvo, who was ranked as the world’s top b-boy after a world championship competition in Paris last December, said his path to the Olympics will require intense training. It will also require more winning performances at competitions sanctioned by the World DanceSport Federation, an IOC-approved body administering the battles. Breakers who do well in those events score points that help them qualify for the Paris Games. Olympic qualifiers kick off in September and run through June 2024.

At the end of the process, 16 b-boys and 16 b-girls will be allowed to compete over two days at the iconic Place de la Concorde, an outdoor public square in Paris.

That gives Olympic hopefuls lots of opportunities to sharpen their skills for the high stakes battles.

What sets Montalvo apart from other b-boys, he said, is his command of judge-favored foundations of breaking: “toprock” moves, footwork, “downrock” moves done closer to the floor, “power” moves showing acrobatics and strength, along with the classic “headspins,” “windmills” and “freeze” poses.

“I feel like the foundations are the most important thing,” he said. “I see a lot of dancers doing big moves, but then they don’t have those small details. They don’t know how to get out of those big moves. It’s important to create a story, and the foundations are like creating a story.”

During a Red Bull BC One quarterfinal round battle against Japan’s Yuki Minatozaki, Montalvo transitioned from a windmill into a downrock move in which his legs moved back and forth so quickly that they looked like turning Double Dutch ropes. Minatozaki responded with a smirk, half-hearted applause and sarcastic thumbs up — all in the spirit of good sportsmanship — before exploding into a headspin and showcasing energetic standing footwork.

“It feels great that the sport now has a lot more eyeballs on it,” Minatozaki, who goes by B-boy Yu-Ki, told the AP through a translator. The 23-year-old has been breaking since the age of five. He intends to seek a spot in the Paris Games, he said.

Minatozaki lost his battle against Montalvo, who also went on to the final to defeat Lee-Lou Demierre of the Netherlands, another likely Olympic contender. That victory did not earn Montalvo points toward qualifying for the Olympics.

India Sardjoe, a 16-year-old breaker from the Netherlands, won the Red Bull BC One World Final b-girl title. She said she planned to focus next on competing in crew battles – this entails a team of breakers competing against another for a group title and bragging rights, reminiscent of breaking’s roots in the Bronx. Sardjoe was fresh off of claiming the top honor at the European Breaking Championships, a WDSF event held in Manchester, England on Nov. 6.

The Red Bull title is an accomplishment, nonetheless.

“I had to battle the defending champion, so that’s not nothing,” Sardjoe said. “But I was super happy to battle against her.”

Sardjoe defeated 19-year-old Logan Edra, also known as B-girl Logistx, who won last year’s Red Bull BC One World Final in Gdansk, Poland. Hailing from San Diego, Edra began breaking at age eight, after first training in ballet and jazz. Her father nudged her into hip hop lessons.

Like Sardjoe and Montalvo, Edra told the AP she will compete in WDSF events over the next year and half for a spot in the Olympics. On Saturday, she competed in the Breaking for Gold Challenge Series in Tokyo and took home a silver medal behind Lithuania's Dominika Banevič, known as B-Girl Nicka, who won gold.

“I'm competing against the best of the best," Edra said. "Because I have such a high standard for myself, I try to out-train everybody. The training is crazy — I've got bruises on my elbows and my knees from practicing moves over and over. It's a lot of commitment because we don't have as many resources as other sports do.”

Isis Alexandra Granda Chalen, a b-girl who grew up in Ecuador before moving to the U.S., started young in ballet, folk and contemporary dance. But breaking spoke to her rebellious nature, particularly at a time when she questioned if those other dance forms were aligned with her dreams.

“The moment that I understood that I have more responsibility for myself, I put more work into breaking and I got the opportunities to be here,” Chalen, 27, said ahead of the Red Bull BC One World Final.

“Now, we’re going to do this transition, from artists to athletes,” she said of her Olympic dreams. “It’s a big opportunity for every country. I came from Latin America, where there aren’t as many opportunities. But the Olympics are for everybody.”

Sunny Choi, a Queens, New York-based b-girl who won the 2022 Red Bull BC One Cypher USA in September, said there’s an accessibility to the art and sport of breaking that will make it a huge draw at the Paris Olympics. She hopes to earn a spot on the U.S. team.

“We have a lot of diversity in breaking, which is really beautiful about what we do, because there aren’t many financial barriers to entry,” Choi told the AP. “If you have a clean floor and, nowadays, access to YouTube or something where you can learn, and some music, you can just do this on your own.”

She said her nascent Olympic journey has already required personal and professional sacrifices that initially had her questioning if she wanted to compete at all.

“I’m one of those all or nothing people,” Choi said. “I’ve done a lot of soul searching to remove some of the mental blocks. I feel like this journey is going to pull out a lot from me and I just need to be ready for that.”

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22AARON%20MORRISON%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By AARON MORRISON AP National Writer</a>NEW YORK (AP) — Breaking is in Victor Montalvo’s blood. He is a descendant of twin breakers — his father and uncle — who were performing in Mexico long before they taught a young Montalvo to spin on his back.Born in Kissimmee, Florida, the 28-year-old who also goes by B-Boy Victor has mastered the foundations of the dance form. He has power. He has the flavor and swagger expected of a diehard b-boy. His movement syncs with the breakbeat flowing from the DJ’s turntables.Scribble, chirp, rip, boom, blip.He hopes to take breaking further than his relatives ever dreamt, to battle his way to a medal ceremony, when the now-global dance art debuts at the Olympic Summer Games less than two years from now.“I feel like I have a really high chance,” Montalvo told The Associated Press.He is among dozens of champion b-boys and b-girls — a term for a male or female entrenched in the culture of hip hop — who are charting a path to the 2024 Games in Paris. The International Olympic Committee announced two years ago that breaking would become an official Olympic sport, a development that divided the breaking community between those excited for the larger platform and those concerned about the art form’s purity.But after the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.redbull.com/us-en/event-series/bc-one">Red Bull BC One World Final</a>, held earlier this month in the birthplace of hip hop and a short distance from the very streets where Black and Puerto Rican New Yorkers pioneered the art of breaking, the field of Olympic competitors is starting to take shape. The Nov. 12 event also attracted some of the original b-boys and b-girls, as the hip hop community prepares to celebrate 50 years since the culture’s founding in 1973.“You never thought that something you were doing for fun was going to go around the world,” said Douglas “Dancin’ Doug” Colón, a b-boy of the first generation of breakers from Harlem who beamed with pride over the dance form’s acceptance into the Olympics.Along with Colón, first generation b-boy Trixie sat near a circular stage in the center of Manhattan’s Hammerstein Ballroom. One by one, Red Bull BC One World Final competitors from Canada, China, France, Italy, Kazakhstan, South Korea and Venezuela took to the battle stage. The energy drink beverage company runs the world's largest breaking competition.The OGs offered blessings to their descendants by giving them dap — a friendly gesture of greeting in the Black and Latino communities that communicates solidarity and well wishes to the recipient. Joe Conzo, Jr, a photographer known in the community as “Joey Snapz,” who documented hip hop in the Bronx from its infancy, also sat stageside taking pictures of the Olympic hopefuls.“Nothing’s going to change the culture, the culture stays the same,” Colón said. “Even though it’s now an Olympic sport, people back in the hood will still be doing their thing.”Victor Alicea, a Red Bull BC One World Final judge, told the AP that judging competitions within the hip hop culture has always been very subjective. But that won’t be the case with the Paris Olympics, where officials will use a newly developed judging system to decide which b-boy or b-girl bested their opponent in one-on-one battles.The Trivium judging system, created for the debut of breaking at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, is a digital scoring platform that allows judges to react in real time to breakers’ physical, artistic and interpretative qualities or their “body, mind and soul.” A panel of five judges scores each breaker on creativity, personality, technique, variety, performativity and musicality. The scores can adjust throughout the battle, based on how a breaker responds to their opponent.Scores can be lowered if a breaker “bites,” or copies, a set of moves from their opponent. Misbehavior, such as deliberate physical contact with an opponent, and other unsportsmanlike conduct can also lower a breaker’s score.“I look for someone that takes over the floor. It’s a battle. It’s not just you dance and then I dance. You’ve got to bring it,” said Alicea, who is also known as B-boy Kid Glyde.Montalvo, who was ranked as the world’s top b-boy after a world championship competition in Paris last December, said his path to the Olympics will require intense training. It will also require more winning performances at competitions sanctioned by the World DanceSport Federation, an IOC-approved body administering the battles. Breakers who do well in those events score points that help them qualify for the Paris Games. Olympic qualifiers kick off in September and run through June 2024.At the end of the process, 16 b-boys and 16 b-girls will be allowed to compete over two days at the iconic Place de la Concorde, an outdoor public square in Paris.That gives Olympic hopefuls lots of opportunities to sharpen their skills for the high stakes battles.MEET THE CONTENDERSB-BOY VICTORWhat sets Montalvo apart from other b-boys, he said, is his command of judge-favored foundations of breaking: “toprock” moves, footwork, “downrock” moves done closer to the floor, “power” moves showing acrobatics and strength, along with the classic “headspins,” “windmills” and “freeze” poses.“I feel like the foundations are the most important thing,” he said. “I see a lot of dancers doing big moves, but then they don’t have those small details. They don’t know how to get out of those big moves. It’s important to create a story, and the foundations are like creating a story.”B-BOY YU-KIDuring a Red Bull BC One quarterfinal round battle against Japan’s Yuki Minatozaki, Montalvo transitioned from a windmill into a downrock move in which his legs moved back and forth so quickly that they looked like turning Double Dutch ropes. Minatozaki responded with a smirk, half-hearted applause and sarcastic thumbs up — all in the spirit of good sportsmanship — before exploding into a headspin and showcasing energetic standing footwork.“It feels great that the sport now has a lot more eyeballs on it,” Minatozaki, who goes by B-boy Yu-Ki, told the AP through a translator. The 23-year-old has been breaking since the age of five. He intends to seek a spot in the Paris Games, he said.Minatozaki lost his battle against Montalvo, who also went on to the final to defeat Lee-Lou Demierre of the Netherlands, another likely Olympic contender. That victory did not earn Montalvo points toward qualifying for the Olympics.B-GIRL INDIAIndia Sardjoe, a 16-year-old breaker from the Netherlands, won the Red Bull BC One World Final b-girl title. She said she planned to focus next on competing in crew battles – this entails a team of breakers competing against another for a group title and bragging rights, reminiscent of breaking’s roots in the Bronx. Sardjoe was fresh off of claiming the top honor at the European Breaking Championships, a WDSF event held in Manchester, England on Nov. 6.The Red Bull title is an accomplishment, nonetheless.“I had to battle the defending champion, so that’s not nothing,” Sardjoe said. “But I was super happy to battle against her.”B-GIRL LOGISTXSardjoe defeated 19-year-old Logan Edra, also known as B-girl Logistx, who won last year’s Red Bull BC One World Final in Gdansk, Poland. Hailing from San Diego, Edra began breaking at age eight, after first training in ballet and jazz. Her father nudged her into hip hop lessons.Like Sardjoe and Montalvo, Edra told the AP she will compete in WDSF events over the next year and half for a spot in the Olympics. On Saturday, she competed in the Breaking for Gold Challenge Series in Tokyo and took home a silver medal behind Lithuania's Dominika Banevič, known as B-Girl Nicka, who won gold.“I'm competing against the best of the best," Edra said. "Because I have such a high standard for myself, I try to out-train everybody. The training is crazy — I've got bruises on my elbows and my knees from practicing moves over and over. It's a lot of commitment because we don't have as many resources as other sports do.”B-GIRL ISISIsis Alexandra Granda Chalen, a b-girl who grew up in Ecuador before moving to the U.S., started young in ballet, folk and contemporary dance. But breaking spoke to her rebellious nature, particularly at a time when she questioned if those other dance forms were aligned with her dreams.“The moment that I understood that I have more responsibility for myself, I put more work into breaking and I got the opportunities to be here,” Chalen, 27, said ahead of the Red Bull BC One World Final.“Now, we’re going to do this transition, from artists to athletes,” she said of her Olympic dreams. “It’s a big opportunity for every country. I came from Latin America, where there aren’t as many opportunities. But the Olympics are for everybody.”B-GIRL SUNNYSunny Choi, a Queens, New York-based b-girl who won the 2022 Red Bull BC One Cypher USA in September, said there’s an accessibility to the art and sport of breaking that will make it a huge draw at the Paris Olympics. She hopes to earn a spot on the U.S. team.“We have a lot of diversity in breaking, which is really beautiful about what we do, because there aren’t many financial barriers to entry,” Choi told the AP. “If you have a clean floor and, nowadays, access to YouTube or something where you can learn, and some music, you can just do this on your own.”She said her nascent Olympic journey has already required personal and professional sacrifices that initially had her questioning if she wanted to compete at all.“I’m one of those all or nothing people,” Choi said. “I’ve done a lot of soul searching to remove some of the mental blocks. I feel like this journey is going to pull out a lot from me and I just need to be ready for that.”

