I’m sure my husband isn’t embarrassed by this, but I guess, since I am a woman, that might explain some of it.
I’m not at all invested in a Taylor Swift anything, but I do enjoy soccer.
I think it’s a little funny that you went to the effort of looking up why people might be embarrassed, and not just for your own info, but to share. That’s probably me just being effeminate again. Good thing I’m a female.
The link is there to ground the discussion in facts vs hyperbole. So many times on FR it becomes a food fight over subjective assessments when, in reality, there is more unity than dissent.
Again, you said “ This is p!$$poor planning on so many levels. It embarrasses me.”
For the record, embarrassed means feeling or showing a state of self-conscious confusion and distress
Now, if, say, the 250th Celebration this July 4 in, say, Philadelphia reflects p!$$poor planning on so many levels, I’ll prolly have some feelings on that. This is my country, Philadelphia is the cradle of liberty (and my home town), and July 4 is a big deal. I’ll be let down. Maybe disappointed. But not embarrassed.
However, I harbor zero potential for embarrassment, nor even pride, in America’s part in the World Cup. It’s not on my radar, I have nothing to do with it, and I don’t follow soccer. It ranks up right below my concern for whether or not the National Association of Landscape Professionals’ conference in November 2026 is a success - https://www.landscapeprofessionals.org/ELEVATE.
The extent to which a state of self-conscious confusion and distress may arise from others’ perception is a matter of the “sin” that’s committed, and the proximity of the sinner to me. Messing up the estimation of ticket prices and expected attendance at the World Cup, to me, is meh, and I could care less what Europeans or even fellow American think of that mess. However, if a close family member posted a hideous, tasteless video on YouTube that got attention, then I would most likely be in a state of self-conscious confusion and distress.
Men and women DO get emotional at different things. Guys will get really angry on Sunday in the fall when a touchdown is called back on a questionable holding penalty. Women will look at us and say “what happened to the guy who could care less about the World Cup?” And we will rationalize the outburst, and chalk it up to injustice. Go figure.
Thanks for the sober discussion. And if it matters, I do hope the local businesses don’t lose money due to the logistical mess up’s.