What’s up America? I wasn’t going to write another blog entry until Sunday, but with me having a phone interview with www.sbnation.com on Wednesday of this upcoming week to discuss an opportunity to start blogging for them. I am feeling inspired to write something today. Lately I have been thinking about this 2010 FIFA World Cup event and the nationwide support that I have witnessed all week long. I am not going to get into any of the games that have been played or any of the upcoming games. It’s not worth my time to take the time to think of two words to describe a game that ends in a 0-0 or 1-1 tie like a handful of matches did yesterday. Instead, I am going to discuss the admiration for the sport of soccer that everyone seems to have all of a sudden.
Once every four years for a month the World focuses all of their attention for the biggest soccer event on the planet. In most countries, soccer is a way of life and is taken seriously to the point where players have been killed for making mistakes during games that led to loses. Soccer isn’t that big of a deal to most Americans except to five year olds who play the sport and to the soccer parents who can get confrontational at games. But come June on every fourth calendar year. A lot of people in this country act as if they are the biggest and most loyal soccer fans on the planet. It always amazes me when this happens. Many of you guys including myself can’t even name 10 soccer players playing in the World Cup right now. Just because you know who David Beckham or Donovan Landon is doesn’t make you a real or loyal fan. It just confirms that you own a Television. Just because you played soccer when you were five years old, or in junior high and high school doesn’t make you a loyal or real fan either. It makes you a former soccer player who got bored with the sport like most Americans or wasn’t good enough to go pro.
Americans love to say that they are being patriotic by supporting the U.S. Soccer team. Yeah right! Where were you guys the past four years when the US team was competing in other events? The World Cup isn’t the only event that the U.S. Soccer team participates in. If you’re going to support the U.S. squad now, you should support them year round. Not just when it’s convenient for you to do so or it seems cool to do so.
For the people who are truly soccer fans, (anyone who has a green card/non U.S. born people, and a few Americans) this blog entry and my comments are not directed towards you. This is strictly for the people who are going around screaming “Go U.S.A” and won’t even watch one soccer game that the U.S. team plays during the World Cup. The majority of these people don’t even know the rules of the game or can even stay awake for a whole game if their five year old isn’t playing in it.
It’s cool to support your country, but just be honest and say “I am cheering for the U.S. Soccer team to win the World Cup.” Don’t go around acting as if you have had this marked on your calendar for years and you are a soccer super fan. Truth be told, very few Americans are true soccer fans and keep up with the sport like most people in this country keep up with baseball, basketball or football. What most of you guys are doing is equivalent to when we lie to someone that the sexual experience we had with them was great when we know it wasn’t and it was the reason why we didn’t call them back. That’s all I have to say…….the end.
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