Break it down: Dancers begin charting path to Paris Olympics

Highlights from the third day of the <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup">World Cup</a> in Qatar on Tuesday.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/10/1666968926967.jpeg" alt="AP Photo/Darko Bandic" />
 <figcaption>AP Photo/Darko Bandic</figcaption>
 </figure>Highlights from the third day of the <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup">World Cup</a> in Qatar on Tuesday.

Highlights from Day 3 of the World Cup in Qatar 

PORTLAND,
 Ore. — Good news for fans of “The Goonies:” the old Victorian home
 featured in the film is on sale in Astoria, Oregon, and potential 
buyers are considering making it more accessible to the public.

“We
 have a few interested parties right now,” said realtor Jordan Miller, 
the listing agent for the property. “It seems to be everybody's 
intention to be able to open up the house a little bit more and have 
more access.”

The 1896 home with sweeping views of the Columbia 
River flowing into the Pacific Ocean has been listed with an asking 
price of $1.7 million on Zillow, where it's described as “fully loaded 
with history, nostalgia and iconic level of fame.”

Since the movie
 hit theaters in 1985, fans have flocked to the home in northwestern 
Oregon's historic port of Astoria. The city celebrates Goonies Day on 
June 7, the film's release date, and welcomes thousands of people for 
the event.

Owner Sandi Preston was known to have been largely 
welcoming to visitors. But she lived in the house full time, and the 
constant crowds were a strain that prompted her at times to close it to 
foot traffic.

After the film's 30th anniversary drew about 1,500 
daily visitors in 2015, Preston posted “no trespassing” signs 
prohibiting tourists from walking up to the property. She reopened it to
 the public this past August.

City officials, who restricted 
parking in the area, have long sought to mediate the tensions between 
residents and the fans hoping to see and photograph the location.

“While
 the owner of this location from The Goonies is a fan of the movie and 
enjoys chatting with visitors making the trek to Astoria to see the film
 locations, as you can imagine, it gets hard having hundreds of people 
crowding into your personal space every single day,” the 
Astoria-Warrenton Chamber of Commerce wrote in August on a Facebook page
 they administer called Goonies Day in Astoria, Oregon.

In the 
coming-of-age film, based on a story by Steven Spielberg and featuring a
 young Sean Astin, a group of friends fight to protect their homes from 
an expanding country club and threats of foreclosure. In the process, 
they discover an old treasure map that leads them on an adventure and 
allows them to save their “Goon Docks” neighborhood.

Astoria and 
its rugged coastline served as the backdrop for several well-known films
 from the 1980s and ’90s, including “Kindergarten Cop” starring Arnold 
Schwarzenegger.

For now, potential buyers of the iconic Goonies 
house don't seem to want to make the house their primary residence, said
 listing agent Miller, suggesting it has drawn interest from people who 
want to “make it their passion.”

“It’s kind of a fun buy,” Miller 
said. “Whoever buys the house is going to have a relatively steady 
stream of extremely happy people walking up outside to fulfill their 
childhood dreams.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669144243224.jpeg" alt="The house featured in the Steven Spielberg film "The Goonies" is seen in Astoria, Ore., on May 24, 2001. The Victorian home, built in 1896 with sweeping views of the Columbia River as it flows into the Pacific Ocean, is now for sale has been listed with an asking price of $1.7 million. Since the film was released in 1985, fans have flocked to the home, and the owner has long complained of constant crowds and trespassing. (AP Photo/Stepanie Firth, File)" />
 <figcaption>The house featured in the Steven Spielberg film "The Goonies" is seen in Astoria, Ore., on May 24, 2001. The Victorian home, built in 1896 with sweeping views of the Columbia River as it flows into the Pacific Ocean, is now for sale has been listed with an asking price of $1.7 million. Since the film was released in 1985, fans have flocked to the home, and the owner has long complained of constant crowds and trespassing. (AP Photo/Stepanie Firth, File)</figcaption>
 </figure>Associated PressPORTLAND,
 Ore. — Good news for fans of “The Goonies:” the old Victorian home
 featured in the film is on sale in Astoria, Oregon, and potential 
buyers are considering making it more accessible to the public.“We
 have a few interested parties right now,” said realtor Jordan Miller, 
the listing agent for the property. “It seems to be everybody's 
intention to be able to open up the house a little bit more and have 
more access.”The 1896 home with sweeping views of the Columbia 
River flowing into the Pacific Ocean has been listed with an asking 
price of $1.7 million on Zillow, where it's described as “fully loaded 
with history, nostalgia and iconic level of fame.”Since the movie
 hit theaters in 1985, fans have flocked to the home in northwestern 
Oregon's historic port of Astoria. The city celebrates Goonies Day on 
June 7, the film's release date, and welcomes thousands of people for 
the event.Owner Sandi Preston was known to have been largely 
welcoming to visitors. But she lived in the house full time, and the 
constant crowds were a strain that prompted her at times to close it to 
foot traffic.After the film's 30th anniversary drew about 1,500 
daily visitors in 2015, Preston posted “no trespassing” signs 
prohibiting tourists from walking up to the property. She reopened it to
 the public this past August.City officials, who restricted 
parking in the area, have long sought to mediate the tensions between 
residents and the fans hoping to see and photograph the location.“While
 the owner of this location from The Goonies is a fan of the movie and 
enjoys chatting with visitors making the trek to Astoria to see the film
 locations, as you can imagine, it gets hard having hundreds of people 
crowding into your personal space every single day,” the 
Astoria-Warrenton Chamber of Commerce wrote in August on a Facebook page
 they administer called Goonies Day in Astoria, Oregon.In the 
coming-of-age film, based on a story by Steven Spielberg and featuring a
 young Sean Astin, a group of friends fight to protect their homes from 
an expanding country club and threats of foreclosure. In the process, 
they discover an old treasure map that leads them on an adventure and 
allows them to save their “Goon Docks” neighborhood.Astoria and 
its rugged coastline served as the backdrop for several well-known films
 from the 1980s and ’90s, including “Kindergarten Cop” starring Arnold 
Schwarzenegger.For now, potential buyers of the iconic Goonies 
house don't seem to want to make the house their primary residence, said
 listing agent Miller, suggesting it has drawn interest from people who 
want to “make it their passion.”“It’s kind of a fun buy,” Miller 
said. “Whoever buys the house is going to have a relatively steady 
stream of extremely happy people walking up outside to fulfill their 
childhood dreams.”

Famed 'Goonies' house for sale in coastal Oregon

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22BROOKE%20SCHULTZ%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By BROOKE SCHULTZ </a> <a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22BROOKE%20SCHULTZ%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">Associated Press/Report for America</a>

Some of Taylor Swift’s fans want you to know three things: They’re not still 16, they have careers and resources and, right now, they’re angry. That’s a powerful political motivator, researchers say.

It started Nov. 15, when millions crowded a presale for Swift’s long-awaited Eras Tour,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/taylor-swift-ticketmaster-concert-tickets-parents-34399cca6403c97f0983a5c69c7edec0">resulting in crashes, prolonged waits and frantic purchases.</a>&nbsp;By Thursday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/taylor-swift-ticketmaster-sale-canceled-music-concert-tour-70c8a21059174c37a06b7a8475239b06">Ticketmaster had canceled the general sale,</a>&nbsp;citing insufficient remaining tickets and inciting a firestorm of outrage from fans. Swift herself said&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-taylor-swift-af5d58d2a8c6def368ded1bd2ddd8a6f">the ordeal “really pisses me off.”</a>

Ticketmaster apologized but the bad blood had already been sowed. And now fans — and politicians — have started acting on it.

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez directed Swifties to where they could make U.S. Department of Justice complaints. Multiple&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/josh-shapiro-business-taylor-swift-tennessee-e157badef297f7c302615b3a6080ba2a">state attorneys general</a>&nbsp;— including in Pennsylvania and Tennessee, key states in Swift’s origin story — have announced investigations.

Stephanie Aly, a New York-based professional who has worked on community organizing for progressive politics, for years has thought mobilizing fandoms for social progress could be beneficial.

“Fandoms are natural organizers,” said the 33-year-old Swiftie. “If you find the right issues and you activate them and engage them then you can effect real change.”

In 2020, for instance, K-pop fans organized to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/death-of-george-floyd-music-ap-top-news-south-korea-entertainment-09aaf5560b48385f5adf8ae7a6af3740">back the Black Lives Matter movement</a>&nbsp;and sought to&nbsp;<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/[https://apnews.com/article/pop-music-music-donald-trump-us-news-united-states-2f18f18a8b40a4635fd3590fd159241c">inflate registration</a>&nbsp;for a Donald Trump rally. Aly and Swifties from different industries — law, public relations, cybersecurity and more — have joined forces to create Vigilante Legal, a group targeting Ticketmaster by creating email templates to petition attorneys general and providing antitrust information. Thousands have expressed interest in helping or learning more.

