Why, in America, immigrants don't cheer for the U.S. soccer team

SF Chronicle ^ | 6-4-02 | Gustavo Arellano

[jordan8]

YOU WOULDN'T know it from watching network television, but millions of U. S. residents will go into virtual suspended animation during this month's World Cup. Dramatic stories and images from the tournament will cover the front pages of Chinese, Vietnamese and Irish community newspapers for the next 30 days. Spanish-language broadcasts will fill the air of Latino neighborhoods with the fever of futbol.

[al-andalus]

I had to hold my nose and agree with the NBC announcer who kept muttering, "Where is Bobby Jackson?" (6 for 9 from the field in the game.)

Yeah, next to Rick Adelman even Bill Walton's a genius. Bobby Jackson could've made the difference, just like Peja Stoyakovich had no business at all being out there. Adelman is an airhead.

[luvbach1]

US is rated #13 out of the 32. Is that bad?

[hole_n_one]

Wonderful post!

[gg188]

...and like someone noted on another thread:

No one ever heard the term, "SOCCER DAD."

Obviously.

'Nuff said.

[luvbach1]

Cheering for the home team should not dependent on how good they are (and the US team is not that bad);rather, it should depend on hard play, competitiveness, and a fan's identification with the national team.

[Horatio Bunce]

It could be better, but it's not too bad.

[brat]

"a fact that many nonimmigrant Americans see as tantamount to treason."

We're all immigrants and descendents in the US. The difference is that when our forebears came, they wanted to be Americans. This new batch of the last 40 years does not, apparently.

[sneakypete]

The some 13 Million criminals who have invaded this country don't seek some outlet for frustration or connection to their "home country" they have no intention of assimilating into US culture, they seek only to use the United States as an ATM with free education and health care for themselves and their children, while the US citizens and legal immigrants pick up the tab. They don't cheer for the US because first and foremost they are Mexicans, not Americans and have no desire to be otherwise.

And there you have it,boys and girls. The whole problem,summed up in a nutshell.

[brat]

"As long as this stupid government continues to allow enclaves of hostile foreign populations to grow and accumulate, this crap will go on and will eventually lead to a real civil war and deaths."......I agree.

[DB]

Ya... These "immigrants" love the opportunities here but hate us.

What they don't seem to realize is it is the "us" that give them those opportunities.

These same people probably cheered when the WTC went down… As they said, "a little payback"…

As far as I'm concerned, they should go home. Citizenship is more than accepting our "opportunities".

[Flyer]

Hey, I get to use the same reply on two threads. . .

What World Cup?"

[healey22]

Because a large majority of them are criminal illegal aliens not American citizens, they are most likely citizens of Vicente Fox's third world hole called Mexico.

[Ben Chad]

USA 3, Portugal 2

'Nuff said.

[driftless]

I'll second that notion. When John McEnroe was the king of tennis , I rooted for anyone who was playing against him. My friends loved him because they were poor sports like he was, but I detested him. By not penalizing McEnroe enough, the tennis powers did much harm to the image of the sport. My personal tennis favorite will always be Rod Laver, and I would cheer him against anyone regardless of nationality. I don't support boors and poor sports with infantile emotional problems like McEnroe.

[driftless]

There is much to admire in the William's sisters dedication, but they didn't make it easy for themselves by having such a racist jerk for a father. And Venus didn't make it very easy by proclaiming herself to be the greatest athlete ever to play the sport....before she had barely begun her pro career.

[AmishDude]

Soccer players are the best all around athletes in professional sports, period.

No.

Upper body strength is a detriment. Essentially you have 10 distance runners on a side.

[driftless]

But it DOESN'T happen all the time in soccer, and that is one of it's biggest problems. Don't get your shorts in a bundle, at my advanced age I find most sports very boring after being a huge fan of the big three sports for most of my life....there ARE other things in life than sports.

[gunnedah]

This is the reward America gets for opening her doors to the less fortunate.They come here,change our language,traditions and soon will take over our country.The founding fathers would turn over in their graves!America has been sold out by our elected officials and we have no one to blame but ourselves.We no longer have leaders who put Americans first,its self and power through system manipulation.We are doomed by our own rule of law.

[MeekOneGOP]

bumpity-bump!
A cheap biased shot by a LIBERAL loser, I'd say, Saber.
Thanks for the pingaroo!

[Rightwing Canuck]

Right On! They have had since the mid 70's to develope, cultivate, promote and reape the benefits of this so-called sport. It ain't happened yet and it never will. Too slow and boring. Time to shoot the crippled horse.

This can't be right. Baseball is the world's most boring sport, yet it makes money. A 1-0 soccer match can still be exciting (witness Argentina vs Nigeria), whereas a 1-0 or 2-0 baseball match is grounds for comatose.