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 naive 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.