First Blood Went to Arsenal : A Study of Metaphor in English Football Commentary

Abstract: The aim of this study was to look at English media football commentary and find out what metaphors are used and what purpose they serve. To this end, match reports of two Premier League matches in eight different English newspapers have been used. The metaphors found therein have been analysed and compared to current theories of metaphor forms and function. In these match reports both structural, ontological and orientational metaphors exist. They are drawn from a wide variety of source domains, although the domains of physical fight, military conflict and animal behaviour are particularly prominent. The function of metaphor in this context seems primarily to be to interpret facts in a way that make them palatable to the reader.