World Cup Time!

Posted by Larry Miller on June 13, 2010 under How | Be the First to Comment

The Stanley Cup Finals are over and World Cup soccer time is upon us. I suppose we need the break from the drama and excitement of men flashing across the ice and bashing each other into dasher boards to get the little puck in the net. The World Cup time is an ideal time to relax, have a cook out with the family, go to the beach, or even read a good book. According to a recent Zogby poll, only 31% of the American men and 17% of the American women are planning to watch any part of the matches. Observing the hype on TV, one would think this is a major event for the people of the United States.

Numbers for the under 30 crowd are somewhat higher than this average, reflecting the globalist thinking foisted up the students in the public schools and academia. Yet even in this group, there is enough realism the prevent them from believing that soccer will become a major sport, ranked with football, baseball, basketball and hockey, in the US. It is notable that auto racing was not included in the question, even though it outdraws the other sports leaders.

The traditional sports tend to be American generations, including hockey where the primary development came from our neighbor in the frozen north. Our sporting preferences show what our “betters” would describe as a negative North American-centric mind set that blinds us to virtue in other parts of the world. It is the ugly face of American exceptionalism that the left and academia (but I repeat myself) have been fighting for decades.

I would argue that belief in the uniqueness of our country does not prevent one from appreciating the work of those from other nations. During his peak years, I was amazed at the way Michael Schumacher of of Germany dominated Formula One racing. I watched in awe, the 1976 Olympic downhill race of Austrian, Franz Klammer. And I continue to relish the culinary skills of the Samurai chefs at our local Japanese steak house. I, like many, am an American. It is our culture. Many of us have no desire to become European, or Mexican culturally… although all from those areas, and others, who care to join us legally are welcome.

Even in sports that are traditionally American we can see the US-centric impact. When I was growing up with heroes like AJ Foyt, Parnelli Jones, Mario Andretti, Fireball Roberts, Richard Petty and David Pearson, and even Charlie Glotzbach, the Indianapolis 500 was the biggest deal of the year… the pinnacle of auto racing in the US. The Indy 500 winner was a celebrity known well beyond the circle of race fans who followed to the sport religiously. Today, people like Tony Steward, Sam Hornish, Jr. and now rumors are Danica Patrick, have used the Indy Racing League as a stepping stone into the formerly regional southern sport of NASCAR

Why is this? In the past, when Indy at was the top of the heap, we had drivers from places like Tinley Park, IL, North Tonawanda, NY or even Center Valley, PA. Today these driving tasks have been outsourced to people from Brazil, Scotland and Japan. Each one of the drivers is skilled and following their dream, but the owners, in search of a perceived edge, have sought exotic replacements for local drivers, and interest in their sport has plummeted.

There are many reasons for this we are told, such as the type of cars run at local tracks which form the training ground for professional racing in the US are so different from the sophisticated, cookie cutter cars run on the present day champ car circuit that they have to look overseas to get the experience needed. Even if this were true, it is a terrible public relations mistake to present a product that your audience does not care about. The field of an Indy car race also presents a sameness and dearth of unique innovation compared to days gone by. Chassis are bought from one or two constructors, everyone runs the same engine from a Japanese manufacturer, the fuel is the politically correct ethonol and the only difference one sees is the color of the carbon fiber skin and the number on the side of the car.

NASCAR, the series that is prospering, even though somewhat hit by the economic downturn, presents a field of cars that, at least, look like the ones you can buy on the showroom driven by drivers from all over our great land. We feel a connection to them, rather than watching mercenaries, skilled mercenaries I will grant, run similar machines at similar speeds. Americans like to root home town kids to do well. While I admit to being a Tony Stewart fan, I always like to see fellow Chesterfield VA resident, Denny Hamlin run a good race, if for no other reason than he is a local boy. It’s just not the same, admiring the work of a driver from Sao Paulo slice through a field of drivers from who knows, or cares, where.

Sure, I’m American-centric. I’m an American, and proud of it. I recognize that other places have there own virtues and greatness, but I am determined that those who would censor this pride in my country through political correctness and multi-culturalism, will not prevail in turning me into a “citizen of the world” with all the ambiguity that term imposes.