Sonic trickery in swarming play: football’s dangerous fun

Inspired by a recent convergence in sound/art with debates in cultural studies about crowds, swarms and networks, this paper considers how sound works in the service of trickery, then how such sonic trickery flourishes in forms of swarming play. It develops definitions of tricking and secrecy and applies these to a reflection on (sonic) trickery in the (swarming) game of Australian football. It takes as a specific example, racial vilification: a (sonic) practice that has manifested, been challenged and ultimately made illegal in football. It describes how such abusive behaviour can travel in swarming play, via techniques of tricking and secrecy, and notes the effort made by players (of the swarm), to successfully resist this behaviour