“The level of anger that you’ve just seen in the country around this issue is astounding,” said Jean Sinzdak, associate director for the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. “People are really sharing their feelings about that and building a movement about that online, which I really think is quite fascinating. It’s certainly an opportunity to engage people politically. Whether it lasts is hard to say, but it certainly feels like a real opportunity.”

In one way, said Sinzdak, this is giving Swift’s large following of younger people a direct line to seeing how policy takes shape. It’s also targeting a demographic that is seldom courted by politicians during election season.

“Nobody goes out and thinks, ‘Let’s target young women,’” said Gwen Nisbett, a University of North Texas professor who researches the intersection of political engagement and pop culture. “Be it about abortion or student loans, that age group is super mobilized and young women are super mobilized.”

Fan culture and community has boosted that tendency toward mobilization. Nisbett was studying parasocial relationships — when fans have strong one-way relationships with celebrities — in 2018, when the previously apolitical Swift posted an endorsement of Democratic candidates to social media. Nisbett found that while such posts may not determine fans' votes, they still led to the increased likelihood fans would look for more information about voting — and actually vote.

For the record:&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-votecast-quirky-polls-e9c117cb5be549f91ca7d98d249c5f9d">AP VoteCast,</a>&nbsp;an extensive survey of the U.S. electorate, showed about a third of Tennessee voters in 2018 said they had a favorable opinion of Swift, and among them, a large majority — about 7 in 10 — backed Democrat Phil Bredesen in the Senate contest. That was in clear contrast to the roughly third of voters who had an unfavorable opinion of Swift and overwhelmingly backed Republican Marsha Blackburn.

For Swifties, the ire for Ticketmaster is not just about a ticket: “It’s the fact that you can’t participate in your community and your fandom and it’s part of your identity,” Nisbett said.

This isn’t even the first time a fandom or an artist has targeted Ticketmaster.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/063fca1ccd36ad2fe398537b71426d21">Pearl Jam took aim at the company</a>&nbsp;in 1994, although the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/c3efaa2c4026495236f2035e93fe8a3f">Justice Department ultimately declined</a>&nbsp;to bring a case. More recently, Bruce Springsteen fans were enraged over high ticket costs because of the platform’s dynamic pricing system.

“It’s not just about getting vengeance for Swifties. It’s not about getting an extra million Taylor Swift fans tickets, or all of us going to a secret session,” said Jordan Burger, 28, who is using his law background to help the cause. “It’s about fundamental equality. And when you have a monopolist like that, it’s just so representative of the class structure of a society where there isn’t equality anymore, there isn’t fairness.”

The sheer power and size of Swift’s fandom has spurred conversations about economic inequality, merely symbolized by Ticketmaster.

Aly noted that quite a few of the members of the group did get tickets; the issue is is bigger than Ticketmaster, she said.

“We’ve gotten some feedback that, ‘This is too big, let the government handle it.’ Have you seen the U.S. government? The government only functions when the people push it to and when the people demand that it function and the people are involved,” she said. “Even when something seems too big to fail or too powerful to fail, there are always enough of us to make a difference. Your involvement may be the thing that pushes it over the edge that forces the government to act.”

Aly says many grown-up Swifties have 10-15 years’ experience of being bullied for liking the singer — but what fans have in mind might be better than revenge.

“We have thick skin and nothing to lose, really,” Aly said.

Associated Press journalist Hannah Fingerhut contributed to this report from Washington. Brooke Schultz is a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania-based corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reportforamerica.org/">Report for America</a>&nbsp;is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22BROOKE%20SCHULTZ%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By BROOKE SCHULTZ </a> <a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22BROOKE%20SCHULTZ%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">Associated Press/Report for America</a>Some of Taylor Swift’s fans want you to know three things: They’re not still 16, they have careers and resources and, right now, they’re angry. That’s a powerful political motivator, researchers say.Look what Ticketmaster made them do.It started Nov. 15, when millions crowded a presale for Swift’s long-awaited Eras Tour,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/taylor-swift-ticketmaster-concert-tickets-parents-34399cca6403c97f0983a5c69c7edec0">resulting in crashes, prolonged waits and frantic purchases.</a>&nbsp;By Thursday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/taylor-swift-ticketmaster-sale-canceled-music-concert-tour-70c8a21059174c37a06b7a8475239b06">Ticketmaster had canceled the general sale,</a>&nbsp;citing insufficient remaining tickets and inciting a firestorm of outrage from fans. Swift herself said&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-taylor-swift-af5d58d2a8c6def368ded1bd2ddd8a6f">the ordeal “really pisses me off.”</a>Ticketmaster apologized but the bad blood had already been sowed. And now fans — and politicians — have started acting on it.U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez directed Swifties to where they could make U.S. Department of Justice complaints. Multiple&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/josh-shapiro-business-taylor-swift-tennessee-e157badef297f7c302615b3a6080ba2a">state attorneys general</a>&nbsp;— including in Pennsylvania and Tennessee, key states in Swift’s origin story — have announced investigations.Stephanie Aly, a New York-based professional who has worked on community organizing for progressive politics, for years has thought mobilizing fandoms for social progress could be beneficial.“Fandoms are natural organizers,” said the 33-year-old Swiftie. “If you find the right issues and you activate them and engage them then you can effect real change.”In 2020, for instance, K-pop fans organized to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/death-of-george-floyd-music-ap-top-news-south-korea-entertainment-09aaf5560b48385f5adf8ae7a6af3740">back the Black Lives Matter movement</a>&nbsp;and sought to&nbsp;<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/[https://apnews.com/article/pop-music-music-donald-trump-us-news-united-states-2f18f18a8b40a4635fd3590fd159241c">inflate registration</a>&nbsp;for a Donald Trump rally. Aly and Swifties from different industries — law, public relations, cybersecurity and more — have joined forces to create Vigilante Legal, a group targeting Ticketmaster by creating email templates to petition attorneys general and providing antitrust information. Thousands have expressed interest in helping or learning more.“The level of anger that you’ve just seen in the country around this issue is astounding,” said Jean Sinzdak, associate director for the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. “People are really sharing their feelings about that and building a movement about that online, which I really think is quite fascinating. It’s certainly an opportunity to engage people politically. Whether it lasts is hard to say, but it certainly feels like a real opportunity.”In one way, said Sinzdak, this is giving Swift’s large following of younger people a direct line to seeing how policy takes shape. It’s also targeting a demographic that is seldom courted by politicians during election season.“Nobody goes out and thinks, ‘Let’s target young women,’” said Gwen Nisbett, a University of North Texas professor who researches the intersection of political engagement and pop culture. “Be it about abortion or student loans, that age group is super mobilized and young women are super mobilized.”Fan culture and community has boosted that tendency toward mobilization. Nisbett was studying parasocial relationships — when fans have strong one-way relationships with celebrities — in 2018, when the previously apolitical Swift posted an endorsement of Democratic candidates to social media. Nisbett found that while such posts may not determine fans' votes, they still led to the increased likelihood fans would look for more information about voting — and actually vote.For the record:&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-votecast-quirky-polls-e9c117cb5be549f91ca7d98d249c5f9d">AP VoteCast,</a>&nbsp;an extensive survey of the U.S. electorate, showed about a third of Tennessee voters in 2018 said they had a favorable opinion of Swift, and among them, a large majority — about 7 in 10 — backed Democrat Phil Bredesen in the Senate contest. That was in clear contrast to the roughly third of voters who had an unfavorable opinion of Swift and overwhelmingly backed Republican Marsha Blackburn.For Swifties, the ire for Ticketmaster is not just about a ticket: “It’s the fact that you can’t participate in your community and your fandom and it’s part of your identity,” Nisbett said.This isn’t even the first time a fandom or an artist has targeted Ticketmaster.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/063fca1ccd36ad2fe398537b71426d21">Pearl Jam took aim at the company</a>&nbsp;in 1994, although the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/c3efaa2c4026495236f2035e93fe8a3f">Justice Department ultimately declined</a>&nbsp;to bring a case. More recently, Bruce Springsteen fans were enraged over high ticket costs because of the platform’s dynamic pricing system.“It’s not just about getting vengeance for Swifties. It’s not about getting an extra million Taylor Swift fans tickets, or all of us going to a secret session,” said Jordan Burger, 28, who is using his law background to help the cause. “It’s about fundamental equality. And when you have a monopolist like that, it’s just so representative of the class structure of a society where there isn’t equality anymore, there isn’t fairness.”The sheer power and size of Swift’s fandom has spurred conversations about economic inequality, merely symbolized by Ticketmaster.Aly noted that quite a few of the members of the group did get tickets; the issue is is bigger than Ticketmaster, she said.“We’ve gotten some feedback that, ‘This is too big, let the government handle it.’ Have you seen the U.S. government? The government only functions when the people push it to and when the people demand that it function and the people are involved,” she said. “Even when something seems too big to fail or too powerful to fail, there are always enough of us to make a difference. Your involvement may be the thing that pushes it over the edge that forces the government to act.”Aly says many grown-up Swifties have 10-15 years’ experience of being bullied for liking the singer — but what fans have in mind might be better than revenge.“We have thick skin and nothing to lose, really,” Aly said.___Associated Press journalist Hannah Fingerhut contributed to this report from Washington. Brooke Schultz is a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania-based corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reportforamerica.org/">Report for America</a>&nbsp;is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Taylor Swift ticket trouble could drive political engagement

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — FIFA's threat of on-field punishment for players pushed <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup">World Cup teams</a>
 to back down Monday and abandon a plan for their captains to wear 
armbands that were seen as a rebuke to host nation Qatar's human rights 
record.

Just hours before the first players with the armbands in support of the “One Love” campaign <a href="https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-soccer-sports-qatar-doha-5bd67341210b182fc0480acb56bbc4fa">were to take the field</a>,
 soccer's governing body warned they would immediately be shown yellow 
cards — two of which lead to a player’s expulsion from that game and 
also the next.

That changed the calculus for the seven European 
teams, which may have expected merely to be fined. The displays are a 
violation of FIFA rules.

No player had the “One Love” armbands 
Monday, although England's Harry Kane wore the FIFA-approved “No 
Discrimination” armband that was offered as a compromise in the match 
with Iran.

It was the latest dispute that threatened to overshadow
 play on the field. Since being awarded the World Cup hosting rights in 
2010, conservative Muslim Qatar <a href="https://apnews.com/article/europe-international-soccer-world-cup-migrant-workers-coronavirus-pandemic-5a3b0c7ccc5cd98535d0fb11224dbf2d">has faced a raft of criticism</a>,
 including its treatment of low-paid migrant workers and women and its 
suppression of free speech. It came under particular fire for its 
criminalization of homosexuality.

