We’re several days into the World Cup in Brazil. That’s the World Cup for football (aka soccer) for those who are completely out of the loop.
Seeing as today the United States will play their first match of the tournament, it seems like a good time to remind my fellow Americans to watch.
Why?
I would argue national pride, but that would only get the USA fans to watch through the quarter-final (if that).
So I’ll come at this from a different angle.
While I understand the inclination to ignore this major international sporting event, after all, no one in the US watches soccer, right? However, if that’s your attitude, then you’re missing out on a amazing show of athletic competition for not a very good reason.
Around the globe, the World Cup will be the number topic of conversation for the next few weeks. We like to think of the US as special and set apart from the rest. But for the next few weeks, wouldn’t it be nice to set that aside, and be a part of something bigger?
True, there’s most likely no national glory in it for us, this time. But nobody likes a fair weather fan, so why not join in? Who knows, you might even enjoy watching some of those “not the United States” teams.
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More on the Story: NY Times
…just for fun:
