Persuasive Essay On Soccer
Roughly 20 years after soccer gained popularity stateside, the U.S. men’s national team has gone from missing the World Cup entirely to regularly qualifying for the tournament. It’s a major feat no doubt and a credit to the enterprising American spirit.
But let’s get real. Even though we’re excited to watch the USMNT qualifying matches later this fall, we must remember qualifying is our consolation prize for the ultimate goal of obtaining the Cup, or at least earning international esteem in soccer. As Americans, we assume greatness is our default setting. That disposition pokes at our morale during repeated exits in the World Cup’s Round of 16 — Well short of anything “great” in international soccer.
U.S. Soccer’s governing body believes …show more content…
Americans want the glamour international soccer success brings, but they don’t want to invest time and energy into cultivating their own soccer culture.There are a litany of reasons why this is the case, with the most relevant being the expedited path to winning I’ve argued against from the start, but put simply: Soccer is not ours. It’s everyone else’s.
For better or worse, the U.S. has done things its own way throughout history. It’s literally what this nation is founded on — Colonists didn’t agree with the British monarchy’s laws, so they separated to make a new set that catered to them. Now we have technology, entertainment and a global economy that’s American-friendly because the U.S. helped create or influence each of those things to a large extent, which first and foremost sought to benefit its own citizens.
Look around at the U.S. sports scene — football, basketball and baseball — see a pattern? Our favorite sports are all American-born. This homegrown connection has allowed us to steer the development of unique cultures and customs in each of the sports. So football, basketball and baseball are tailored to the interests of broad, but different sects of sports-loving
But let’s get real. Even though we’re excited to watch the USMNT qualifying matches later this fall, we must remember qualifying is our consolation prize for the ultimate goal of obtaining the Cup, or at least earning international esteem in soccer. As Americans, we assume greatness is our default setting. That disposition pokes at our morale during repeated exits in the World Cup’s Round of 16 — Well short of anything “great” in international soccer.
U.S. Soccer’s governing body believes …show more content…
Americans want the glamour international soccer success brings, but they don’t want to invest time and energy into cultivating their own soccer culture.There are a litany of reasons why this is the case, with the most relevant being the expedited path to winning I’ve argued against from the start, but put simply: Soccer is not ours. It’s everyone else’s.
For better or worse, the U.S. has done things its own way throughout history. It’s literally what this nation is founded on — Colonists didn’t agree with the British monarchy’s laws, so they separated to make a new set that catered to them. Now we have technology, entertainment and a global economy that’s American-friendly because the U.S. helped create or influence each of those things to a large extent, which first and foremost sought to benefit its own citizens.
Look around at the U.S. sports scene — football, basketball and baseball — see a pattern? Our favorite sports are all American-born. This homegrown connection has allowed us to steer the development of unique cultures and customs in each of the sports. So football, basketball and baseball are tailored to the interests of broad, but different sects of sports-loving