It is kind of sad when you learn something about someone you once looked up to, only to find that what you learned pretty much undid everything that you thought you admired in that person.
The first time that the United States hosted the World Cup, I was excited by it. My hope was that the tournament would be a huge success. Furthermore, I hoped that Team USA would have a very solid tournament. That the World Cup would cast the United States in a good light, generally.
The players on that team seemed like colorful personalities. I got familiar with them and rooted them on. My favorite was Alexi Lalas. He seemed almost like American soccer's answer to my favorite tennis player, Andre Agassi.
Boy, I could not have been more wrong on that score. But I will get into that a little bit more later.
One thing that I remember: some people were seriously displeased by one American proposal to change the rules in order to make the World Cup soccer games have four quarters instead of just two halves. That would allow for more advertisements during the game. I remember hearing that some people felt that the World Cups should be taken away from the United States just for that, because it would seriously change the game.
Now let us fast-forward a bit to the present day. Fully 32 years now have passed since that first time that the United States hosted the World Cup. On the year when the United States celebrated 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, they also got to host most of the World Cup games, with some games also being hosted by Mexico and Canada. Sharing these games was one aspect of this particular World Cup which I rather enjoyed.
However, there were other things about this World Cup which I frankly seriously did not like or appreciate at all.
Remember that idea which some Americans first advocated of splitting soccer/football games into four quarters?
Yeah, as soon as I heard that there were going to be "hydration breaks," it seemed obvious to me that this time around, Americans had succeeded in making these games indeed have four quarters. If not exactly officially, it was the case in a de facto manner. More commercials for television viewers, which is what it really felt like it was all about.
Now, let's go back to Lalas. Back in 1994, I sort of thought of him as football/soccer's answer to Agassi, right? And that was pretty much how I viewed him since, although I rarely ever had the opportunity to see him. Hell, I surprisingly got an opportunity to meet him and get his autograph years ago. But I still did not really know much about him.
Then a few weeks ago, right at the beginning of this World Cup, I actually listened to what he had to say. And after hearing what he said, it became clear that Alexi Lalas was one of those people whom the more you heard about him, the less you wish you heard about him, if you know what I mean. There he was, talking before an international panel with commentators from France, Great Britain, and Sweden, and he was mentioning how in his opinion, the United States was the greatest country in the world. He mentioned it in an almost casual, matter of fact kind of manner. As if that political opinion - and let's recognize here that it really is a political opinion generally unique to Americans - should be completely acceptable and normal to people from outside of the United States. He made these comments before an international audience for the World Cup, and again, he was the only American commentator there. There were other bizarre comments that he made here and there that were questionable as well, but that opinion soon was followed up by Lalas basically cheerleading after Trump got involved in reversing the red card decision.
That was the moment when I really began to think, WTF? He basically applauded the whole thing, even though to me, it was a major source of embarrassment.
To be fair, a lot of Americans seemed unbothered by Trump getting involved. That included many Americans who otherwise are quite critical of Trump. And this was a position which, frankly, I found ridiculous and unacceptable. After all, this was Trump being Trump, meaning being blatantly corrupt, using the weight of his position as President to try and get his way, even when it was not just unconventional, but likely corrupt. If you know that it's wrong when he does that to, say, enrich himself and/or his family, or to grab more power for himself, but you're okay with it in this case because you think it will help Team USA's chances, then you are being a hypocrite.
So to me, the acceptance with which so many Americans - particularly fans of Team USA - accepted this absolutely ridiculous nonsense was a major part of the problem. Approving of Trump's blatant corruption once it actually might benefit them in some way - in this case by helping tip the scales in favor of the team that they are pulling for - makes it clear that Americans too often are clueless with how entitled they seem to the rest of the world. As I mentioned in an earlier post, if then French President Jacques Chirac had attempted to use the influence of his political status to reverse the red card which Laurent Blanc of L'Equipe de France got in the 1998 semifinal against Croatia so that he could play in the final against Brazil, it would have seemed excessive interference and blatantly entitled and corrupt to my eyes. It is just not something you see happen.
Except in the United States. With President Trump. How convenient that even many Americans who, like me, cannot stand Trump suddenly had no problem with him doing something highly unusual and corrupt in order to get his way regarding Team USA and improving their chances.
Do they have any real awareness of how that comes across to the entire rest of the world?
Sickening.
Then hearing Lalas actively encourage that, I could not help but do some brief internet research on him. Even a few seconds showed me that, in fact, this guy was all about MAGA. He had apparently made an appearance at the 2024 Republican National Convention, and was a vocal fan of Trump. How had I not heard about that before?
And this guy is the de facto face and voice of the second World Cup to be hosted by the United States?
Here I had assumed that Lalas, in promoting an international sport and being well-traveled and informed about the sport in other countries, might have a less provincial, rednecky kind of mindset.
But I was wrong.
Suddenly, it felt a little bit embarrassing to see how Americans were responding to this World Cup. Suddenly, the criticism that some people voiced all the way back in 1994 began to make sense to me. Maybe the United States really does not deserve to host something as internationally prestigious as the World Cup.
