We became the bad guys

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I will warn everyone upfront that this is going to be a convoluted post, so keep this in mind as you bear with me. It stems from some of the comments made on the "American Stereotyping" thread, and some observations I've made about the Olympic Games. It's different enough to warrant a new thread.

First, a little bit of background. I apologize for people who are already well aware of this, but anyone under say, 25 years of age, probably doesn't have a memory of these events. Throughout the Cold War, the Olympics were a really big deal in the U.S. It was the U-S of A against the Soviets. The pinnacle of these was during the 1980 Winter Games when the U.S. Hockey team beat the Soviet Hockey team. You have to be at least 30 to have any strong memories of this event. However, even up to the 1988 Olympic games there was still the old war mentality permeating the games. (Also remember that the winter and summer games were played in the same year back then. So assuming you have to be at least 7-8 to have any strong memories about something, I'm guessing that if were born any time after the very early 80's you don't have much in the way of memories from this time.)

Anyway, the point of all this is that the reason the games were so popular was that they provided two things that greatly enhance the interest in a sporting event:

1. A clear side to root for. Obviously, you root for the athletes of your country. Even if you know nothing about the sport, or even if you've never even heard of the sport, you already know which team you're rooting for.

2. A clear side to root against. While it enhances interest to have a side you clearly want to win, it also helps to have a side that you clearly want to lose. During the games of the Cold War, Americans wanted the U.S. to win, but if the U.S. were obviously out of contention, they would root for anybody and everybody else to beat the Soviets.

So you had the U.S. team or if out of contention the "any country that isn't communist" team as the "good guys", and the Soviet team as the "bad guys". As a member of Generation X, I have many childhood memories about this stuff. (Generation X is a term applied to a group of people born - depending on who you ask - between the years 1970-1974 or 1970-1979. Some people call those born between 1975-1979 Generation Y, others apply the term Generation X to the entire decade of the 70s. Regardless of which definition you use, I'm a member of Generation X.)

Now, looking at the games today, I don't get that same feeling. For starters, I don't see a "bad guy". No, wait... there is a "bad guy". But the "bad guy" is the U.S. now. Everyone wants to beat the U.S. How did this happen? It seems that no matter what sport I'm watching on TV, people are rooting against the U.S. The reason I find this so surprising is the only events we are doing particularly well at are swimming and gymnastics. The traditional U.S. sports which we have always dominated - basketball and baseball - we aren't even competitive in this year. Our basketball team is terrible, and in a huge embarassment, or baseball team FAILED TO QUALIFY for the Olympics.

So why does everyone root against the U.S.? Is this an extention of the U.S. stereotype? That we're a country that basically pushes everyone around when we're not stuffing our faces with Krispy Kreme Donuts? So why bother rooting for a country of mostly fat, arrogant wind-bags? Inquiring minds want to know.

Also, I'd like to get other people's opinions if they view the Olympics of 1988 and earlier the same way they do today, or if their opinions differ widely, as they do with me.

[ August 18, 2004, 22:54: Message edited by: Taluntain ]

 

Yes, probably we all see the U.S. as the bad guy. You're not only doing well when it comes to swimming or gymnastics. Don't underestimate the achievements of your country when it comes to sports. What about tennis? What about golf? And there's so much more - even your basketball example is not really convincing . We all know that the US dream team could tear any opponent apart if it ever played full throttle...

Other countries generally achieve to be top of the list in one genre only. Like Germany in Formula One (kind of) or Brazil in Football. Or even Ethiopia when it comes to long distance running. But you are everywhere! Even in sports that you despise. Do you know that in the official FIFA ranking the US team is number 10? Better than Germany, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden... but to us, the game is important - whereas you think it's for girls or guys not fit/smart/bulky enough for anything else... *Sniff...

 

A Cuban friend of mine once said "The worst thing America could do would be to get interested in Soccer. Then even your friends would hate you. It is the one thing that the smallest and poorest countries can consistantly beat you at."

I agree with Aldeth that during the cold war the Olympics were more about war than a friendly competition. I've been watching some of the swimming and have been impressed with how after the race the non-winners have been been congratulating the winners. It seems very gracious as opposed to adversarial.

 

I'm just glad everything is so cooled down, I haven't seen one athlete not congratulating the other in this tournament. Many people forget this but to me it's the best the games offer this year; genuine respect for the opponent.

I'm not from generation X, and frankly I couldn't care less about the cold war. I admit I know little of it and thus I shall not offer an opinion on that here. To me and many of my age (1980) the coldwar comes of as a childish game between two super powers.

