There are plenty of reasons for Americans to feel discomfort about the behavior of their country. But sports have a way of bringing joy and unity
There are plenty of reasons for Americans to feel discomfort about the behavior of their country. But sports have a way of bringing joy and unity
I ain’t watching and think more people should not watch. It is ok to dissent in this way.
For me, the math doesn’t chalk out. When I’m deciding Monday whether to go to the local gay sports bar vs, say, the local quiet reading bar, it’s hard to trace a meaningful way in which watching the match is propping up the US government or FIFA more than quietly reading, but there is a significant gap in how much joy I will derive from the two experiences. But that math is intensely personal, and based on subjective experience, and it may add up for you where it does not for me. I think your approach has merit and is commendable, but I find the one Mr Abnos espouses better matches my views of the value of international soccer and connection with the global sporting community.
I just see a lot of these posts today, and it feels like shaming the folks who dissent for very obvious reasons. For one of the many directly applicable reasons: FIFA literally didn’t allow an African ref to officiate after complying with the shit USA policy. Nationalism breeds overwrought and stretched explanations for more defense of nationalism.
I’m sorry you felt shamed; I enjoyed this op-ed because I too have felt shamed. I read this as an invitation to join us, rather than a shaming for not.