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Putting Tears Aside: Celebrating Ghana's Victory
Over the last week, everyone from the New Republic, to Reason Magazine to the various inept corners of the right wing blabbospehere (neocons, libertarians, and wingnuts OH MY!) has taken a whack at my little blog post in the Nation After Donovan's Goal: Joy or Jingoism? The article seemed innocent enough. I wrote about my drunken joy over seeing the miraculous US win over Algeria, but regretted the ugly openly racist jingoism I heard in the immediate aftermath on DC Sports Radio. My lament seemed innocent enough. But to hear the response from this fraternity of my pasty-thighed social betters, you would have thought I had defiled Ronald Reagan's grave or said, "Jeepers. Maybe Israel isn't always prudent in how it handles the Gaza Strip." The only arrow that actually cut was Reason's reference to me as "an indefatigable sports grump". That stung because when it comes to this World Cup, as my pulse will attest, if there is one thing I am not is grumpy.
In the aftermath of the US's 2-1 loss to Ghana, a nation the size of Oregon, no fan in the US should be grumpy as well. Yes, it was a bitter, tough defeat. Yes, Landon Donovan spoke for many when he said to ESPN afterward, "It sucks man.... Soccer is a cruel game." Yes, the US seemed overmatched in the first half, and as coach Bob Bradley said, "fell behind one too many times." But it's not a day to cry in our beer. It's a day to appreciate the electric excitement of Ghana's victory and look back fondly the terrific run by the US team. We should remember the rugged grace of Ghana's goaltender Richard Kingston who made save after save. We should also appreciate the play of US keeper Tim Howard who fought his way all the way up the field into the Ghanaian goal box and almost scored on Kingston himself in extra time. We should be satisfied that, despite the best efforts of Glenn Beck's lunatic, nativist, anti-soccer rants, the sport has taken a major step forward in the USA, with the ratings to prove it.
We should also take a step back and appreciate just exactly how much Ghana's win means to the continent of Africa and the development of African soccer. Africa's teams underperformed dramatically... except for the Black Stars of the country known as the avatar for Africa's independence. The advancement of an African team at "Africa's World Cup," means a continent celebrating as one. We would also be naïve not to realize that one of the reasons for the unbridled joy is that it was the United States they vanquished. It's no secret that far more people from the US will be watching World Cup matches in South Africa than non-South African Africans. It's no secret that there is resentment over the way US multi-nationals like Coca Cola and McDonalds have taken over the country, pushing street vendors to the margins of the cities. It's no secret that the record television rights go entirely to FIFA, while the costs of stadiums and infrastructure are on South Africa's bill. Off the field, the game is rigged and the West will win no matter the final score. On the field, revenge is sweet. Let the vuvuzelas blow.
22 Comments so far
Show AllThe winning goal by Ghana, launched at a full speed sprint after a mid-air collision, was one of the most spectular shots of the entire tournament! It was a fitting end to a thrilling, hard-fought match.
Bravo to all the contestants!
Now America is finally learning why soccer is the world's game.
Absolutey! A beautiful goal, levitating into the force of the kick.
And no doubt.
But America is not about 'the world' but about America only. And inviolably so.
Notice how even the World Cup telecast was defiled by pictures of the American 'troops' in Afghanistan as if it were an almost religious litany of the obscene, almost a 'dedication' to the military function of America's imperial reach and a counterpoint to barbarism.
For America, death must indeed be everywhere.
The world must be imposed on America even if only at the level of the symbolic and the image spectacle.
The whirring, metallic humming overhead in the Ghanian skies is not a Predator Drone. At least not yet.
For now the symbolic defeat of empire, state terror and imperial fascism will have to be enough.
Bravo Team Ghana! Bravo Africa!
Now the white man's burden can be "left up to England?" Well, we now know how that turned out.
VashkarKim,
Bravo to you, too, for a very fine post! I particularly appreciated your mention of the paean to the American troops and the war effort. These are now obligatory parts of ALL major sports contests in the U.S. now, to our shame.
what you are describing is deliberate calculated long-term-objective gov't planned psy-ops.
--"Notice how even the World Cup telecast was defiled by pictures of the American 'troops' in Afghanistan."
Every time the English commentator insisted on repeatedly thanking the Imperialist troops via American Forces Network i wanted to choke his friggin neck. WTF ?!
One thing that Dave Zirin omits in his piece is the disgraceful trade in young soccer players (which makes "Hoop Dreams" look benign) that flourishes in West African countries like Ghana. While Zirin celebrates the players of Ghana, he fails to note that they are amongst the very tiny few who actually make it out of the slums of their home countries; and who immediately set up their families' homes in the same areas the elite of their countries preside over their nations' impoverishment.
Zirin doesn't realise the realities of this Ghana team, or the realities of African soccer, neither do you.
If anyone is delusional, it is you if you deny that their is a very scummy trade in young West African footballers. European and North African cities are full of young West African footballers who have been stranded after they did not make the cut at tryouts or tournaments -- often after their families have sold almost all they own to pay for their passage to corrupt agents who disappear once the possibility of making money off of them passes. To not acknowledge the ugly side that exists (the Vanguard program on Current TV did a great report on it) is more than not realizing "realities of African soccer," it is to obfuscate them to an audience that should know more about it: SHAME ON YOU!
Dave Zirin does interesting social commentary about sports, but that doesn't change the fact that "professional sports" are environmentally criminal and are primarily a tool of distraction in the greedy capitalist's workshop.
Egotism.
Parochial patriotism.
Winning, winning, winning (while, in fact, we are all losing).
How much carbon-spewing waste does it take for your "pulse" to increase?