As to why the world wants to beat america is very simple. It's no surprise the americans do not take the underdog position (in anything) and that's saying it mildly. For example, Mr. Phelps; new talent on swimming (no doubt) says before the games begin he will break the record of an american who (in a less competetive field than now) won 7 olympic gold medals with swimming. For an 18 year old guy that comes off very arrogantly. The 200 mtr freestyle that was held yesterday the whole press in the whole world were aiming for either Ian Thorpe or Phelps. Not one person in Holland was doubting that Pieter van de Hoogenband could win the gold and especially beat phelps, it's always been a competition between Pieter and Ian. Thorpe won and Pieter came in second and they hugged eachother immediatly with a gesture of sincere respect, it did not lose my attention that such thing was not reserved for nr. 3: Phelps. The thing is that the press is very much responsible for exagerrating their athletes and America in my opinion is very good at that. It's no surprise than if the olympic gold winner of Sydney, Pieter van de Hoogenband is a little frustrated when he doesn't even get mentioned as a potential candidate for the gold. It's no wonder he wants to compete against this Phelps.

Another very good example is the press conference the Dream Team nr. 5,6? held a day before their first game. A throng of interviewers at the ready, the NBA super champions coming late and then they all scatter in this huge room and those interviewers have to almost fight to reach one player. Do you think it's a wonder the whole world was laughing when they were beaten badly the next day?

For me the best thing to watch these games was the opening where several small African countries represented their handful of sporters and they were smiling and thoroughly enjoying themselves. That's the olympics not some crazy competition between two world superpowers.

 

First of all, the olympics is a competition. Each of our countries is our home team. We all want to see our countries athletes do the best they can. I guess being younger Aldeth is right, as I dont see the olympics as a war or do thoughts of enemies even run through my thought process while watching the olympics. Sometimes I root for the underdog if I see something about that team or individual that gives me the feeling they should win. One thing I have learned being an athlete is that winning isn't everything. If you only play a sport for the soul purpose of winning you will quickly find yourself in a position that all that matters to you is winning and you lose sight of the fun of the sport itself. The media, especially in the U.S. is bad about building up athletes and putting them on a pedestal only to tear them down when they fail to meet what they were hyped to achieve. An example is the U.S. Basketball Team. Anyone who knew anything about basketball knew the American team cannot shoot from the outside and aside from maybe three players lack any enthusiam or hustle getting up and down the court playing defense. The NBA doesn't play zone and we all know who watch and pay to see the ocasional game know that defense is not the strong point of our team.

 

@ Darkthrone

Tennis? Venus Williams lost yesterday. I don't think the men have started competing yet.

Golf? AFAIK, golf is not an Olympic sport.

Basketball? Certainly the term Dream Team does not even apply. There's nothing "Dreamy" about this group, and given that they don't play defense or paly as a group, I'm not even sure if the word "Team" applies. Now if you were referring to the 1992 version of the Dream Team, or even the 1996 version, I'd agree with you completely.

Soccer? The fact that we have a FIFA ranking of 10 means nothing to me. I take it that's good? I'm sure it makes the team, their family members, and the 20 Americans who watch soccer regularly very proud. So, I guess I'm actually agreeing with your point on soccer.

@ Apeman - You don't give the American media machine nearly enough credit. It was the American media that stated that Phelps could win 8 golds. Phelps never said that. He was asked at the start of the games what his goals were in Athens. He replied, "I want to win one gold medal." That's right - not 8 medals - just 1. In an interview he had yesterday, he said he already won his gold medal, and looks upon any other medals he wins (already two bronze with likely more to follow) as icing on the cake. So, I really don't see Phelps as arrogant - if anything I think he is surprisingly humble given the attention he has received up to this point.

On basketball, I agree with you completely. I knew this team wasn't nearly as good as the recent teams we've sent to the Olympics, but I never dreamed they could get crushed by 19 against little Peurto Rico. Quick! Annex Peurto Rico and give them statehood! Then they will be the U.S. Team!

 

In the future the U.S. will have trouble fielding teams in the "Money Sports". The top athletes will not want to do anything to jeapordize their contracts. The only way this will change is if the leagues force them to play. That might actually happen if this years basketball team continues to get humbled. The NBA likes to consider themselves the premier basketball league in the world. If they can't beat the world it will make them look bad.

 

Well my main intrest in these olympics is the basketball. Swedish tv almost never shows basketball, especialy not from NBA. So the olympics are the only chanse to see real games with NBA players.
I rote for the US team, but it kinda felt good seeing the NBA players loose to Puerto Rico, and with that much magain.

