Glenn Beck on Soccer ...
By Eric Shapiro - from New York Press - June 18, 2010
FOX’s pugilistic pundit Glenn Beck, humbly speaking on behalf of the entire U.S.A., coughed up this little hairball recently: “We don’t want the world cup. We don’t like the World Cup. We don’t like soccer. We don’t want anything to do with it. You can package it any way. You can spend all kinds of money. You can force it on our television sets. We will not enjoy the World Cup.” In typical FOX News fashion, Beck delivers a multifaceted argument to support his contention:
1. Soccer fans riot more than other sports fans.
2. The rest of the world likes soccer.
Now, I’m not a big fan of soccer, or of sports in general for that matter. That being said, why can’t any political figure ever voice an opinion without claiming to speak for America? OK, Glenn, go ahead and blast soccer. I happen to agree with you that it’s not fun to watch; I prefer games with more scoring, preferably those that can be played with a controller. But saying “we don’t like soccer” instead of “I don’t like soccer” does not make you the Voice of America; it makes you a pompous, presumptuous blowhard. And wrong. Gazillions of American kids play in soccer leagues. Walk into a bar during the World Cup and chances are you will see people watching the sport on TV.
Despite the idiocy of Glen Beck’s argument, it does call attention to something that has always pissed me off: the phoniness of American World Cup fervor. If you have a deep love for soccer, then by all means paint your face, your chest, or any other part of your body as you see fit. If not, don’t. Us Yanks, for all our self-proclaimed independence, just love to jump on bandwagons, and the World Cup happens to be one of the biggest bandwagons around. We see everyone else excited about it, so we decide too care as well—but for a limited time only! Kind of like when a national disaster strikes abroad. Then, after a requisite display of excitement, it’s back to American football, baseball and general apathy about anything that doesn’t directly affect our lives. If you don’t care about soccer 1,230 out of 1,260 days, then why care about it for 30?
FOX’s pugilistic pundit Glenn Beck, humbly speaking on behalf of the entire U.S.A., coughed up this little hairball recently: “We don’t want the world cup. We don’t like the World Cup. We don’t like soccer. We don’t want anything to do with it. You can package it any way. You can spend all kinds of money. You can force it on our television sets. We will not enjoy the World Cup.” In typical FOX News fashion, Beck delivers a multifaceted argument to support his contention:
1. Soccer fans riot more than other sports fans.
2. The rest of the world likes soccer.
Now, I’m not a big fan of soccer, or of sports in general for that matter. That being said, why can’t any political figure ever voice an opinion without claiming to speak for America? OK, Glenn, go ahead and blast soccer. I happen to agree with you that it’s not fun to watch; I prefer games with more scoring, preferably those that can be played with a controller. But saying “we don’t like soccer” instead of “I don’t like soccer” does not make you the Voice of America; it makes you a pompous, presumptuous blowhard. And wrong. Gazillions of American kids play in soccer leagues. Walk into a bar during the World Cup and chances are you will see people watching the sport on TV.
Despite the idiocy of Glen Beck’s argument, it does call attention to something that has always pissed me off: the phoniness of American World Cup fervor. If you have a deep love for soccer, then by all means paint your face, your chest, or any other part of your body as you see fit. If not, don’t. Us Yanks, for all our self-proclaimed independence, just love to jump on bandwagons, and the World Cup happens to be one of the biggest bandwagons around. We see everyone else excited about it, so we decide too care as well—but for a limited time only! Kind of like when a national disaster strikes abroad. Then, after a requisite display of excitement, it’s back to American football, baseball and general apathy about anything that doesn’t directly affect our lives. If you don’t care about soccer 1,230 out of 1,260 days, then why care about it for 30?