YellowStars
27 augustus 2006, 16:27
European v American winning and losing at sports
YellowStars blog
Posted by ESLaPorte
7 July 2006
http://yellow-stars.com/blog/2006/07/european_v_american_winning_an.html
For Americans, winning is over celebrated ...and the losers are personally
bashed and
humiliated. Any sort of "well our team did well in getting to the semis" is
viewed as weird to Americans.
Americans are not good winners or losers - Americans are just not good
sportsmen. The Germans are reacting to their World Cup loss with grace and
dignity that Americans simply cannot understand, but the rest of the world
honors. The over celebration of winning and the personal bashing of losers
in American sports is consistent with the dehumanizing and mean-spirited
aspects of American culture.
The truth is that in other sports, like running and cycling, this notion of
"hating those you compete against" is not acceptable and even shunned. I
know this as a former regional level bike racer. Those other racers that I
routinely competed against were my friends not my enemies. It is not
acceptable to have the angry outbursts that are routinely witnessed in
American sports of American football, basketball, baseball (at all levels),
and it is not acceptable to over celebrate victory to the point of
humiliation of your opponents.
Now - France's Zinedine Zidane demonstrated what good winners should do
after his team beat Portugal. After the exchange of jerseys with a
Portuguese player, he put the jersey on backwards and quietly left the
field.
If Zidane had been an American, he would have paraded around the field in an
insane animal-like celebration with the opposing player's jersey like some
kind of personal trophy...He would have engaged in sickening displays of
humiliating the losing-opponents with at jersey.and it would have been
acceptable to Americans too! I know this too well, as I was attending
Florida State at the time our school was a national football powerhouse and
I witnessed this type of "humiliate the losing-opponents" mentality
first-hand, especially in the football rivalry with the University of
Florida.
Since Zidane is not an American, he did not do this type of obnoxious
behavior...as the French are also gracious winners. Not only do Americans
not know how to lose or win - they have no ideal what good sportsmanship
looks like and this is reflected in the TV broadcasting. When the American
broadcasters went into their "bashing the German losers" thing the other
day - I just turned it off. It was sadistic and absolutely awful!!!
Europeans - do not ever - in anything - lower yourselves to the level of the
American gutter!
Europeans, especially the Germans, should be proud of their sportsmanship.
They should not allow themselves to hold grudges about sporting events;
After all, there are things that are a bit more serious than winning and
losing the World Cup, or any other sport. Germans, you have NO reason under
the sun to feel humiliation. You are a fantastic people that have set the
example of not only good sportsmanship, but in your international relations
the world over. In this - you should have great national pride! In this,
all Europeans should be proud - and is further proof that Europeans are
better and more civilized than Americans.
YellowStars blog
Posted by ESLaPorte
7 July 2006
http://yellow-stars.com/blog/2006/07/european_v_american_winning_an.html
For Americans, winning is over celebrated ...and the losers are personally
bashed and
humiliated. Any sort of "well our team did well in getting to the semis" is
viewed as weird to Americans.
Americans are not good winners or losers - Americans are just not good
sportsmen. The Germans are reacting to their World Cup loss with grace and
dignity that Americans simply cannot understand, but the rest of the world
honors. The over celebration of winning and the personal bashing of losers
in American sports is consistent with the dehumanizing and mean-spirited
aspects of American culture.
The truth is that in other sports, like running and cycling, this notion of
"hating those you compete against" is not acceptable and even shunned. I
know this as a former regional level bike racer. Those other racers that I
routinely competed against were my friends not my enemies. It is not
acceptable to have the angry outbursts that are routinely witnessed in
American sports of American football, basketball, baseball (at all levels),
and it is not acceptable to over celebrate victory to the point of
humiliation of your opponents.
Now - France's Zinedine Zidane demonstrated what good winners should do
after his team beat Portugal. After the exchange of jerseys with a
Portuguese player, he put the jersey on backwards and quietly left the
field.
If Zidane had been an American, he would have paraded around the field in an
insane animal-like celebration with the opposing player's jersey like some
kind of personal trophy...He would have engaged in sickening displays of
humiliating the losing-opponents with at jersey.and it would have been
acceptable to Americans too! I know this too well, as I was attending
Florida State at the time our school was a national football powerhouse and
I witnessed this type of "humiliate the losing-opponents" mentality
first-hand, especially in the football rivalry with the University of
Florida.
Since Zidane is not an American, he did not do this type of obnoxious
behavior...as the French are also gracious winners. Not only do Americans
not know how to lose or win - they have no ideal what good sportsmanship
looks like and this is reflected in the TV broadcasting. When the American
broadcasters went into their "bashing the German losers" thing the other
day - I just turned it off. It was sadistic and absolutely awful!!!
Europeans - do not ever - in anything - lower yourselves to the level of the
American gutter!
Europeans, especially the Germans, should be proud of their sportsmanship.
They should not allow themselves to hold grudges about sporting events;
After all, there are things that are a bit more serious than winning and
losing the World Cup, or any other sport. Germans, you have NO reason under
the sun to feel humiliation. You are a fantastic people that have set the
example of not only good sportsmanship, but in your international relations
the world over. In this - you should have great national pride! In this,
all Europeans should be proud - and is further proof that Europeans are
better and more civilized than Americans.