Hating Soccer In America: Conservative Conspiracy?

by Dave Levy | 10:45 am, June 16th, 2010

I will keep citing Dave Eggers‘ outstanding 2006 essay on soccer in America until it is no longer necessary. Lucky for me, today it is, given that a political die is being cast on the World Cup hype that has grown since the Yanks went to South Africa. One story from Eggers’ essay is a great set-up for a debate about Americans who have yet to embrace soccer:

When I was 13—this was 1983, long before glasnost, let alone the fall of the wall—I had a gym teacher, who for now we’ll call Moron McCheeby, who made a very compelling link between soccer and the architects of the Iron Curtain. I remember once asking him why there were no days of soccer in his gym units. His face darkened. He took me aside. He explained with quivering, barely mastered rage, that he preferred decent, honest American sports where you used your hands. Sports where one’s hands were not used, he said, were commie sports played by Russians, Poles, Germans, and other commies.

Which brings us to yesterday’s piece on Think Progress about the most recent war on soccer – one that it argues is being delivered as part of a right wing conspiracy. The argument goes that, since we aren’t the best, liberals are upholding soccer as a way to subdue the ideal of American pride and patriotism that only can exist in arenas where the U.S. is the greatest country in all the world:

Another right-wing claim is that soccer can  be liked by socialists only. Neoconservative Gary Schmitt wrote, “My suspicion is that the so-called ‘beautiful game’ is not so beautiful to American sensibilities…in sports, that means excellence should prevail. Of course, the fact that is often not the case when it comes to soccer may be precisely the reason the sport is so popular in the countries of Latin America and Europe.” The notion that excellence doesn’t prevail in soccer is absurd, as demonstrated by Brazil’s continued dominance and the fact that only seven countries have won the World Cup. Gainor said, ”the problem here is, soccer is designed as a poor man or poor woman’s sport,” adding the sport “is being sold” as necessary due to the “browning of America.” Claims that soccer is a “foreign” ignores the fact that the game has become a major part of the American cultural landscape.

The perceived class and divide of soccer is probably the most resonant point that has been around since the time of Dave Eggers’s gym teacher. If the greatest real triumph over socialism and the anti-American way in sport is the Miracle on Ice, the greatest fake triumph of capitalism was Sylvester Stallone’s near win as portrayed in Victory. For many, this lap through the World Cup seemed that image of German/Nazi soccer as the ying to American capitalism yang had finally disappeared. Reading some of the quotes caught and collected by TP, though, you’ll see a little bubble of thoughts like Glenn Beck’s stance that “we don’t want the World Cup, we don’t like the World Cup, we don’t like soccer, we want nothing to do with it.”

There is a lot of emotion behind football around the world, and it goes on to create a lot of tension both among pundits and traditional American sports fans who don’t think it’s possible that a 1-0 game can be wholly entertaining (to that last point, I say go back and watch this morning’s awesome Chile/Honduras match). While there may be a little bit too much reading into the comments by Think Progress, they are certainly right to note that we do have an anti-soccer culture somewhere in this country. To call it a conservative-driven conspiracy may just be one step too far.