US Ambivalence Toward the World Cup and American Nationalism

Soccer has popularly been heralded as the world’s favorite sport. However, that iconic phrase ought to be amended to to exempt the United States. Football enraptures the hearts and zeals of the most of the world, yet that same passion has not taken root in America. This phenomenon is not unexplainable; explanations can be reasoned.

Firstly, one must point to the fact that the US and the rest of the world differ in more than one way than in the world’s countries’ preferences for sports. The United States has a unique system for spelling certain English words. The language written in United Kingdom, as well as in Australia, New Zealand, India, and South Africa, adhere to the British spelling. Additionally, the US has a distinct system of weights and measures. I believe I am correct in saying that we solely use miles over kilometers and Fahrenheit over Celsius. It is unsurprising that Americans’ athletic appetites differ from that of Europeans, Africans, and South Americans.

Of course, this is very general. One must acknowledge the steps soccer has taken towards popularity in the US. The sport is becoming more watched, particularly by young people in the young adult and adolescent age group. Many individuals in this bracket follow soccer more closely than they do any other sport. This rise is partly due to easier access through widespread television usage. More importantly, the smartphone and internet craze accelerates football’s ascension into sports pandemonium. The iPhone allows for connections to sports non-stop. Worthy of note, this germinal craze is among young adults. As this generation matures, soccer will be carried through to older age groups; the probability of its adoption among another generation of Americans is high with this discussed trend. I predict that this phenomenon will occur.

Sports are emotionally riveting for their tendency to arouse two human attributes: solidarity and attachment. The enormous level of expressionism in sports in public spaces leads many to form collectivist associations. These associations are based on shared feelings and common zeals. Media plays a role in forming these bonds of “interpersonal interaction.” This sociological observation is keen. Within human nature, there is an inherent instinct to cluster. I argue that this drive is rooted in a need to be secure and a desire for affirmation of one’s convictions. The desire for affirmation builds confidence in oneself and one’s judgment.

National teams, the author argues, form distinctive styles of play that lead to a sort of branding. This present tendency creates more intense reactions. Importantly, this development of a style leads one to believe that one is in possession of something distinct. This uniqueness leads to a differentiation from others and hence contribute to nationalism. US sport historians do not focus on this aspect of sports in the United States. The writer reports that they tend to press into issues involving racism and inequality.

Prejudice has established a place for itself in sports, in the United States and abroad. On the other hand, a intense study on this aspect of sports neglects other areas of equal importance in research. The period of 1870-1930, the “sporting space”, is the time when major US sports where anchoring in American society. Baseball, American football, and basketball were professionalized at this time. Soccer is notably absent.

Now established, these sports have defensibly created a sense of American nationalism in that they are practiced in few other countries on a national scale. This exceptionalism, certainly not unheard of in American political and cultural rhetoric, has made it more challenging for other sports to prosper. Sociologically, this raises the question of humankind’s capacity for adulation. I am not sure if there is a cap on the amount of dedication that one person can muster for any one thing. When a nascent phenomenon attempts to create a niche in the human psyche, it struggles are more laborious.

Part of American indifference to soccer can be explained by the media. Newspapers and other sources classify soccer as foreign. This reporting alienates soccer from the admiration of many. To continue, the use of an encompassing “we” build further solidarities in making soccer an un-American sport. Domestic fans are seen as “quasi-foreigners.”

Interestingly, soccer is widely played in the US. The writer significantly notes this curiosity. One must examine where it is being played though. Young people play mostly; therefore, it is seen as juvenile sport. Young people’s fascination with soccer mean many brush it off as “frivolous recreation” as opposed to dynamic competition. As adolescents play it, the sport is seen as transient in many people’s view. This perception damages football’s continuity.

The sport is also seen as feminine. Media reporters classify soccer as an outlet for women, who encounter obstacles when trying to advance their position in the athletic world. The US women’s national team performs significantly better than do their male counterparts. I believe that women athletes have increased options in soccer than they do in other American sports. These closed doors lead to heightened openness in other ones. Hence, there is irony in stereotyping a sport a feminine when the women’s branch of it is more adroit.

Additional Quotations

1. “I propose that the answer to this question requires recognition of the powerful role that both sport and media play in the creation and maintenance of “symbolic boundaries” between social groups organized around national identity.”

2. “In this context, writers often framed soccer as foreign. As already estab- lished, in-group/out-group analogies depended on an understanding of passion for the sport as alien.”

3. “Comments coded as passionate insinuated not just knowledge, dedication, and interest in soccer but a fixation. Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Holland, and England were all identified as “soccer-obsessed” or “soccer-mad” countries.”

Questions

1. Is there a limit to which humans can muster dedication? Can we split our loyalties between multiple things?
2. Is American indifference to soccer part of a shared feeling that to express zeal for soccer would be unpatriotic?