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The Nation says: American Patriotism Ruins the World Cup
When Americans win a game, in a contest of nations, in which the whole point is to cheer your country on, this, for the Left, is a problem:
It reminded why these kinds of international competitions can leave me with such a sour taste. Why can’t we just recognize that Algeria played gallantly against a better US team, which won by the skin of its teeth? Why must an insanely miraculous athletic victory also be a reinforcer of cultural supremacy? It’s yet another reminder why it is so important for progressives to not just thrill to the joys of sport but be conversant in the politics of sports. The right will forever try to pump the worst kind of racist, nationalist garbage through our play, even at moments that by all rights should be above and beyond politics
You simply cannot make this up. If Americans are enjoying something, there must be something wrong with it.
From the always great Matt Welch, posting on the excellent Hit & Run blog.
Published in General
Wait a minute. The Nation has a sports columnist?
Wait a minute. Rob, you’re not questioning the patriotism of the left, are you????
I can only hope that the USA wins the World Cup. One it will depress the left who hope for our defeat in all things and two it will drive every soccer loving nation crazy with grief. Call it soccer induced schadenfreude.
The same people that wouldn’t dare let their friends see them diplay an American flag, even on Memorial Day or the Fourth of July, I’m surprised there hasn’t been an attempt to repeal Flag Day.
I fear the major error made by boomers was not instilling love of country, and pride in displaying same, into the next generation. I know I didn’t do a good job of explaining our historical value to the world to my children. I left that up to the liberal educators. Yesterday one of the players for the American team said they were brought to close to tears when the fans sang the words to our national anthem when it was played yesterday in South Africa. I remember going to my first baseball game with my dad, when all the fans sang the Anthem as standard form, it was a given then, in the fifties, not today however.
Our progressives should go to a Canucks hockey game if they want to see national pride. (hmm “our progressives,” that can’t be the correct form, I don’t claim fraternity with any of them)
If only New Yorkers could smuggle in some rich entrepreneurs instead of cigarettes, their budget troubles would go away.
I totally agree with The Nation. If only we could suck at everything in order to validate how average we are. Why can’t we just be the same as everyone else?!?! So frustrating.
Be it the junior goodwill games, where the Mighty Ducks, coached by the legendary Gordon Bombay triumphed over Iceland, the Olympics, the World Cup, or John Isner dominating a Frenchman that must do 5 million sit-ups a day – we will always win. Do you know why? Capitalism. You know why else? Red meat. You know why else? Corn. You know why else? Deoderant.
Do I actually have to start a USA! USA! chant or what?
The Nation’s against nationalism? They’d better come up with a new name.
Yes, deoderant is a big part of America’s cultural hegemony. My limted European travel has driven that point home in a very memorable way.
I take it this Nation writer wasn’t at an Irish pub when the Teamsters and assorted union Democrats errupted in cheers when that Irish guy won the Masters.
(Glad to see Emily Smith added to the contributor list.)
Sam, how did you possibly omit the Tour de France? Sure, NASCAR is loud and powerful with occasional crashes, horse racing is quick and colorful and you get to put money on it. Cycling has no attractive qualities at all, and the guys wear bike shorts and bike helmets, which hardly increases its appeal. Yet we win it anyway.
One of the great ironies of modern sports. The Olympics, for example, are all supposed to be about the athletes. But take away those national flags they compete under and no one would be interested. Remember when American farm boy Rulan Gardner defeated that seemingly invincible Russian in the super heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestling 2000 Olympics? Would anyone have watched if it were Burma v. Fiji?
Ditto for the World Cup. It thrives *only* because of nationalism. It’s your country against another. I am no fan of soccer, which I associate with unstable statist regimes. But if America is playing, my sports allegiance follows the flag.
This clown needs to make up his mind. Am I a racist because I can’t stand soccer, or am I an internationalist squish because I couldn’t care less about the outcome of the particular game he’s going on about?
You are so right. I also forgot Rocky ending the cold war by defeating Drago. Not only does Lance kick Europe around for 7 years, but then we best them at cheating with Floyd. At the time, I thought Floyd was denied the title because the French just couldn’t stand seeing yet another American dominate (in the same way the world cup tried to take goals away from us to ensure we would not move on). But, now that Floyd has admitted to cheating, I can get together with my knuckle dragging right wing friends and revel in his successful cheating.
Bill, you are so right. Every country’s fans are draped, painted, and garbed in their country’s colors. The left sees this and proclaims, “be still my heart, the thrill of multiculturalism is sweeping over me.” When Americans are wearing our colors and takin’ care of business, it’s just another example of racism and oppression.
The Handicapper General feels your pain. (h/t Kurt Vonnegut)
My nominee for Ricochet quote of the day.
Rob, you’ve caused me to spend two hours checking out Dave Zirin, the author of the post on the Nation. Two items of interest:
First, he lists himself as an UTNE Reader “50 Visionaries Who Are Changing the World.” I checked out the most recent list online and found that of the first twenty or so (I coudn’t bear to check them all, a list of dreamy-eyed hard leftists if ever I saw one), all were Americans with the exception of one South African and one Canadian. Do I catch the scent of a bit of American exceptionalism? If America has all the visionaries it must be exceptional.
Second, Mr. Zirin, our hater of American nationalism has recently called on other countries to boycott Israeli sports teams. Seems a bit nationalistic to me–or is this the ever-ethereal “international community” (including such paragons as Iran, Libya, Zimbabwe, and Syria) just punishing the worst nation on earth?
No, the odor is hypocrisy, with just a hint of sanctimony is exceptionalism with a hint of hypocrisy.
I hate soccer, but I hope the Americans can continue to kick a bit of European and South American rear end.
Correction to penultimate paragraph. Should read: “No, the odor is hypocrisy, with just a hint of sanctimony thrown in.”
Here you go Sam…USA! USA!
No, I don’t, Bill. But then, I’m not really a fan of Greco-Roman wrestling. Just how much Greco-Roman wrestling do you enjoy, Bill?
Curious…I don’t recall any displays of “cultural supremacy” following yesterday’s victory. Unless a bunch of drunk white people jumping around at a sports bar now counts as such. Like most offenses against the cause of ‘social justice’, this one only seems to exist int he mind of the progressive beholder.
The last time I checked, every one of these teams in the World Cup is backstopped by nationalist fervor, not just the US of A. So why are we the only ones who are racist?
Ultimately, despite the lefty one-worldy drivel that soccer is the perfect sport for a utopian world of peace, the bottom line is that it is the opposite. It is all about nationalism. As Bill McGurn says above, “take away those national flags they compete under and no one would be interested“. That sounds about right.
I wonder if Mr. Zirin was as concerned about “the worst kind of racist, nationalist garbage” last winter when the US Curling teams were all the rage?
Jonathan Tobin has an excellent blog posting of Dave Zirin’s post in The Nation. It’s worth a read: http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/
No doubt The Nation is convinced that in soccer, as in all things, we need to learn to be more like the French.
Wait, I went back and read that quiche-loving Dave Zirin’s original posting at The Nation, and he had the temerity to refer to the game being played in South Africa as “soccer.” Isn’t that just another example of our country’s misguided exceptionalist arrogance: the proper name for the game is “football.”
No worries there Ted, the term soccer is actually a British nickname for the sport. It comes from the word “association” in football association, and was coined over 100 years ago. The word is not only a legitimate European term, but it also shows that the word doesn’t come from “socks”.
By the way, I learned all this on the internet(wikipedia, I think), so it must be true.