United We Stand.....for Sports

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On Sundays, you can usually find me watching some kind of a game.  Rooting for the Redskins or against the Cowboys, for the Celtics or against the Lakers, for the Caps or against the Pens – you get the point.  Last Sunday seemed no difference at first.  My friends and I got together at a sports bar to watch the United States take on Japan in the Women’s World Cup Championship game.   But something was different.  The place was packed and the atmosphere was 100% electric.  The difference - everyone was on the same side for this game.  We were all cheering for the same play and trying to will our ladies to a victory.  It didn’t matter what city or state you were from, you were rooting for and celebrating the USA.   I am sure that across the US, many people had similar stories and experiences last Sunday.  And I would guess that, although they had a slightly different version of the story, it was being told across Japan as well.

After the game, I started thinking about other times when pride in America had been so evident.  When it came right down to it, there were 2 main categories – National Tragedies and Sports.  It is simply amazing to me that sports –literal games, can truly unite a country like they seem to.  But whether soccer fans or not, and even sports fans or not, everyone was “wearing” red, white and blue on Sunday.  

Itchy Ink / AP

We saw the same sort of pride during the 2010 Men’s World Cup and it always becomes evident during the Olympics.  Think about it – how many people can actually say they are competitive swimming fans.  Not trying to offend anyone here, but probably not that many.   Now how many people were totally into Michael Phelps winning 8 Gold Medals at the 2008 Olympics.  Everyone was into it.  Once again, I happened to be at a sports bar during one of his races (I promise I am not an alcoholic).  I felt the same kind of electricity that day that I did last Sunday.  The same loud and proud chants of U-S-A,  U-S-A, rocked the bar then too.

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Some people might say that it’s more that Americans like winning and this isn’t any form of pride or patriotism.  Well of course we like winning – who doesn’t??  But there is something more to it than that.  If you’re old enough to remember (some of the Dudettes are a little younger than others), think back to the original Dream Team from the 1992 Olympics.  Bird, Magic, Jordan, etc – simply the best of the best, no doubt about it.  But before these guys were teammates, and after for that matter, they were bitter rivals.  There was even a video game developed by Electronic Arts called Jordan vs. Bird. When the current Miami Big 3 got together, Michael Jordan was asked if, in hindsight, he would’ve wanted to play on the same NBA team as other greats of his time.  He said, “I mean, in all honesty, I was trying to beat those guys.”  But when it came to representing their country against the rest of the world, none of them hesitated to push these rivalries aside and play as one.  And for possibly the first time in history, Celtics, Lakers and Bulls fans, among others, united. 

All I’m saying is that even though I think it probably exists in pretty much all of us, being proud to be an American isn’t something that is all that evident a good portion of the time.  People seem to get more excited for Cinco de Mayo than the 4th of July these days.  We need an outlet for that American pride that doesn’t involve coming together after an attack on our country or celebrating the death of a terrorist.  Sports have been, are, and will continue to be that outlet.  So play on players  - your country is behind you!!!!