The decision came three days after <a href="https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-soccer-sports-qatar-middle-east-2ecb255aa0100664c250b56d69506b17">beer sales at stadiums were suddenly banned</a> under pressure from the Qatari government and two days after FIFA president Gianni Infantino <a href="https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-soccer-sports-business-discrimination-ee9a8b506525341927b02c97cb19993d">delivered an extraordinary tirade</a> defending the host nation’s human rights record.

The
 captains of seven European nations had vowed to wear armbands carrying 
the heart-shaped, multicolored logo of the “One Love” campaign, which 
promotes inclusion and diversity in soccer and society. That set up the 
prospect of worldwide viewers seeing a symbol of disapproval with the 
host country and defiance of FIFA on the arms of Kane, the Netherlands’ 
Virgil van Dijk and Wales’ Gareth Bale on Monday.

But in the end, the teams said they couldn’t sacrifice success on the field.

“As
 national federations, we can’t put our players in a position where they
 could face sporting sanctions, including bookings,” the seven soccer 
federations said in a joint statement, referring to the yellow cards.

The captains of Belgium, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark had also pledged to wear the armbands in the coming days.

“Our
 No. 1 priority at the World Cup is to win the games,” the Dutch soccer 
federation said in a separate statement. “Then you don’t want the 
captain to start the match with a yellow card.”

The risk of 
getting a second yellow, which would see a player sent off the field for
 the rest of the game and banned from the next, is particularly tricky 
in a tournament where teams play only three games before the knockout 
rounds begin.

“One thing is clear: We are not going to wear the 
armband if we are going to get a yellow card," said Netherlands coach 
Louis van Gaal. "And I think that we need to question whether this is a 
correct act on the part of FIFA. I think you can give the answer to that
 question.”

National soccer federations and fan associations 
lashed out at FIFA for its decision to penalize the players. Danish 
soccer federation CEO Jakob Jensen told Danish broadcaster TV2 that the 
organization was ”extremely disappointed with FIFA,” and German soccer 
federation president Bernd Neuendorf called it "another low blow."

“FIFA
 today prohibited a statement for diversity and human rights — those are
 values to which it is committed in its own statutes,” Neuendorf told 
reporters in Qatar. “From our point of view, this is more than 
frustrating and, I think, an unprecedented action in World Cup history.”

The global players’ union FIFPRO called the FIFA move “disappointing.”

“Players
 must have a right to express their support for human rights on and off 
the field of play and we will support any of them who will use their own
 platforms to do so,” the union said. “We maintain that a rainbow flag 
is not a political statement but an endorsement of equality and thus a 
universal human right.”

England’s Football Supporters Association said it felt betrayed by FIFA.

“Today
 we feel contempt for an organization that has shown its true values by 
giving the yellow card to players and the red card to tolerance,” the 
FSA said.

The Belgium federation expressed frustration that FIFA 
didn't act sooner to resolve an issue that began two months ago, only to
 come to a head on the morning of matches for three teams. The Europeans
 “tried several times to avoid escalating this initiative ... but we 
have had no response,” the Belgian federation said.

Manon Aubry of
 France, the president of the Left group at the European Parliament, 
wore the rainbow armband Monday during a debate on human rights in the 
context of the World Cup.

“Shame on those who did not allow 
armbands — ‘One Love’ armbands — to support the LGBTQI. I’m proud to 
wear that armband here,” said Aubry, who was reprimanded for wearing it 
inside the Parliament, where such displays are not allowed during 
plenary sessions.

Gurchaten Sandhu, of the Geneva-based 
International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, 
said FIFA put “athletes in a very, very awkward” position.

“You’ve bound the hands of the national teams. They’re there to compete,” he said.

He
 also criticized Infantino's speech Saturday in which the soccer chief 
defended Qatar and lectured Europeans who have criticized the emirate's 
human rights record. In that speech, Infantino said: “Today I feel 
Qatari. Today I feel Arab. Today I feel African. Today I feel gay. Today
 I feel disabled. Today I feel a migrant worker.”

Sandhu took issue with Infantino's choice of words, saying: “You don’t feel gay. You are gay.”

It
 wasn’t immediately clear what, if any, influence Qatar’s autocratic 
government had on the armband decision. The government and its Supreme 
Committee for Delivery and Legacy, which oversees the World Cup, did not
 immediately respond to a request for comment.

The European plans were in breach of World Cup regulations and FIFA’s general rules on team equipment at its games.

“For
 FIFA final competitions, the captain of each team must wear the 
captain’s armband provided by FIFA,” its equipment regulations state.

The
 soccer body's proposal, announced Saturday, was for captains to wear 
armbands with socially aware, though generic, slogans. In that offer, 
armbands reading “No Discrimination” — the only one of its chosen slogan
 aligned with the European teams’ wish — would appear only at the 
quarterfinal stage.

On Monday, it offered the compromise that 
captains of all 32 teams “will have the opportunity” to wear an armband 
with the slogan “No Discrimination” in the group games.

Brazil's 
players were not planning any type of protest but striker Richarlison 
said he would “support anything that other players or national teams 
were doing.”

“We live in a dangerous world where you are not 
allowed to have an opinion,” he said at Brazil’s training camp. “I 
support any cause out there.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669063264934.jpeg" alt="England's Harry Kane wears a rainbow armband as he takes the knee prior to the Euro 2020 soccer championship round of 16 match between England and Germany at Wembley Stadium in England. The captains of seven European nations will not wear anti-discrimination armbands in World Cup games after threats from FIFA to show yellow cards to the players. The seven soccer federations say "we can’t put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions.” (Justin Tallis, Pool Photo via AP)" />
 <figcaption>England's Harry Kane wears a rainbow armband as he takes the knee prior to the Euro 2020 soccer championship round of 16 match between England and Germany at Wembley Stadium in England. The captains of seven European nations will not wear anti-discrimination armbands in World Cup games after threats from FIFA to show yellow cards to the players. The seven soccer federations say "we can’t put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions.” (Justin Tallis, Pool Photo via AP)</figcaption>
 </figure>DOHA, Qatar (AP) — FIFA's threat of on-field punishment for players pushed <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup">World Cup teams</a>
 to back down Monday and abandon a plan for their captains to wear 
armbands that were seen as a rebuke to host nation Qatar's human rights 
record.Just hours before the first players with the armbands in support of the “One Love” campaign <a href="https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-soccer-sports-qatar-doha-5bd67341210b182fc0480acb56bbc4fa">were to take the field</a>,
 soccer's governing body warned they would immediately be shown yellow 
cards — two of which lead to a player’s expulsion from that game and 
also the next.That changed the calculus for the seven European 
teams, which may have expected merely to be fined. The displays are a 
violation of FIFA rules.No player had the “One Love” armbands 
Monday, although England's Harry Kane wore the FIFA-approved “No 
Discrimination” armband that was offered as a compromise in the match 
with Iran.It was the latest dispute that threatened to overshadow
 play on the field. Since being awarded the World Cup hosting rights in 
2010, conservative Muslim Qatar <a href="https://apnews.com/article/europe-international-soccer-world-cup-migrant-workers-coronavirus-pandemic-5a3b0c7ccc5cd98535d0fb11224dbf2d">has faced a raft of criticism</a>,
 including its treatment of low-paid migrant workers and women and its 
suppression of free speech. It came under particular fire for its 
criminalization of homosexuality.The decision came three days after <a href="https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-soccer-sports-qatar-middle-east-2ecb255aa0100664c250b56d69506b17">beer sales at stadiums were suddenly banned</a> under pressure from the Qatari government and two days after FIFA president Gianni Infantino <a href="https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-soccer-sports-business-discrimination-ee9a8b506525341927b02c97cb19993d">delivered an extraordinary tirade</a> defending the host nation’s human rights record.The
 captains of seven European nations had vowed to wear armbands carrying 
the heart-shaped, multicolored logo of the “One Love” campaign, which 
promotes inclusion and diversity in soccer and society. That set up the 
prospect of worldwide viewers seeing a symbol of disapproval with the 
host country and defiance of FIFA on the arms of Kane, the Netherlands’ 
Virgil van Dijk and Wales’ Gareth Bale on Monday.But in the end, the teams said they couldn’t sacrifice success on the field.“As
 national federations, we can’t put our players in a position where they
 could face sporting sanctions, including bookings,” the seven soccer 
federations said in a joint statement, referring to the yellow cards.The captains of Belgium, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark had also pledged to wear the armbands in the coming days.“Our
 No. 1 priority at the World Cup is to win the games,” the Dutch soccer 
federation said in a separate statement. “Then you don’t want the 
captain to start the match with a yellow card.”The risk of 
getting a second yellow, which would see a player sent off the field for
 the rest of the game and banned from the next, is particularly tricky 
in a tournament where teams play only three games before the knockout 
rounds begin.“One thing is clear: We are not going to wear the 
armband if we are going to get a yellow card," said Netherlands coach 
Louis van Gaal. "And I think that we need to question whether this is a 
correct act on the part of FIFA. I think you can give the answer to that
 question.”National soccer federations and fan associations 
lashed out at FIFA for its decision to penalize the players. Danish 
soccer federation CEO Jakob Jensen told Danish broadcaster TV2 that the 
organization was ”extremely disappointed with FIFA,” and German soccer 
federation president Bernd Neuendorf called it "another low blow."“FIFA
 today prohibited a statement for diversity and human rights — those are
 values to which it is committed in its own statutes,” Neuendorf told 
reporters in Qatar. “From our point of view, this is more than 
frustrating and, I think, an unprecedented action in World Cup history.”The global players’ union FIFPRO called the FIFA move “disappointing.”“Players
 must have a right to express their support for human rights on and off 
the field of play and we will support any of them who will use their own
 platforms to do so,” the union said. “We maintain that a rainbow flag 
is not a political statement but an endorsement of equality and thus a 
universal human right.”England’s Football Supporters Association said it felt betrayed by FIFA.“Today
 we feel contempt for an organization that has shown its true values by 
giving the yellow card to players and the red card to tolerance,” the 
FSA said.The Belgium federation expressed frustration that FIFA 
didn't act sooner to resolve an issue that began two months ago, only to
 come to a head on the morning of matches for three teams. The Europeans
 “tried several times to avoid escalating this initiative ... but we 
have had no response,” the Belgian federation said.Manon Aubry of
 France, the president of the Left group at the European Parliament, 
wore the rainbow armband Monday during a debate on human rights in the 
context of the World Cup.“Shame on those who did not allow 
armbands — ‘One Love’ armbands — to support the LGBTQI. I’m proud to 
wear that armband here,” said Aubry, who was reprimanded for wearing it 
inside the Parliament, where such displays are not allowed during 
plenary sessions.Gurchaten Sandhu, of the Geneva-based 
International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, 
said FIFA put “athletes in a very, very awkward” position.“You’ve bound the hands of the national teams. They’re there to compete,” he said.He
 also criticized Infantino's speech Saturday in which the soccer chief 
defended Qatar and lectured Europeans who have criticized the emirate's 
human rights record. In that speech, Infantino said: “Today I feel 
Qatari. Today I feel Arab. Today I feel African. Today I feel gay. Today
 I feel disabled. Today I feel a migrant worker.”Sandhu took issue with Infantino's choice of words, saying: “You don’t feel gay. You are gay.”It
 wasn’t immediately clear what, if any, influence Qatar’s autocratic 
government had on the armband decision. The government and its Supreme 
Committee for Delivery and Legacy, which oversees the World Cup, did not
 immediately respond to a request for comment.The European plans were in breach of World Cup regulations and FIFA’s general rules on team equipment at its games.“For
 FIFA final competitions, the captain of each team must wear the 
captain’s armband provided by FIFA,” its equipment regulations state.The
 soccer body's proposal, announced Saturday, was for captains to wear 
armbands with socially aware, though generic, slogans. In that offer, 
armbands reading “No Discrimination” — the only one of its chosen slogan
 aligned with the European teams’ wish — would appear only at the 
quarterfinal stage.On Monday, it offered the compromise that 
captains of all 32 teams “will have the opportunity” to wear an armband 
with the slogan “No Discrimination” in the group games.Brazil's 
players were not planning any type of protest but striker Richarlison 
said he would “support anything that other players or national teams 
were doing.”“We live in a dangerous world where you are not 
allowed to have an opinion,” he said at Brazil’s training camp. “I 
support any cause out there.”

