An anonymous European tourist wasn’t the hero we asked for. But he was the hero we desperately needed in a time when America’s 250th anniversary party feels increasingly like it’s about to fall flat on its face.
His name is “Freddy.” He is German. And he absolutely loves the American South. As he documents his travels through states like Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida, Freddy has even been described as the modern-day Alexis de Tocqueville, the great Frenchman who wrote of his travels to and observations of America during the 1800s. Although I wouldn’t go that far, Freddy is nevertheless reminding Americans that the true greatness of our country can be found in the most unexpected places, such as a gas station or a winding country road.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, a liberal USA Today columnist has taken quite a different view than Freddy. On the verge of America’s 250th anniversary, Nancy Armour has declared that the United States has “already lost” the World Cup because of the Trump administration’s hostility to foreigners and the “greed” surrounding the event. Among other things, she cites the government preventing a Somalian referee from entering the country, Iranian fans’ tickets getting revoked, and ticket prices to qualify her bogus claim.
“The U.S. men’s national team could make a historically deep run and the tournament could be filled with wondrous goals and compelling games,” she writes. “It will not change the fact that we have shown ourselves to be a hateful and greedy nation, one where leaders are only willing to welcome a world as they want to see it rather than as it exists, and the love of the game is exploited for top dollar.”
She goes on: “That will be the legacy, and the shame, of this World Cup. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to showcase the best of the United States and embrace the joy that soccer brings the rest of the world and, instead, we chose to be ugly Americans.”
She fails to mention that the last two World Cups were hosted in Qatar and Russia. Yeah, I wouldn’t exactly describe those countries as shining beacons of democracy, humans rights, fairness and transparency.
And, what’s with the “we” here? What is she even trying to say? Why is she suggesting that all Americans share some collective agency that obviously does not exist? Is she projecting? Did the Southern woman who went out of her way to give Freddy a ride to the stadium when it was raining choose to be an “ugly” American?
Armour’s piece is not only tedious, it’s the perfect example of a glaring disconnect between normal Americans and the liberal media class that claims to speak on their behalf.
Not a single normal American soccer fan (outside of a tiny minority, perhaps) actually cares about all this political noise. Has Armour ever encountered a normal American sports fan? Has she encountered an American who just wants to watch a game – whether it’s baseball, basketball, or soccer – and use it as an excuse to be a degenerate and drink too much?
Clearly not, because normal American sports fans aren’t dialed into politics as much as she thinks. Normal Americans couldn’t care less that Iranians’ tickets were revoked amid a war (lest we forget, FDR sent 120,000 Japanese Americans to internment camps during World War II, so this is hardly a controversy). Normal Americans are either tuning out the World Cup – not because they think it’s symbolic of political corruption, but because they think soccer is flamboyant and boring and would rather watch baseball – or they are tuning in, rooting for their national team to succeed, or else watching other national teams for whatever reason.
Take it from me. I am a normal American soccer fan. I’m not about to spend an arm and a leg to travel and watch a match. I don’t care about the ticket prices. I just love the World Cup. I know I can’t, but I want to watch every single game. I want Team USA to go as far in the tournament as possible. I root for other teams, as well. I root for the Netherlands because I grew up admiring Dutch players, and I always liked their vibrant orange jerseys. I root for underdogs. I want to see a dark horse team crush the reigning champions. I love sports, and I love soccer, and though I follow politics closely, I see the World Cup as a reprieve from politics, not as its embodiment.
So sure, Armour, and others like her, will decry this tournament as corrupt and immoral. They will turn it into an indictment of America. But all the while, Freddy and the rest of us normies will go on watching the beautiful, in utter bliss.
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Question of the day on a local talk radio show:
How into the World Cup (that's soccer, FYI) will you be this weekend?
Will watch avidly 3%
Moderately interested 11%
Zero interest 23%
Less than zero interest. 63%
Unfortunately, there was no question as to avid readers of USA Today, but we can guess.