The main reason I rote against the US is because they (mostly the profesional players) are arrogant

 

Well, you are certainly seeing "real" NBA players. You're just not seeing our best players (only Tim Duncan qualifies as one of our "best") and given the way they are playing, I'm not sure if you're really watching "real" games.

 

There was a very interesting article on MSN yesterday, about American whining. The gist of it was that the attitude of America is not that we ever lose to a better athlete or team, but that we always beat ourselves, or the other guy cheated, or the conditions weren't fair, or...

Maybe that's the press talking, maybe it's coaches' and agents' bravado, maybe it's psych-out trash talk. Whatever, it's lousy and gives opponents a reaon to strive even harder to beat the blowhards.

Is it just me or was there less trash-talk during the cold war, when victory meant something real as opposed just "getting our due"?

 

@Rallymama - there did seem to be less, but I admit I was pretty young back then (as in still a kid), so maybe I just didn't notice it as much. I think it varies by sport too. In basketball, trash-talking seems to have developed into a necessary skill of the game - like dribbling for example.

 

I think it boils down to this - the U.S. is currently the world's only superpower (I'm not talking about sports here). Which essentially makes everyone else an underdog. And everyone loves an underdog.

And I think it is only natural that this carries over to the Olympics - the world wants to see the U.S. knocked down a few pegs, even if it is only in a relatively meaningless event like the Olympics.

 

The US are favourites in almost every single sport and seeing as people tend to like to root for the underdog it is not all that strange that most people root against the US. Pretty much what Splunge said.

As for poor Phelps I think it is the media who has written him up to unattainable heights. He is still a kid and an extremely talented one at that and America should lavish him with praise for what he already accomplished has and probably will accomplish.

The basket team is just pathetic. Allen Iversen just looks like a clown. I have read some other boards and some articles and from what I gleaned from that the NBA is more about showmanship nowadays than about athleticism.

Oh, and during the cold war atleast we here in Sweden rooted equally for the CCCP and the US. Mostly depending on which sport. In basketball we rooted for CCCP and in hockey for the US. Always root for the underdog.

 

Root for New Zealand then! We still have no medals. You can't get more underdog than that. Make the Australians or the Chinese the bad guys. They have truckloads of medals already.

Although when you have guys like Maurice Greene and Michael Phelps going on about how great they are......you can't help but cheer for the people they are up against.

 

If anybody saw the China vs. New Zealand game you would comment on the referee. One incident when a Chinese star two-hand pushed a New Zealand player to the ground in the open. Ref did nothing about it. 27 - 17 fouls against New Zealand too and China were diving all over the place like soccer players if we so much as bumped them.

 

I was absolutely delirious with happiness when USA beat the Soviet Union in ice hockey back in 1980.
Things changed some years after that as I came to accept how brilliant soviet hockey really was and I could enjoy watching them instead of just feeling pain. Even though I still disliked the Soviet Union I was always rooting for their hockey team, except when they met Sweden, because I wanted to see their brilliant technique and speed rewarded.

I still often root for the team or athlete going up against what I consider a "bad guy nation", but outstanding atletic performances - let me just say: "19.32" - pushes all my political aversions aside leaving nothing but pure, untainted bliss over witnessing a beautiful athletic achievement.

 

I usually root for the underdog. I think sports in the USA have gotten too professional and commercial. Our Olympic contenders know that if they get enough medals they are also going to get a nice lucrative advertising contract. I don't know what happens in other countries but I wish we could put the "fun" back in sports.

 

True. If Phelps had won 8 gold medals like he was "supposed" to (but won't now), one of his sponsors would have given him $1,000,000. Apparently, he had that on his mind in one of the races he lost (can't say I blame him, though).

 

Hi Splunge. That is my point. A sponser offers that much money and now the pressure is really on. Of course it hurt to lose that 8th medal. I don't blame the athletes but the sponsers, the press and even the public.

I'll probably be burned at the stack for this comment: I think that we take sports too seriously. Of course it is better to win then to lose. I play Scrabble with a cousin. She usually beats me. I still enjoy the game and when I do win it makes it more fun. I have gotten so that she has to work for win. More fun for her. Both happy.

Sports is (are?) a business now, not a game. Games are for fun. Even high stakes Poker.

 

So true, Nakia. It's actually one of the reasons I don't watch sports nearly as much as I used to. And I blame both the players and the franchise owners - the players for being greedy, the owners for caving into their demands and being greedy.

And so-called "amateur" events like the Olympics are no exception.