FIFA threat makes World Cup teams nix 'One Love' armbands

NEW YORK (AP) — Swifties, your girl has spoke on the Ticketmaster meltdown.

Taylor Swift posted a story Friday on Instagram expressing her anger and frustration over the hours spent by <a href="https://apnews.com/article/taylor-swift-ticketmaster-concert-tickets-parents-34399cca6403c97f0983a5c69c7edec0">fans trying to buy tickets</a> for her tour next year.

“I'm
 not going to make excuses for anyone because we asked them, multiple 
times, if they could handle this kind of demand and we were assured they
 could,” she wrote. “It's truly amazing that 2.4 million people got 
tickets, but it really pisses me off that a lot of them feel like they 
went through several bear attacks to get them.”

Of those who lost out, Swift said she hopes to “provide more opportunities for us to all get together and sing these songs.”

Fans
 trying to scoop up tickets Tuesday in a pre-sale for Swift's The Eras 
tour were met by massive delays and error messages that Ticketmaster 
blamed on bots and historically unprecedented demand. It was the most 
tickets sold on the platform in a single day, the company said in a 
statement. A <a href="https://apnews.com/article/taylor-swift-ticketmaster-sale-canceled-music-concert-tour-70c8a21059174c37a06b7a8475239b06">general public sale</a> scheduled for Friday was canceled the day before.

Some fans wondered why Swift hadn't spoken out sooner.

On
 Instagram, the pop star didn't address timing but said she has trust 
issues when it comes to her fans' experience, trying to keep many 
elements of her career in house.

“It's really difficult for me to 
trust an outside entity with these relationships and loyalties, and 
excruciating for me to just watch mistakes happen with no recourse,” 
Swift said.

In addition to Tuesday's nightmare, Ticketmaster cited
 “extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient 
remaining ticket inventory to meet that demand” as a reason for calling 
off Friday’s sale.

Fresh off one of the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-taylor-swift-930a204fbbfccea45f6012f0da4feef6">biggest album launches of her career,</a>
 Swift announced earlier this month that she was going on a new U.S. 
stadium tour, with international dates to follow. Fans who received a 
special code after registering had exclusive access to buy tickets 
Tuesday. Those who didn't score tickets were placed on a waiting list.

The
 52-date Eras Tour kicks off March 17 in Glendale, Arizona, and wraps up
 with five shows in Los Angeles ending Aug. 9. It’s Swift’s first tour 
since 2018.

NEW YORK (AP) — Swifties, your girl has spoke on the Ticketmaster meltdown.Taylor Swift posted a story Friday on Instagram expressing her anger and frustration over the hours spent by <a href="https://apnews.com/article/taylor-swift-ticketmaster-concert-tickets-parents-34399cca6403c97f0983a5c69c7edec0">fans trying to buy tickets</a> for her tour next year.“I'm
 not going to make excuses for anyone because we asked them, multiple 
times, if they could handle this kind of demand and we were assured they
 could,” she wrote. “It's truly amazing that 2.4 million people got 
tickets, but it really pisses me off that a lot of them feel like they 
went through several bear attacks to get them.”Of those who lost out, Swift said she hopes to “provide more opportunities for us to all get together and sing these songs.”Fans
 trying to scoop up tickets Tuesday in a pre-sale for Swift's The Eras 
tour were met by massive delays and error messages that Ticketmaster 
blamed on bots and historically unprecedented demand. It was the most 
tickets sold on the platform in a single day, the company said in a 
statement. A <a href="https://apnews.com/article/taylor-swift-ticketmaster-sale-canceled-music-concert-tour-70c8a21059174c37a06b7a8475239b06">general public sale</a> scheduled for Friday was canceled the day before.Some fans wondered why Swift hadn't spoken out sooner.On
 Instagram, the pop star didn't address timing but said she has trust 
issues when it comes to her fans' experience, trying to keep many 
elements of her career in house.“It's really difficult for me to 
trust an outside entity with these relationships and loyalties, and 
excruciating for me to just watch mistakes happen with no recourse,” 
Swift said.In addition to Tuesday's nightmare, Ticketmaster cited
 “extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient 
remaining ticket inventory to meet that demand” as a reason for calling 
off Friday’s sale.Fresh off one of the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-taylor-swift-930a204fbbfccea45f6012f0da4feef6">biggest album launches of her career,</a>
 Swift announced earlier this month that she was going on a new U.S. 
stadium tour, with international dates to follow. Fans who received a 
special code after registering had exclusive access to buy tickets 
Tuesday. Those who didn't score tickets were placed on a waiting list.The
 52-date Eras Tour kicks off March 17 in Glendale, Arizona, and wraps up
 with five shows in Los Angeles ending Aug. 9. It’s Swift’s first tour 
since 2018.

Taylor Swift angry for fans in Ticketmaster meltdown

By MATT WILLIAMS <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-to-watch-for-when-you-are-watching-the-world-cup-essential-reads-for-on-and-off-the-field-194866">The Conversation</a>

Whether you call it “soccer” or “football,” <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-us/news/explained-why-is-football-called-the-beautiful-game/16ayjoii69lor168ku0gwsd9vd">the beautiful game</a> is enjoyed by fans around the world. And every four years, it is celebrated in a monthlong spectacle: <a href="https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/tournaments/mens/worldcup/qatar2022">the World Cup</a>.

This time around, proceedings will start on Nov. 20 in host nation 
Qatar – something that has caused understandable consternation among <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/11/14/qatar-rights-abuses-stain-fifa-world-cup">human rights advocates</a> and <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/lgbtq-fans-skip-qatar-world-cup-fearing-hostility-rcna56365">members of the LGBTQ community</a>, given the Arab state’s <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/middle-east-and-north-africa/qatar/report-qatar/">record on such issues</a>.

In spite of the controversy, the World Cup will be the <a href="https://fredericksburg.com/sports/soccer/world-cup/the-world-cup-is-the-most-watched-sporting-event-internationally-heres-how-it-stacks-up/article_5a948571-ad26-54eb-a333-0a759bb03ea9.html">most-watched sporting event</a> of the year. Here’s a guide to some of what to watch out for.

The U.S. men’s national soccer team makes a return to the top stage 
in Qatar after not making the cut four years ago in Russia. But that 
doesn’t mean everyone back home will be cheering them on.

As <a href="https://as.vanderbilt.edu/communication/people/john-m-sloop/">Vanderbilt University’s John M. Sloop</a> notes, soccer fans in the United States <a href="https://theconversation.com/american-exceptionalism-at-the-world-cup-why-many-soccer-fans-in-the-us-will-be-cheering-on-another-team-probably-mexico-192545">aren’t necessarily cheering on the team in red, white and blue</a>.
 The green jerseys of El Tri, as the Mexican national team is known, 
will get a share of that support. In fact, there is a strong argument to
 be made that Mexico’s is the most popular soccer team in the United 
States – especially if you look at TV viewership figures. Mexico’s Liga 
MX is the most-watched soccer league in the U.S. – more popular than 
both the domestic MLS and the elite European leagues of England, Spain 
and Italy.

As Sloop writes: “Factors ranging from the relatively low popularity of soccer compared with other sports, familiarity with overseas clubs and perhaps more importantly – especially to Americans of Mexican heritage – an attachment to countries deemed to be more traditional ‘soccer nations’ mean that Americans can find ourselves oddly divided over the nation we support in the global game.”

2. Watching out for those special moments

Every World Cup has its moment – think <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWsEuczNj48">David Beckham’s sending-off</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvNkkdfNwEg">Zidane’s head-butt</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrtWQSqD3A0">Roger Miller’s goal celebration</a>.

During the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, there were two magical moments –
 and both happened in the same game. Diego Maradona’s “Goal of the 
Century” was one of them. The other was his “Hand of God” moment.

<a href="https://www.kines.umich.edu/directory/stefan-szymanski">Stefan Szymanski at University of Michigan</a> explains why the legacy of that “Hand of God” goal, which really shouldn’t have been a goal, <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-maradonas-hand-of-god-goal-is-priceless-and-unforgettable-193760">endures to this day</a>.
 It is due to a combination of factors including the controversy of the 
goal itself and the politically charged atmosphere of the game.

But above all, it was due to the man at the center of it all. 

“Few players have stamped their presence on a World Cup quite like 
Maradona. His performance in the England game stands as a memorial to 
his greatness, and the phrase ‘Hand of God’ neatly puts his name in the 
same sentence as divinity,” Szymanski writes.

It is already a World Cup that breaks the mold – the first to take 
place in an Arab country, and the first to happen in November as opposed
 to a summer month.

Could it also be the first to have an African victor? 

History suggests not. As <a href="http://uttyler.edu/directory/hkdept/wycliffe-njororai.php">Wycliffe W. Njororai Simiyu of the University of Texas at Tyler</a> notes, at the World Cup <a href="https://theconversation.com/world-cup-2022-senegal-and-cameroon-carry-africas-best-hopes-194647">African teams have “always promised a great deal … but delivered very little</a>.”
 This, he explains, is due to “poor preparation, internal controversies,
 a bad disciplinary record, technical and tactical errors at crucial 
moments and recruiting foreign coaches at the last minute.”