Now, that is how I feel. Once again, Americans are acting like spoiled children with a false sense of entitlement. Here are a whole bunch of people trashing the sport, talking about how American football is so much better, and how soccer is so boring. Some Americans - in positions of influence, mind you - actively are having discussions on how to make improvements with the sport, so it becomes more high-scoring, less boring, and to generate more revenue. To make it more "popular" as many of them put it.
Have they not heard that this is the most popular sport in the world? It is doing just fine without Americans, thank you very much.
Need proof? As I understand it, a typical World Cup game will generate similar television viewer numbers as the typical Super Bowl. The further into the tournament you get, when the games carry more weight, and generally the more viewers games will get. The numbers leave the ratings for NFL games - even playoff games and, yes, even the Super Bowl - in the dust. Once it gets to the World Cup final, the numbers become staggering. The most successful Super Bowl in terms of television viewership never received even 250 million views worldwide. Meanwhile, the World Cup final can be expected to get something like 1.5 billion viewers. Not only is the World Cup more popular, it is not even remotely close.
The internationally beloved, beautiful game of football/soccer is boing? Americans sports are so much more superior? Then riddle me this: why is it sooooooo much more popular than American sports around the world? It's not like American sports have not been introduced around the world, because they have. Professional American football has been around in Europe on some level since the 1980's. Baseball is played around the world, as well. So is basketball. Yet, none of them even come close to holding a candle to the popularity of soccer. Whether or not you like it, or perhaps dismiss it as "fake news," that is the absolute reality. Numbers don't lie in this case. Like, at all.
Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
Americans generally do not understand, much less appreciate, what an enormous privilege it is to have a chance to host the World Cup - twice now. Many of them loudly and proudly put down the sport, insult it, with many of them questioning how anyone could prefer football/soccer over American football. Not surprisingly, many of these same Americans seem to be fair weather fans. Endlessly, I heard many Americans talking about how the United States surely was going to win this World Cup. How it was going to be like a Hollywood movie ending, right? But soccer is a tough sport, and the American men, traditionally, have not really been up to the task. The American women are phenomenal, literally the most accomplished side in the sport. But the men? That's another story altogether. They got Trump to tip the scales in their favor, but it fired up a clearly superior Belgian side, who embarrassed the United States just days ago, in more ways than one. Not surprisingly, many fair weather fans immediately lost interest once the American side is eliminated. Once again, it seems like they are asking who cares about football/soccer, anyway, right?
What a mind-numbingly arrogant and entitled mindset to have and broadcast to the entire rest of the world.
God forbid we ever become fans of, or so much as respect, a sport where we can't have that beloved Hollywood ending for "our boys." How can we enjoy a sport where our boys (again, the women as a different story, but they don't receive the respect or recognition that they deserve) cannot prove America's superiority over the rest of the world? Screw this sport! How boring and stupid it is! Let's stick to our sports, which are obviously far better.
After all of this, I have come to the position that, frankly, Americans collectively don't deserve this. They don't deserve to host something like the World Cup. Don't deserve the revenues generated or the prestige that comes with it. Even with this being the 250th anniversary of the United States, it feels like Americans screwed this up. There are concerns with ICE agents which kept foreigners away, as well as the generally more fascistic turn that the United States is currently taking. Many hotels were emptier than expected. Frankly, I can understand and appreciate that.
You know what? I will say something now to Americans, generally. There may be some exceptions to this dumb, entitled mindset, but not nearly enough. So here goes: Keep Trump and fascism and ICE if you want it so badly. Keep Alexi Lalas and his idiotic commentary, too, for that matter. And keep your interest in American sports, and keep your presumed superiority complex about the United States right here at home. Keep labeling your sports teams "champions of the world" after playoff tournaments where almost no other country is invited. Don't try to export that bullshit to the rest of the world. Especially not right now, when the international image of Americans has never been lower or more compromised.
All of this leads me to a conclusion which likely would have seem impossible for me to feel not all that long ago. And this is it: I now hope that the United States does not get to host another World Cup in my lifetime. Frankly, it has proven to be unworthy of it.
As an American myself, how embarrassing all of this is. Sorry, but I am just sooooo tired of Americans bringing disgrace to themselves and their nation's image around the world. Not to sound melodramatic, but it really actually does break my heart. Truth be told, I just cannot bear to see it or hear it anymore.
Once again, the loud and proud mindset of far too many of my fellow countrymen proves to be a source of embarrassment and shame. Especially since all of this was all too visible for the entire rest of the world to see it.
Please, never again.
Alexi Lalas is Ruining the World Cup in More Ways Than You Think Rick Strom Rick Strom 61.1K subscribers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loSqLqA--P0
Alexi Lalas is Ruining the World Cup in More Ways Than You Think
Alexi Lalas' Stupidity Gets Torn to SHREDS by US Soccer Legend TYT Sports TYT Sports 1.47M subscribers
https://youtu.be/UbpVBwDvyJg?si=0KD7RjreuG6Ci8NH
Alexi Lalas' Stupidity Gets Torn to SHREDS by US Soccer Legend
american broadcast of the world cup is STILL TERRIBLE. Maqwell Maqwell 306K subscribers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=relD9Y4tS7c
american broadcast of the world cup is STILL TERRIBLE.
The Problem with American World Cup Punditry. Leemo Leemo 1.22K subscrib Alexi Lalas is
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xs0C4TWGS0U
No comments:
Post a Comment