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| Suck It Ghana |
I am very excited for the start of the World Cup this week in Brazil. Like all red-blooded Americans, I have a very minimal interest or knowledge of soccer, but that doesn't stop us from enjoying America's 2014 campaign. You kick the ball around, it's boring, and I usually just wait for it to end. My favorite part of the match is timing how long the announcer can yell, "GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLL," before he runs out of air in his lungs. However, cities across the United States continue to start professional teams, so it will become my duty to support Indiana's new minor league soccer team, even if I don't have much interest. I think of it as the summertime equivalent to caring about the Indiana ICE hockey team. So even if I don't understand why they occasionally kick the ball in from the corner of the field, I plan to catch every second of this year World Cup....at least until the United States gets knocked out, then I can go back to not caring. But until this happens, it's my patriotic duty to support the 美国 team.
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| 去美国 (Go USA) |
I will certainly own up to the fact that I wouldn't feel obligated to watch any of the event if America didn't make the tournament. Team USA involvement is my sole motivating factor for waking up early to watch matches, and my non-American roommates find my attitude towards the global game hilarious. Who even won the last World Cup???? I have no clue, because it wasn't America. My personal attitudes sit at the polar opposite end of most educated Chinese. China didn't qualify for the tournament, and support for the team seems solely based on their success rather than any kind of patriotism. It is an interesting cultural difference.
Most of the people I've talked to about the national team claim to support the national squad from some other nation, such as Brazil or England, rather than that of their home country. I wholeheartedly expect to see many Chinese sporting England, Brazil, and Spain jerseys over the next few weeks, and there is no doubt in my mind that sales for the winning nation's jersey will skyrocket here in China following the event. This has shown me a great deal about how China's educated view their homeland. Wearing the jersey of some other nation would probably get you heckled, or worse maybe even beat up, in the United States. Justifiably so in my opinion (supporting the heckling not the beating here). No matter how bad the Untied States soccer team might be compared to other global powerhouses is irrelevant to the vast majority of us. It's the United States squad, and it deserves support regardless of its national ranking. The whole phenomenon has shown me that I and my fellow countrymen are far more patriotic than I though before my move to the Middle Kingdom.
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| I can't even make this stuff up people |
I found out recently that North Korean soccer fans at the 2010 World Cup were actually paid Chinese actors (not a joke). I am considering hiring a few of them to give me the motivation that I need to finally clean the dishes in my sink, but their newfound fame after the event has raised them out of my price range.
The World Cup is one of the few international events where it is probably more American to lose. I stress "probably" here. We'll start worrying if Puerto Rico defeats the US basketball team again (God forbid). I mean, how do you celebrate a World Cup victory anyway? Half the time, I don't even know what is going on during the game. However, until the final whistle blows, here's to hoping America dominates Group G. And even if they don't, "Meh." I wouldn't really know if no one told me anyway.
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