This time it could be different, and better preparation and stability
 within African teams could help. Njororai Simiyu’s tip: Senegal and 
Cameroon have the best chance of the five African nations represented at
 the finals.

<a href="https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty/matthew-andrews">Harvard Kennedy School’s Matthew Andrews</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-an-african-team-win-the-world-cup-new-football-study-crunches-the-numbers-194824">takes an analytical approach</a> to assessing African teams’ chances.

Looking at various data sources, he concludes that there is a 
“significant competitive gap between African countries and the world’s 
best, which seems to have grown over recent generations. This gap is not
 encouraging for those hoping for an African World Cup win.”

Every World Cup sees the rollout of a new soccer ball – and inevitable complaints from fans about how it performs. <a href="https://www.lynchburg.edu/academics/faculty/john-eric-goff/">John Eric Goff</a>, a physics professor at the University of Lynchburg, analyzes the new ball every four years and has <a href="https://theconversation.com/world-cup-this-years-special-al-rihla-ball-has-the-aerodynamics-of-a-champion-according-to-a-sports-physicist-194585">cast his eye over the latest iteration</a>, called the Al Rihla ball.

“Instead of using raised textures to increase surface roughness like 
with previous balls, the Al Rihla is covered with dimple-like features 
that give its surface a relatively smooth feel compared to its 
predecessors,” he writes. It might mean that it moves a little bit 
faster, but other than that the footballers at the World Cup shouldn’t 
notice much of a difference.

What happens on the pitch will be only half the story of the 2022 World Cup. 

Controversy has dogged the event ever since sport’s governing body, FIFA, handed Qatar hosting duties back in 2010; Daryl Adair
at University of Technology Sydney <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-is-the-qatar-fifa-world-cup-so-controversial-192627">explains why</a>.

First there are the rights issues. Qatar had allowed “vulnerable 
foreign workers – who were central to building World Cup infrastructure –
 to be exploited, with employment and living conditions consistent with 
modern slavery,” <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-is-the-qatar-fifa-world-cup-so-controversial-192627">Adair writes</a>. Incremental reform has taken place in Qatar on the issue, notably a move away from the “<a href="https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-kafala-system">kafala system</a>”
 under which employers were free to exploit a migrant workforce through 
low wages, poor working conditions and abuse. Yet concerns remain, 
especially over the refusal of Qatar to compensate the families of 
migrant employees killed on World Cup-related projects.

Hosting the World Cup in Qatar also runs counter to the inclusionary 
efforts of many national soccer bodies, which are keen to stamp out 
homophobia in the game. The emirate state views homosexuality as an 
affront to Islam and criminalizes same-sex activity. But here, too, it 
is bending a little, with reports that public shows of affection by 
same-sex couples will not result in prosecution.

“The world has come to Qatar and, for a time at least, it’s adjusting
 its local norms,” Adair notes, adding: “A more enduring World Cup 
legacy has been incremental reforms to the treatment of foreign workers,
 though an absence of an effective remedy for the families of deceased 
workers continues to raise a bloody red card upon Qatar.”

Matt Williams is Senior Breaking News and International Editor at The Conversation.

By MATT WILLIAMS <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-to-watch-for-when-you-are-watching-the-world-cup-essential-reads-for-on-and-off-the-field-194866">The Conversation</a>Whether you call it “soccer” or “football,” <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-us/news/explained-why-is-football-called-the-beautiful-game/16ayjoii69lor168ku0gwsd9vd">the beautiful game</a> is enjoyed by fans around the world. And every four years, it is celebrated in a monthlong spectacle: <a href="https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/tournaments/mens/worldcup/qatar2022">the World Cup</a>.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668805896201.jpg" alt="Pixabay photo" />
 <figcaption>Pixabay photo</figcaption>
 </figure>This time around, proceedings will start on Nov. 20 in host nation 
Qatar – something that has caused understandable consternation among <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/11/14/qatar-rights-abuses-stain-fifa-world-cup">human rights advocates</a> and <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/lgbtq-fans-skip-qatar-world-cup-fearing-hostility-rcna56365">members of the LGBTQ community</a>, given the Arab state’s <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/middle-east-and-north-africa/qatar/report-qatar/">record on such issues</a>.In spite of the controversy, the World Cup will be the <a href="https://fredericksburg.com/sports/soccer/world-cup/the-world-cup-is-the-most-watched-sporting-event-internationally-heres-how-it-stacks-up/article_5a948571-ad26-54eb-a333-0a759bb03ea9.html">most-watched sporting event</a> of the year. Here’s a guide to some of what to watch out for.<h2>1. Backing Team USA (or perhaps not)</h2>The U.S. men’s national soccer team makes a return to the top stage 
in Qatar after not making the cut four years ago in Russia. But that 
doesn’t mean everyone back home will be cheering them on.As <a href="https://as.vanderbilt.edu/communication/people/john-m-sloop/">Vanderbilt University’s John M. Sloop</a> notes, soccer fans in the United States <a href="https://theconversation.com/american-exceptionalism-at-the-world-cup-why-many-soccer-fans-in-the-us-will-be-cheering-on-another-team-probably-mexico-192545">aren’t necessarily cheering on the team in red, white and blue</a>.
 The green jerseys of El Tri, as the Mexican national team is known, 
will get a share of that support. In fact, there is a strong argument to
 be made that Mexico’s is the most popular soccer team in the United 
States – especially if you look at TV viewership figures. Mexico’s Liga 
MX is the most-watched soccer league in the U.S. – more popular than 
both the domestic MLS and the elite European leagues of England, Spain 
and Italy.As Sloop writes: “Factors ranging from the relatively low popularity of soccer compared with other sports, familiarity with overseas clubs and perhaps more importantly – especially to Americans of Mexican heritage – an attachment to countries deemed to be more traditional ‘soccer nations’ mean that Americans can find ourselves oddly divided over the nation we support in the global game.”<h2>2. Watching out for those special moments</h2>Every World Cup has its moment – think <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWsEuczNj48">David Beckham’s sending-off</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvNkkdfNwEg">Zidane’s head-butt</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrtWQSqD3A0">Roger Miller’s goal celebration</a>.During the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, there were two magical moments –
 and both happened in the same game. Diego Maradona’s “Goal of the 
Century” was one of them. The other was his “Hand of God” moment.<a href="https://www.kines.umich.edu/directory/stefan-szymanski">Stefan Szymanski at University of Michigan</a> explains why the legacy of that “Hand of God” goal, which really shouldn’t have been a goal, <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-maradonas-hand-of-god-goal-is-priceless-and-unforgettable-193760">endures to this day</a>.
 It is due to a combination of factors including the controversy of the 
goal itself and the politically charged atmosphere of the game.But above all, it was due to the man at the center of it all. “Few players have stamped their presence on a World Cup quite like 
Maradona. His performance in the England game stands as a memorial to 
his greatness, and the phrase ‘Hand of God’ neatly puts his name in the 
same sentence as divinity,” Szymanski writes.<h2>3. Backing the underdog</h2>It is already a World Cup that breaks the mold – the first to take 
place in an Arab country, and the first to happen in November as opposed
 to a summer month.Could it also be the first to have an African victor? History suggests not. As <a href="http://uttyler.edu/directory/hkdept/wycliffe-njororai.php">Wycliffe W. Njororai Simiyu of the University of Texas at Tyler</a> notes, at the World Cup <a href="https://theconversation.com/world-cup-2022-senegal-and-cameroon-carry-africas-best-hopes-194647">African teams have “always promised a great deal … but delivered very little</a>.”
 This, he explains, is due to “poor preparation, internal controversies,
 a bad disciplinary record, technical and tactical errors at crucial 
moments and recruiting foreign coaches at the last minute.” This time it could be different, and better preparation and stability
 within African teams could help. Njororai Simiyu’s tip: Senegal and 
Cameroon have the best chance of the five African nations represented at
 the finals.<a href="https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty/matthew-andrews">Harvard Kennedy School’s Matthew Andrews</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-an-african-team-win-the-world-cup-new-football-study-crunches-the-numbers-194824">takes an analytical approach</a> to assessing African teams’ chances. Looking at various data sources, he concludes that there is a 
“significant competitive gap between African countries and the world’s 
best, which seems to have grown over recent generations. This gap is not
 encouraging for those hoping for an African World Cup win.”<h2>4. Marveling at the physics</h2>Every World Cup sees the rollout of a new soccer ball – and inevitable complaints from fans about how it performs. <a href="https://www.lynchburg.edu/academics/faculty/john-eric-goff/">John Eric Goff</a>, a physics professor at the University of Lynchburg, analyzes the new ball every four years and has <a href="https://theconversation.com/world-cup-this-years-special-al-rihla-ball-has-the-aerodynamics-of-a-champion-according-to-a-sports-physicist-194585">cast his eye over the latest iteration</a>, called the Al Rihla ball.“Instead of using raised textures to increase surface roughness like 
with previous balls, the Al Rihla is covered with dimple-like features 
that give its surface a relatively smooth feel compared to its 
predecessors,” he writes. It might mean that it moves a little bit 
faster, but other than that the footballers at the World Cup shouldn’t 
notice much of a difference.<h2>Not forgetting the concerns</h2>What happens on the pitch will be only half the story of the 2022 World Cup. Controversy has dogged the event ever since sport’s governing body, FIFA, handed Qatar hosting duties back in 2010; Daryl Adair
at University of Technology Sydney <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-is-the-qatar-fifa-world-cup-so-controversial-192627">explains why</a>.First there are the rights issues. Qatar had allowed “vulnerable 
foreign workers – who were central to building World Cup infrastructure –
 to be exploited, with employment and living conditions consistent with 
modern slavery,” <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-is-the-qatar-fifa-world-cup-so-controversial-192627">Adair writes</a>. Incremental reform has taken place in Qatar on the issue, notably a move away from the “<a href="https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-kafala-system">kafala system</a>”
 under which employers were free to exploit a migrant workforce through 
low wages, poor working conditions and abuse. Yet concerns remain, 
especially over the refusal of Qatar to compensate the families of 
migrant employees killed on World Cup-related projects.Hosting the World Cup in Qatar also runs counter to the inclusionary 
efforts of many national soccer bodies, which are keen to stamp out 
homophobia in the game. The emirate state views homosexuality as an 
affront to Islam and criminalizes same-sex activity. But here, too, it 
is bending a little, with reports that public shows of affection by 
same-sex couples will not result in prosecution.“The world has come to Qatar and, for a time at least, it’s adjusting
 its local norms,” Adair notes, adding: “A more enduring World Cup 
legacy has been incremental reforms to the treatment of foreign workers,
 though an absence of an effective remedy for the families of deceased 
workers continues to raise a bloody red card upon Qatar.”Matt Williams is Senior Breaking News and International Editor at The Conversation.<div><iframe src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194866/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade"></iframe></div>

What to watch for during the World Cup: On and off the field

On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with Tree Top Security and STEM Harvest owner Dallas Haselhorst.

