OP: Drawing parallels between World Cup flubs and #SaveTheCrew
Tradition Shouldn’t Be a Game That Can Be Lost
Among many things, the World Cup is a celebration of soccer’s diverse global traditions.
Despite the USMNT not qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, there are dedicated soccer fans across the United States who are actively and positively contributing to America’s soccer culture.
Although, support for its under-construction national team is being drowned out by a (past?) USMNT favorite.
Landon Donovan appeared in a Wells Fargo World Cup advertisement that showcased his complete misunderstanding of the basic mechanics of fandom as it relates to this country’s most-heated soccer rival by asking Americans to cheer for…Mexico?
#SellOut
The tournament is here! USA fans, our team may not be in Russia, but our neighbors to the south are. So join me and their proud #sponsor @WellsFargo to cheer on our other team, Mexico @miseleccionmxEN. ¡Vamos México! pic.twitter.com/YIifLGCT0D
— Landon Donovan (@landondonovan) June 16, 2018
The issue for American soccer fans regarding the rivalry with Mexico is athletic-centric—Columbus’ Dos-a-Cero—yet Mr. Donovan made his advocacy a misguided cultural and political statement.
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Do you think Archie Griffin would ever wear a maize & blue jersey and then ask Ohio State fans to proudly cheer for That Team Up North?
Hell no!
I dare you to ask that question to Nick or Joey Bosa. Good luck.
Let’s not forget that the remarkably unremarkable former Crew player Tyson Wahl recently stabbed his former club and city in the back by appearing in a video supporting MLS2ATX.
In this same despicable attitude, Crew SC owner Anthony Precourt and MLS Commissioner Don Garber appear to be allowing the league’s original crown jewel—America’s first soccer-specific stadium—to fall into disrepair. Social media posts by Crew fans via Twitter confirm this dispiriting MAPFRE Stadium reality.
Lamar Hunt is crying in heaven.
@thesoccerdon You should be embarrassed allowing a facility in MLS to become so rundown. These are photos from the women’s restroom at Mapfre Stadium. Shame on you and #SaveTheCrew. pic.twitter.com/bOyb1dCYTM
— Denise (@crewfan) June 14, 2018
Hey @APrecourt the state of the @ColumbusCrewSC @MAPFREStadium bathrooms reflects your ambition. Disgusting and half-assed. #SaveTheCrew pic.twitter.com/l3dyOc0kSN
— Darby Schnarfus (@tokenliberal) June 14, 2018
While @APrecourt spends $2million trying to move to Austin, he can’t even keep gutters clean in @MAPFREStadium This one is still dripping from above TWO HOURS after a storm. #HonorOurHome
Extra points for leaving the trash can out too. pic.twitter.com/T3TC0OP3Rq
— Adam Smith (@asmith2729) June 14, 2018
As mentioned in last week’s opinion piece, U.S. Soccer did not include Columbus as a site for the 2026 World Cup. Disgraceful. And Don Garber’s MLS is complicit in trying to remove the Crew from Columbus.
An interesting World Cup note regarding a country’s history and tradition is that Brazilian players haven’t shied away from its humiliating 7-1 semifinal loss to Germany in the 2014 World Cup in its own country.
It was a black eye for the world’s most storied soccer nation.
Regardless, Brazilians know it’s part of their team’s history, and they’re using it as motivation to move forward to reestablish its proud soccer tradition as one of the stylistic leaders of the beautiful game.
And like Brazil, American fans won’t forget nor yield to the humiliating scheme to relocate the Crew along with the disreputable attempt to erase the historical significance of Ohio’s capital city—stadium, Dos-a-Cero and USMNT players—like Marty McFly’s family polaroid in ‘Back to the Future.’
America’s soccer identity doesn’t exist without the tradition built in Columbus.
#SaveTheCrew
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