North Star, VashkarKim, how beautiful. You are not the only ones that feel this way and it's good to hear from you. Now hopefully the door is open and more people will speak and write and talk this way.
Frankly, given that most of the world's major problems originate from the US of A and the rest are made worse by our foreign policies, I find this result to be neither bitter nor a defeat. It's much easier to wish the US would get fewer triumphalist escapes and possibly a tiny bit of humility, via something like this rather than the actual flow of body bags back to the States.
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I would rather vote for what I want and not get it, than vote for what I don't want and get that. -- Eugene V. Debs
"We should also take a step back and appreciate just exactly how much Ghana's win means to the continent of Africa and the development of African soccer. Africa's teams underperformed dramatically... except for the Black Stars of the country known as the avatar for Africa's independence. The advancement of an African team at "Africa's World Cup," means a continent celebrating as one."
This is a bit simplistic, and doesn't realise / explain the complexities of soccer in Africa. And is a bit patronising to African soccer. Ghana beating the US to get into the QFs, doesn't really mean much to the development of African soccer. It is actually pretty meaningless. That African players are good, has long been acknowledged. Just look at the number of African players playing in the (top) European leagues. The rest of the world, other than outright racists, know and acknowledge that African players are good, since at least 1990, when Cameroon played some scintillating soccer en route to the QFs, and giving England a big scare.
And Ghana have long been an African soccer power, especially at youth level. At youth level, they are a world power.
Also, some of Ghana's players, about half their squad IIRC, hold dual citizenship, were born in Europe / grew up in Europe / are of mixed (African and European parentage, so not sure what that means vis a vis Ghana's development.
For example, Kevin Prince Boateng. Born in a Germany to a Ghanaian father (who was a soccer professional), and a German mother. KP Boateng has dual Ghanaian / German citizenship. He grew up in Germany, came up through the German system. In fact, he won most of the awards for best young player of his age groups in Germany when he was coming up. In the Ghana vs Germany group match, he actually faced his half brother, Jerome Boateng(same father, different mother), who is representing Germany.
Yep. But why stop at sports?
It happens between schools, between businesses, unions, politicians, states, countries, attitudes, ideologies, philosophies, etc...
"Community bonds are fictional but are actively promulgated by the monied interests behind the team - this is a basis for fandom, butts filling stadium seats in the locale, and all the derivative profits that come from identifying the team with a certain place."
This is a bit simplistic. Ghana certainly isn't giving KP Boateng more financial incentives than what Germany is giving Jerome Boateng. (they don't get paid, but most countries do give out bonuses when the team wins). The two Boatengs apparently have stopped speaking to each other, and have cut off contact with each other. Family gatherings must be really interesting.
Also, this issue is complicated by racism. Many players of African descent, Turkish descent, in France, Germany, the Netherlands, have often chosen to play for the country of their immigrant parents, due to the racism they faced growing up, constantly being told to "go back" despite being born and growing up in those Euro countries, hearing fans make monkey sounds at them, etc, and seeing the parents / family face all manner of discrimination.
It has only been in recent years that the French (most famously the 1998-2000 team which won everything) and German national teams have begun to reflect their pool of players and society in general. German players of Turkish descent have traditionally chosen to play for Turkey, only now does that look like changing, with Mesut Ozil starring for Germany, and Serdar Tasci choosing to play for Germany instead of Turkey. Tasci was the subject of a tug of war between the German and Turkish soccer federations. The Dutch team is a bit different, in the sense that the children of the Netherlands' Surinamese immigrants have long played for it, but the children of African immigrants to a lesser extent, choosing instead to play for the countries of their African roots.
And Italy is far behind France, Germany and the Netherlands.
rfloh, you sound very bitter and perhaps a bit obsessed.
Err, no. I wanted Ghana to win. I've been following Ghana soccer since the early 90s, especially their great youth teams.
These posts are very interesting which is self-explanatory.
Many US citizens need to grow up in the face of sport, but them that is true of people all over the world.
The point?
Well, play soccer, not war.
From the article:
Yes, Landon Donovan spoke for many when he said to ESPN afterward, "It sucks man.... Soccer is a cruel game."
No, soccer is not a "cruel game". When was the last time you heard of someone being killed while playing soccer?
Soccer is not a cruel game, it's a child's game being played by well-paid adults.
From the article:
"We should also take a step back and appreciate just exactly how much Ghana's win means to the continent of Africa and the development of African soccer."
No. You should take a step back and appreciate just exactly how little Ghana's win means to the continent of Africa and the well-being of African people.
I used to subscribe to the Nation magazine. I quit. I'm glad that I did. Shame on them for publishing sports-puff instead of news.
Either you are into sports, and understand what Zirin is saying, or you're not. It's a completely closed view,. No doubt it's a warped vision of the world seen through special and intense lenses. I recognize this but I can't or won't take them off so I see it and understand it the way Zirin does. I was very happy that Ghana won and for those who think this way, their victory is important. It is a symbolic victory over a cruel tyrant played by proxies.
Maybe being sports-minded is not a good thing, but I'd rather see all that testosterone and money going into sports rather than the military. As for the military's presence in the WC TV coverage, I guess I'm lucky that I don't live in the States right now, so I am missing that. Unluckily, I'll be staying up late once again, as the World Cup game between Brazil and Chile doesn't start until 2:30 in the morning. It's a good think it only happens every four years.
"It is a symbolic victory over a cruel tyrant played by proxies."
Symbolic. I guess you have to start somewhere.
"I'd rather see all that testosterone and money going into sports rather than the military."
You got that right.
Symbolism and games. Soccer could perform more a valuable service, though, if it were played with Lloyd Blankfein's head. And Dick Cheney's.