On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with Tree Top Security and STEM Harvest owner Dallas Haselhorst.<div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6ODSqp4YVT0" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>

🎤 Forward Ever: Tree Top Security and STEM Harvest owner Dallas Haselhorst

By ELIZABETH SCALA <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-i-teach-a-course-connecting-taylor-swifts-songs-to-the-works-of-shakespeare-hitchcock-and-plath-194120">The Conversation</a>

Unusual Courses is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching.

This class is part of a group of introductory English offerings that 
focus on basic methods of literary analysis and research. It fulfills 
different requirements for potential English majors and the general 
student population, so I am always looking for news ways to engage them.

For a few years, I taught it as a Harry Potter course. I introduced 
students to classic British literature by exploring the Romantic and 
medieval literary traditions present in the novel. 

But earlier this year, I realized I was bored. I had been listening 
to a lot of Taylor Swift with my college-aged daughter, who had been 
home for a year during the pandemic. Swift had recently released “<a href="https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/taylor-swift-red-taylors-version/">Red (Taylor’s Version)</a>.”

Listening to her track “<a href="https://people.com/music/taylor-swift-reacts-to-all-too-well-song-of-the-year-grammy-nomination/">All Too Well</a>”
 was my epiphany. Swift’s vivid imagery and emotionally gripping detail 
had all the markings of a great narrative poem. She writes the song in a
 way that mirrors the recursions of memory. Her verses become 
increasingly strong and build upon each other once she starts 
remembering the past. At the same time, the song’s imagery moves from 
fall to winter as she reflects upon the relationship’s beginning and 
frosty end.

This course pairs Taylor Swift songs with a number of poems, along with a play, a novel and a film.

The semester began with the pairing of Swift’s songs with Renaissance
 love poetry. One class analyzing the metaphors, similes and colors in 
the song “Red” turned, a week or so later, into an exploration of 
Shakespeare’s use of similar colors in his famous sonnet 73: “<a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45099/sonnet-73-that-time-of-year-thou-mayst-in-me-behold">That time of year thou mayst in me behold</a>.”

Shakespeare, meanwhile, begins his sonnet 73 with “That time of year 
thou mayst in me behold / When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang,”
 before pointing to the oranges of autumn’s “sunset [that] fadeth in the
 west” and “the glowing of such fire / That on the ashes of his youth 
doth lie.”

Where Swift moves from cool tones to “burning red,” Shakespeare moves
 through increasingly warm tones: from yellow, to orange, to red. But 
both move toward an intensity of color and heat.

Some couplings are obvious. For instance, Swift’s “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXzVF3XeS8M">Love Story</a>” mentions the title characters of Shakespeare’s “<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1513/1513-h/1513-h.htm">Romeo and Juliet</a>” – “Romeo save me, I’ve been feeling so alone.”

Others might come as more of a surprise: I paired Daphne du Maurier’s 1938 novel “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/feb/23/olivia-laing-on-daphne-du-mauriers-rebecca-80-years-on">Rebecca</a>,” which Alfred Hitchcock <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032976/">adapted for the silver screen</a> in 1940, with Swift’s song “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s5xdY6MCeI">the last great american dynasty</a>.”

Centering on a scandalous woman named Rebecca – or Rebekah, in 
Swift’s song – the song, novel and film explore the relations of mad 
women and madwomen, the tenuous line between anger and craziness. It’s a
 theme Swift hits on in a number of songs, from her 2019 track “<a href="https://genius.com/Taylor-swift-the-man-lyrics">The Man</a>” to 2020’s “<a href="https://genius.com/Taylor-swift-mad-woman-lyrics">mad woman</a>,” which I paired with Sylvia Plath’s poem “<a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/49000/lady-lazarus">Lady Lazarus</a>.”

I think this course tapped into the zeitgeist in ways I couldn’t have
 imagined when I first dreamed it up. Of course, Swift’s music is 
popular, and she has long had a devoted following. But the October 2022 
release of her <a href="https://www.nylon.com/entertainment/taylor-swift-midnights-breaks-records-streaming-sales-charts">record-breaking</a> album “<a href="https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/taylor-swift-midnights/">Midnights</a>”
 has only made the course seem more relevant to students’ interests. As a
 class, we spent time exploring the ways tracks on “Midnights” revisited
 themes and writing strategies that appeared in Swift’s earlier songs.

What’s a critical lesson from the course?

Analyzing Swift’s writing will hopefully help my students recognize 
how certain poetic and literary devices operate in older texts – as much
 as those same books and poems from the past help them appreciate 
Swift’s art at a deeper level. They seem especially eager to engage with
 older materials, like Renaissance seduction poetry and black and white 
film, when they can see traces of the same artistic techniques in the 
music videos and songs they watch and listen to today.

Swift’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_awards_and_nominations_received_by_Taylor_Swift">award-winning songwriting</a> is attached to an English and American literary past in both obvious and more subtle ways. <a href="https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/taylor-swift-is-new-face-of-reading/">An avid reader herself</a>,
 Swift deploys forms – like metaphors, conceits and structures – that 
are part of a shared literary heritage that students might otherwise 
find old-fashioned and irrelevant.

Far from diminishing the value of Swift’s writing, tracing its 
connection to the literary greats shores up her authority as a creative 
artist. Swift, like all artists, is part of a <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-bob-dylan-used-the-ancient-practice-of-imitatio-to-craft-some-of-the-most-original-songs-of-his-time-187052">great tradition</a>, and she calls upon it to create new works.

Adam Bradley, “<a href="https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300248326/the-poetry-of-pop/">The Poetry of Pop</a>,” 2019

Alfred Hitchcock, “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032976/">Rebecca</a>,” 1940

Taylor Swift, “<a href="https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/taylor-swift-folklore/">folkore</a>,” 2020

What will the course prepare students to do?

This course has rather modest ambitions. It prepares careful and 
critical readers, as well as articulate writers and researchers. 

It pays attention to what language denotes at the surface and what it
 carries around with it in its connotations and associations. It teaches
 students about those features, using the Oxford English Dictionary as a
 research tool to probe linguistic origin, register and usage beyond 
what a term literally means.

While delivering New York University’s 2022 commencement speech, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBG50aoUwlI">Swift urged the graduating seniors</a> to embrace their enthusiasms and be unafraid to explore their interests.

Finding a way to tap into students’ enthusiasm for Swift, and tie her
 songwriting to literary methodologies, is my version of following her 
lead.

Elizabeth Scala is a Professor of English at the University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts.

By ELIZABETH SCALA <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-i-teach-a-course-connecting-taylor-swifts-songs-to-the-works-of-shakespeare-hitchcock-and-plath-194120">The Conversation</a>Unusual Courses is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching. <h2>Title of course:</h2>“The Taylor Swift Songbook”<h2>What prompted the idea for the course?</h2>This class is part of a group of introductory English offerings that 
focus on basic methods of literary analysis and research. It fulfills 
different requirements for potential English majors and the general 
student population, so I am always looking for news ways to engage them.For a few years, I taught it as a Harry Potter course. I introduced 
students to classic British literature by exploring the Romantic and 
medieval literary traditions present in the novel. But earlier this year, I realized I was bored. I had been listening 
to a lot of Taylor Swift with my college-aged daughter, who had been 
home for a year during the pandemic. Swift had recently released “<a href="https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/taylor-swift-red-taylors-version/">Red (Taylor’s Version)</a>.” Listening to her track “<a href="https://people.com/music/taylor-swift-reacts-to-all-too-well-song-of-the-year-grammy-nomination/">All Too Well</a>”
 was my epiphany. Swift’s vivid imagery and emotionally gripping detail 
had all the markings of a great narrative poem. She writes the song in a
 way that mirrors the recursions of memory. Her verses become 
increasingly strong and build upon each other once she starts 
remembering the past. At the same time, the song’s imagery moves from 
fall to winter as she reflects upon the relationship’s beginning and 
frosty end. <h2>What does the course explore?</h2>This course pairs Taylor Swift songs with a number of poems, along with a play, a novel and a film.The semester began with the pairing of Swift’s songs with Renaissance
 love poetry. One class analyzing the metaphors, similes and colors in 
the song “Red” turned, a week or so later, into an exploration of 
Shakespeare’s use of similar colors in his famous sonnet 73: “<a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45099/sonnet-73-that-time-of-year-thou-mayst-in-me-behold">That time of year thou mayst in me behold</a>.”From “Red”:<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668787433536.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Shakespeare, meanwhile, begins his sonnet 73 with “That time of year 
thou mayst in me behold / When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang,”
 before pointing to the oranges of autumn’s “sunset [that] fadeth in the
 west” and “the glowing of such fire / That on the ashes of his youth 
doth lie.”Where Swift moves from cool tones to “burning red,” Shakespeare moves
 through increasingly warm tones: from yellow, to orange, to red. But 
both move toward an intensity of color and heat.Some couplings are obvious. For instance, Swift’s “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXzVF3XeS8M">Love Story</a>” mentions the title characters of Shakespeare’s “<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1513/1513-h/1513-h.htm">Romeo and Juliet</a>” – “Romeo save me, I’ve been feeling so alone.” Others might come as more of a surprise: I paired Daphne du Maurier’s 1938 novel “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/feb/23/olivia-laing-on-daphne-du-mauriers-rebecca-80-years-on">Rebecca</a>,” which Alfred Hitchcock <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032976/">adapted for the silver screen</a> in 1940, with Swift’s song “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s5xdY6MCeI">the last great american dynasty</a>.” Centering on a scandalous woman named Rebecca – or Rebekah, in 
Swift’s song – the song, novel and film explore the relations of mad 
women and madwomen, the tenuous line between anger and craziness. It’s a
 theme Swift hits on in a number of songs, from her 2019 track “<a href="https://genius.com/Taylor-swift-the-man-lyrics">The Man</a>” to 2020’s “<a href="https://genius.com/Taylor-swift-mad-woman-lyrics">mad woman</a>,” which I paired with Sylvia Plath’s poem “<a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/49000/lady-lazarus">Lady Lazarus</a>.” <h2>Why is this course relevant now?</h2>I think this course tapped into the zeitgeist in ways I couldn’t have
 imagined when I first dreamed it up. Of course, Swift’s music is 
popular, and she has long had a devoted following. But the October 2022 
release of her <a href="https://www.nylon.com/entertainment/taylor-swift-midnights-breaks-records-streaming-sales-charts">record-breaking</a> album “<a href="https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/taylor-swift-midnights/">Midnights</a>”
 has only made the course seem more relevant to students’ interests. As a
 class, we spent time exploring the ways tracks on “Midnights” revisited
 themes and writing strategies that appeared in Swift’s earlier songs.<h2>What’s a critical lesson from the course?</h2>Analyzing Swift’s writing will hopefully help my students recognize 
how certain poetic and literary devices operate in older texts – as much
 as those same books and poems from the past help them appreciate 
Swift’s art at a deeper level. They seem especially eager to engage with
 older materials, like Renaissance seduction poetry and black and white 
film, when they can see traces of the same artistic techniques in the 
music videos and songs they watch and listen to today.Swift’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_awards_and_nominations_received_by_Taylor_Swift">award-winning songwriting</a> is attached to an English and American literary past in both obvious and more subtle ways. <a href="https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/taylor-swift-is-new-face-of-reading/">An avid reader herself</a>,
 Swift deploys forms – like metaphors, conceits and structures – that 
are part of a shared literary heritage that students might otherwise 
find old-fashioned and irrelevant. Far from diminishing the value of Swift’s writing, tracing its 
connection to the literary greats shores up her authority as a creative 
artist. Swift, like all artists, is part of a <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-bob-dylan-used-the-ancient-practice-of-imitatio-to-craft-some-of-the-most-original-songs-of-his-time-187052">great tradition</a>, and she calls upon it to create new works.<h2>What materials does the course feature?</h2>Adam Bradley, “<a href="https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300248326/the-poetry-of-pop/">The Poetry of Pop</a>,” 2019 Alfred Hitchcock, “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032976/">Rebecca</a>,” 1940 Taylor Swift, “<a href="https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/taylor-swift-folklore/">folkore</a>,” 2020 <h2>What will the course prepare students to do?</h2>This course has rather modest ambitions. It prepares careful and 
critical readers, as well as articulate writers and researchers. It pays attention to what language denotes at the surface and what it
 carries around with it in its connotations and associations. It teaches
 students about those features, using the Oxford English Dictionary as a
 research tool to probe linguistic origin, register and usage beyond 
what a term literally means.While delivering New York University’s 2022 commencement speech, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBG50aoUwlI">Swift urged the graduating seniors</a> to embrace their enthusiasms and be unafraid to explore their interests. Finding a way to tap into students’ enthusiasm for Swift, and tie her
 songwriting to literary methodologies, is my version of following her 
lead.Elizabeth Scala is a Professor of English at the University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts.<div><iframe src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194120/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade"></iframe></div>

