World Cup: USA loses to Sweden, Americans bizarrely celebrate

It takes some cheek to pose as a patriot while cheering against your own country. Enter the culture warriors of America, flaunting the intellectual equivalent of assless chaps.

When the United States suffered its worst ever result in a women’s World Cup on Sunday, losing to Sweden in the round of 16, no one celebrated more loudly than – and I do have to triple check my notes here – the Americans. Some of them, at least.

“I’m glad they lost,” said TJ Moe, a contributor at conservative website The Blaze.

“The attitude of the USWNT (US Women’s National Team) reflects such poor values it’s sickening. They need an overhaul. The America-hating, entitled, ungrateful group, led by Megan Rapinoe, needs to go.

“Quite fitting she’s the one who blew their best chance to win.”

Rapinoe was one of three American players to miss a penalty during the decisive shootout, ending her decorated career on what she described as a “sick joke”. Openly gay, with bright blue hair and unashamedly progressive views, she is an irresistible target for conservatives who want athletes to shut up about politics.

Under her leadership, the American team has publicly supported LGBTQ rights, Black Lives Matter and other such causes. Several players refrained from singing their national anthem at the World Cup, and in the past they have knelt in protest against police violence.

Hence the claim that Rapinoe and her teammates are “America-hating”. It underpins a fascinating feat of mental gymnastics: the critics can delude themselves into thinking they’re actually supporting the US, even as they cheer against it.

“I root for America every single time they compete in sports, except for women’s soccer,” said another of these gymnasts, political strategist Joey Mannarino.

“The game was lost because Megan Rapinoe, the woke piece of trash, missed a penalty kick. So Megan now bears the responsibility for why the US lost.

“I am so glad to see it. Go woke, go broke!”

“Nobody made it harder to root for them than the USWNT,” said TV host Will Cain.

“There are women who have poured their heart and soul and sweat into this team for the US. Who are proud Americans focused on soccer. I hope those players define the future.”

“I hope that they took a lesson from losing that we all want our kids to learn when things go down. Which is, be introspective. Figure out how it happened,” said broadcaster Megyn Kelly. So far, so sensible. Plenty went wrong on the field, and it should be dissected ruthlessly.

“And in this case, they didn’t have their eye on the ball. They had their eye on their woke activism,” she added. Oh.

There are multiple befuddling layers of thought to dig through here.

First is the extremely common belief, bordering on an article of faith, that sportspeople should focus exclusively on their jobs and refrain from expressing political views.

Why? What other profession is limited in this way? Do we tell the local plumber that he can’t ever talk about politics, lest it distract him from fixing the kitchen tap? Why should a builder, or nurse, or teacher, or CEO, or professional TV pundit, or indeed some prick who writes for a website, have any more right to discuss political issues than a footballer?

The world is currently swooning over a Nigerian World Cup star (the one who was stamped on by an English player) because, when she’s not on the field, she works as a cancer research specialist. That job requires more brainpower than most of us can fathom, and she’s a world class player on top if it. Yet we’re supposed to believe the Americans incapable of wading into politics without sabotaging their football skills. It’s a rather dim view of human intelligence, don’t you think?

Imagine someone mounting a serious argument that Anthony Albanese should never mention the Rabbitohs in public, because doing so somehow degrades his ability to govern. Few things are more irritating than the politician who won’t stop droning on about sport, but we’d never pretend it affects their job performance. That would be preposterous.

Those blaming the American team’s politics for its defeat have conveniently forgotten that it won the last World Cup in 2019, in the middle of Donald Trump’s presidency, when the views of the players were much the same.

Rapinoe, who was no less “woke” back then (though her hair was pink instead of blue), was the tournament’s top scorer, and won the Golden Ball for being its best overall player.

“Go woke, go broke” is applied selectively, you see. If something deemed “woke” succeeds – Barbie, for example, which has passed a billion US dollars at the box office – that success is downplayed or ignored. If something woke fails, well, there can only be one explanation.

The truth here is that few people actually have a problem with sport and politics mixing, as long as it’s the right kind of politics. If Rapinoe spent her free time arguing against abortion or sucking up to Trump, half the people currently dumping on her would instead be defending her right to freedom of speech. If she spoke out against “wokeism” instead of embodying it, she’d be hailed as a hero of the culture wars.

You see this in the world of celebrity as well. Every year, when the Emmys and Oscars roll around, we hear the same complaints about actors bringing up politics on stage. From people who made a reality TV star president. Hmm.

It does cut the other way. If Rapinoe had slammed Black Lives Matter and refused to join her teammates in kneeling, a bunch of folks on the left would have told her to shut up.

Recall the backlash against the (fittingly named) tennis player Tennys Sandgren, a Trump supporter, when he reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. No one is above a little hypocrisy.

I mentioned multiple layers, didn’t I? The other is more important. It’s the corrosive, small-minded assumption that this US team, and Rapinoe in particular, are “America-hating”.

There is no utopia on Earth. No country is perfect. Recognising your nation’s flaws and seeking to improve them is an act of patriotism; it shows that you actually give a damn about the society around you and the lives of other people. That’s as true here in Australia as it is across the Pacific.

To reflexively pretend everything is fine is to accept stagnation and, eventually, decline. To ignore ugliness in our past and yes, our present, is to learn nothing from history.

“I can understand if you think I am disrespecting the flag by kneeling, but it is because of my utmost respect for the flag and the promise it represents that I have chosen to demonstrate in this way,” Rapinoe said a few years ago, explaining her stance on Black Lives Matter.

“When I take a knee, I am facing the flag with my full body, staring straight into the heart of our country’s ultimate symbol of freedom. Because I believe it is my responsibility, just as it is yours, to ensure that freedom is afforded to everyone in this country.”

They call this person “America-hating”, because she believes in her country’s founding ideals and wants it to better embody them. They celebrate their own team’s demise and gloat over its corpse. Remember that next time you hear the slogan “America First”.

Twitter: @SamClench

Email: samuel.clench@news.com.au