Oller's Second Thoughts: USWNT gets dinged both for losing and speaking out on causes
Quick question: did the U.S. women’s national team fail to advance in the World Cup or steal some poor kid’s lunch money?
I only ask because the barking and attack dog attitude aimed at the USWNT makes it feel like the latter. It’s like Megan Rapinoe and her mates intentionally ran over a turtle crossing the road, then backed up and ran it over again just for kicks.
How dare they.
Two thoughts, the second belonging to former U.S. soccer star/current analyst Alexi Lalas.
America loves underdogs and loathes underachievers, which tracks with the nation’s growth trajectory. We were born underdogs, then shocked the world by stunning the Brits. Soon enough we became E Pluribus Unum Almighty, and eventually came to believe we were invincible. Or at least unbeatable.
In sports the same expectations apply. We should win, especially when we previously have dominated.
The USWNT has been known to kick butt and take names, winning the World Cup in 1991, 1998, 2015 and 2019. In that way, the women are the female version of the U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team, which is always expected to win it all, no matter what. To come up short, to underachieve, is anathema to Yanks. The gals are either amazing winners or incredible losers. There is no in-between.
Lalas’ view is different in a hot-take, hold-on-to-your-seat way. Here’s what he had to say on Twitter/X, responding to a comment about how weird it is watching Americans celebrate an American loss.
“This #USWNT is polarizing. Politics, causes, stances & behavior have made this team unlikeable to a portion of America. This team has built its brand and has derived its power from being the best/winning. If that goes away they risk becoming irrelevant.”
Harsh? Insightful? He’s not exactly right, but not entirely wrong. Again, compare the USWNT to NBA stars participating in the Olympics, where politicized comments get met with “Shut up and dribble.”
It’s not so much a double standard as a double whammy: Win the World Cup, as you should, and America will overlook much of what comes out of your mouth. Come home a loser, defined as finishing second or worse, and anything you say or have said can and will be used against you.
“Evil” golf media keeps dumping on LIV
Among the more entertaining social media wars being waged over the past two years is pro-LIV Golf Twitter/X vs. the majority of media outlets that either ignore or criticize the Saudi-funded start-up league.
Count me among the media who have little use for what’s happening with LIV, good or bad. I don’t have it out for LIV solely on moral grounds, though I don’t approve of Saudi sportswashing; it’s more that following exhibition golf does not interest me. Despite what LIV apologists think, there is no media conspiracy aimed at giving LIV the cold shoulder, with the possible exception of TV networks contracted with the PGA Tour to televise events, which tend to avoid mentioning anything related to LIV.
The latest supposed media slight arrived Sunday when Bryson DeChambeau shot 58 at LIV Golf Greenbrier, becoming the fourth player on a top-level tour to go that low.
Pro-LIV social media went more crazy more about the mainstream golf media not going crazy about DeChambeau’s 58 than it did about their guy winning the tournament. Upon closer inspection, the media covered the 58 how it should have for a B-league event barely watched by anyone unrelated to Greg Norman. DeChambeau deserved a headline and got one, but the reality is that if he played on the PGA Tour millions of more golf fans would have cared.
Tom Hamilton's call of the Jose Ramirez-Tim Anderson fight on Cleveland radio is the stuff of legend.
"DOWN GOES ANDERSON! DOWN GOES ANDERSON!" pic.twitter.com/ZXSUW4eE0V— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 6, 2023
Listening in
“They’re fighting! They’re swinging! Down goes Anderson! Down goes Anderson!” – Cleveland Guardians radio voice Tom Hamilton, calling the blow-by-blow of Saturday’s fight between Guardians’ infielder Jose Ramirez and Chicago White Sox infielder Tim Anderson.
Off-topic
Thank goodness for the NFL RedZoning of “Seinfeld” clips on Instagram. Just as the RedZone channel prides itself on showing every touchdown from every game, a multitude of Instagram quick hitters allows anyone to watch highlights of the funniest bits from Seinfeld, without having to sit through the unfunny parts. You can move from “Your face is my case” to “I don’t want to be a pirate” in the time it takes to say “The dingo ate your baby.”
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: USWNT turns off soccer fans with politics, early World Cup exit