Shakespeare, Hitchcock, Plath  ... and Taylor Swift?

By GRAHAM DUNBAR Associated Press

DOHA, Qatar — Qatar banned the sale of beer at <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup">World Cup stadiums</a>
 on Friday, a sudden U-turn on the deal the conservative Muslim emirate 
made to secure the soccer tournament with only two days to go before the
 opening game.

The move was the latest sign of the tension of 
staging the event, which is not just a sports tournament but also a 
monthlong party, in the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/womens-soccer-world-cup-sports-travel-c66ca9fb25b737f8ff34df97d5501327">autocratic country where the sale of alcohol is heavily restricted</a>.
 It's also a significant blow to World Cup beer sponsor Budweiser and 
raised questions about how much control FIFA retains over its 
tournament.

When Qatar launched its bid to host the World Cup, the
 country agreed to FIFA’s requirements of selling alcohol in stadiums — 
but the details <a href="https://apnews.com/article/soccer-sports-religion-middle-east-897ebb79eaa12d69c4f353cd2d7ae55a">were only released in September</a>,
 just 11 weeks before the first kickoff, suggesting how fraught the 
negotiations may have been. Friday's statement from FIFA said 
non-alcoholic beer will still be sold at the eight stadiums, while 
champagne, wine, whiskey and other alcohol will be served in the luxury 
hospitality areas of the arenas.

But the vast majority of ticket 
holders don't have access to those areas; they will be able to drink 
alcoholic beer in the evenings in what is known as the FIFA Fan 
Festival, a designated party area that also offers live music and 
activities. Outside of the tournament-run areas, Qatar puts strict 
limits on the purchase and consumption of alcohol, though its sale has 
been permitted in hotel bars for years.

“Following discussions 
between host country authorities and FIFA, a decision has been made to 
focus the sale of alcoholic beverages on the FIFA Fan Festival, other 
fan destinations and licensed venues, removing sales points of beer from
 ... stadium perimeters,” FIFA said in a statement.

As the news 
broke, Budweiser’s Twitter account tweeted: “Well, this is awkward...” 
without elaborating. The tweet was later deleted.

Ab InBev, the 
parent company of Budweiser, acknowledged in a statement that some of 
its plans “cannot move forward due to circumstances beyond our control.”

The
 company pays tens of millions of dollars at each World Cup for 
exclusive rights to sell beer and has already shipped the majority of 
its stock from Britain to Qatar in expectation of selling its product to
 millions of fans. While the actual sales at the tournament might not be
 a significant percentage of the massive company's revenues, the World 
Cup nonetheless represents a major branding opportunity.

The 
company’s partnership with FIFA started at the 1986 tournament, and they
 are in negotiations for renewing their deal for the next World Cup in 
North America.

Ronan Evain, the executive director of the fan 
group Football Supporters Europe, called the decision to ban beer sales 
at the stadiums in Qatar “extremely worrying.”

“For many fans, 
whether they don’t drink alcohol or are used to dry stadium policies at 
home, this is a detail. It won’t change their tournament,” Evain wrote 
on Twitter. “But with 48 (hours) to go, we’ve clearly entered a 
dangerous territory — where ‘assurances’ don’t matter anymore.”

Qatar,
 which is governed by a hereditary emir who has absolute say over all 
governmental decisions, follows an ultraconservative form of Islam known
 as Wahhabism like neighboring Saudi Arabia. In recent years, Qatar has 
transformed into an ultra-modern hub following a natural gas boom in the
 1990s, but it has <a href="https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-entertainment-sports-soccer-religion-c3dcfa7cefe111716e2fade034d50eab">faced pressure from within</a> to stay true to its Islamic heritage and Bedouin roots. Islam forbids the consumption of alcohol.

By GRAHAM DUNBAR Associated PressDOHA, Qatar — Qatar banned the sale of beer at <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup">World Cup stadiums</a>
 on Friday, a sudden U-turn on the deal the conservative Muslim emirate 
made to secure the soccer tournament with only two days to go before the
 opening game.The move was the latest sign of the tension of 
staging the event, which is not just a sports tournament but also a 
monthlong party, in the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/womens-soccer-world-cup-sports-travel-c66ca9fb25b737f8ff34df97d5501327">autocratic country where the sale of alcohol is heavily restricted</a>.
 It's also a significant blow to World Cup beer sponsor Budweiser and 
raised questions about how much control FIFA retains over its 
tournament.When Qatar launched its bid to host the World Cup, the
 country agreed to FIFA’s requirements of selling alcohol in stadiums — 
but the details <a href="https://apnews.com/article/soccer-sports-religion-middle-east-897ebb79eaa12d69c4f353cd2d7ae55a">were only released in September</a>,
 just 11 weeks before the first kickoff, suggesting how fraught the 
negotiations may have been. Friday's statement from FIFA said 
non-alcoholic beer will still be sold at the eight stadiums, while 
champagne, wine, whiskey and other alcohol will be served in the luxury 
hospitality areas of the arenas.But the vast majority of ticket 
holders don't have access to those areas; they will be able to drink 
alcoholic beer in the evenings in what is known as the FIFA Fan 
Festival, a designated party area that also offers live music and 
activities. Outside of the tournament-run areas, Qatar puts strict 
limits on the purchase and consumption of alcohol, though its sale has 
been permitted in hotel bars for years.“Following discussions 
between host country authorities and FIFA, a decision has been made to 
focus the sale of alcoholic beverages on the FIFA Fan Festival, other 
fan destinations and licensed venues, removing sales points of beer from
 ... stadium perimeters,” FIFA said in a statement.As the news 
broke, Budweiser’s Twitter account tweeted: “Well, this is awkward...” 
without elaborating. The tweet was later deleted.Ab InBev, the 
parent company of Budweiser, acknowledged in a statement that some of 
its plans “cannot move forward due to circumstances beyond our control.”The
 company pays tens of millions of dollars at each World Cup for 
exclusive rights to sell beer and has already shipped the majority of 
its stock from Britain to Qatar in expectation of selling its product to
 millions of fans. While the actual sales at the tournament might not be
 a significant percentage of the massive company's revenues, the World 
Cup nonetheless represents a major branding opportunity.The 
company’s partnership with FIFA started at the 1986 tournament, and they
 are in negotiations for renewing their deal for the next World Cup in 
North America.Ronan Evain, the executive director of the fan 
group Football Supporters Europe, called the decision to ban beer sales 
at the stadiums in Qatar “extremely worrying.”“For many fans, 
whether they don’t drink alcohol or are used to dry stadium policies at 
home, this is a detail. It won’t change their tournament,” Evain wrote 
on Twitter. “But with 48 (hours) to go, we’ve clearly entered a 
dangerous territory — where ‘assurances’ don’t matter anymore.”Qatar,
 which is governed by a hereditary emir who has absolute say over all 
governmental decisions, follows an ultraconservative form of Islam known
 as Wahhabism like neighboring Saudi Arabia. In recent years, Qatar has 
transformed into an ultra-modern hub following a natural gas boom in the
 1990s, but it has <a href="https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-entertainment-sports-soccer-religion-c3dcfa7cefe111716e2fade034d50eab">faced pressure from within</a> to stay true to its Islamic heritage and Bedouin roots. Islam forbids the consumption of alcohol.In
 the runup to the World Cup, rights groups have raised concerns about 
how the nation will host millions of foreign fans, some of whom might 
violate Islamic laws criminalizing public drunkenness, sex outside of 
marriage and homosexuality.Qatar’s government and its Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Friday's was not Qatar's first backtrack — but it was the most significant. Last weekend, AB InBev was left surprised by a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-soccer-sports-international-qatar-c7fa8bba6be7da8a86291265b63c38cb">new policy insisted on by Qatari organizers</a> to move beer stalls to less visible locations within the stadium compounds.And Qatar also <a href="https://apnews.com/article/soccer-sports-world-cup-qatar-gianni-infantino-12168376f9892774bec11a2e87dba180">changed the date of the opening match</a> only weeks before the World Cup began.Previous
 World Cup hosts have been asked to make concessions. For the 2014 
tournament, Brazil was forced to change a law to allow alcohol sales in 
stadiums — but the same cultural issues were not at play.AB 
InBev’s deal with FIFA was renewed in 2011 — after Qatar was picked as 
host. However, the Belgium-based brewer has faced uncertainty in recent 
months on the exact details of where it can serve and sell beer in 
Qatar. And some have balked at the price, which was confirmed at $14 for
 a beer.At the W Hotel in Doha — where the company will be based —
 workers continued putting together a Budweiser-themed bar planned at 
the site. Its familiar AB logo was plastered on columns and walls at the
 hotel, with one reading: “The World Is Yours To Take.”

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