Tim Howard Shares The Mentality Of Many Americans On SBR

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  • forsberg21
    SBR MVP
    • 09-23-09
    • 1851

    #1
    Tim Howard Shares The Mentality Of Many Americans On SBR
    "It's just Mexico," the silence about Tim Howard's rant screams. "They don't count." No one does, not when it comes to the United States, American athletes and those sports we play.


    An expletive dropped. An organization called out. A culture and country put on blast. Another American athlete legitimizes the stereotype.

    And yet, silence. No response, no rebuttal. No distancing of self or country from the comments by Tim Howard, a player who felt -- dare we say -- disrespected.

    Mexico beat the U.S. 4-2 to win the 2011 Gold Cup.
    "It's just Mexico," the silence screams. "They don't count." No one does, not when it comes to the United States, American athletes and those sports the world should be grateful we decided to honor with our presence and participation.

    And we wonder why the world sometimes hates us.

    It's been four days since the US. goalie lost it. Four days since Howard defiantly complained about CONCACAF (as the federation responsible for the 2011 Gold Cup) for the decision to allow the on-field postmatch/post-tournament ceremony to be done in the language of the team/country that won as opposed to the language of the land in which the match was played. CONCACAF had the gall to do so while in the presence of a team to whose country the world apparently should always bow.

    "CONCACAF should be ashamed of themselves," he said. "I think it was a [expletive] disgrace that the entire postmatch ceremony was in Spanish. You can bet your ass that if we were in Mexico City, it wouldn't be all in English."

    Typical American.

    At least that's how the world will see it, even though he has since apologized. They'll see another coddled, pampered, pretentious, star-bred American athlete "unhappy" because America wasn't placated; America's feelings were not taken into consideration during an event in which the U.S. team happened to come up short, in a sport the U.S. has failed to dominate.

    There's an old saying in sports that transcends language, culture and country: "If you can't handle an opponent's celebration, don't lose."

    Mexico's fans, many of who bear twin allegiances, celebrated a win in California.
    Say "amen" if any of these words hit a nerve: Smug. Spoiled. Egotist. Crass.

    Say "amen" if any of these words hit home: Insolent. Insincere. Narcissistic.

    The U.S. has a history of making the world feel all of those aforementioned words define who we are. Not just in sports, but in how we live day to day. We breed our own contempt, we give others reason to feel that way about us.

    Howard's comments, although plausibly "justified" to some (which speaks to the silence in response to his rant and some columns defending him), feed into the global belief that too many American athletes can be and are void of humility. That they can be and are contemptuously impertinent. That if something doesn't go "their way" our athletes will be the first and loudest to complain and/or find fault.

    Even if Howard was right, was it necessary to speak? Especially after a loss? Especially after future international superstar Giovani dos Santos had him stretched out on the pitch, arms swinging, looking like a swimmer instead of a world-class goalie trying to stop Mexico from including him in its country's Gold Cup highlight reel?

    Commenting on the language used during the postmatch/post-tournament celebration comes of as something only a jerk would say. Especially when it was not done in your preferred native tongue. It's something only someone from a spoiled, pompous, arrogant, overcompensated land would feel comfortable enough to say when cameras and mics were around. Something the stereotypical American athlete would do.

    Say "amen" if any of this rings true.

    "I've always seen in athletics an anti-American sentiment throughout the world. Most of it through jealousy or envy," former USA softball gold medalist Dot Richardson once said. Envious foes often look "down upon" as opposed to "up to" American athletes for what they have and what they have been given instead of what they've earned. Jealous countries resent that Americans sometimes think the world wants to be like "I," not Mike.

    Tim Howard fell down on the job, then in decorum.
    These views are inflamed when American patriotism goes into overdrive. When "we" stop thinking or caring about how we might sound or come off to others. Others who may not have what we have, others who may be envious or jealous.

    Ask how we'd react if the Nike were on the other foot, the Tiempo Primer SGT on the other hand? If the 2011 Gold Cup were played on Mexican soil and the USA won and Alfredo Talavera, Mexico's goalie, in an interview following the his team's loss, publicly berated the ceremony for being done in English and called it a "disgrace," how would America feel? How would people in the U.S. respond?

    Beyond that, how would that make them look?

    Howard's words (and feelings) at this point are not going to ignite an international incident, but they don't at all help redirect the way our athletes are perceived. He has become the latest example of why the U.S. and American athletes are easy to hate on, but easier to hate.

    Scoop Jackson is a columnist for ESPN.com.

    -----------

    Conclusion:

    There are numerous Americans on SBR, and in general, that share the same arrogant, superior mentality that Tim Howard does. What's the basis for this superiority? The fact that the US is by a landslide the most indebted nation in the world? The fact that obesity and crime rates in the US are out of control? The fact that financial stability of Medicare and Social Security resemble the stability of a house of playing cards? The fact that America's housing market and unemployment figures are embarrassing? Tell me, why is the US so great? I'd like to know.

    The US did lose this match, and the Gold Cup, even the slightest controversial comment you make will label you a whiner, like Howard was here. How old is Howard? Was he not able to bottle up his emotions and suck it up like countless other championship match losers have done in the past? Why even bring up the fact that the ceremony crowning the winner was done in Spanish? Wasn't over 70% of the stadium Spanish speaking? Why does he even care, why does it affect him? Does he not realize that he represents the US and US soccer and that his comments will negatively affect the image of those two institutions? The sad thing is that I'm convinced that there are numerous Americans out there that agree with what Howard did. It's this type of classless, inconsiderate, arrogant and ignorant behaviour that gives Americans these negative stereotypes around the world. They go around puffing their chests out proclaiming they're the best, yet have nothing to back it up with, except blowing a 2-0 lead and eventually losing the game 4-0. They expect the world to hold their point of view, and when the world doesn't, you get tirades like this from Howard. Why does Howard and other Americans share this mentality and how do they justify it?

    Any constructive feedback is welcome.

    Please refrain from using generic one liners such as momma jokes and "moron" in your replies, it will only solidify that you lack the mental ability to come up with an original post.
  • jgray
    SBR MVP
    • 09-06-09
    • 3599

    #2
    Alright, I'll bite. The game was played in an English speaking country. I also read that part of his anger was a product of the presentation of award to the US squad (again in America) was in Spanish. What's that about?

    Listen, some of the pro-america rah rah stuff comes from a perceived slight and lack of gratitude from much of the rest of the world. Is America perfect, hell no. But to hear some talk about this country you'd think they'd just be happy if the USA were wiped off the map. Maybe after they picked up the pieces of what used to be their economy and spent trillions of their own dollars attempting to solve real problems in the world, they might come to appreciate that America isn't ALL bad.
    Comment
    • Emily_Haines
      SBR Posting Legend
      • 04-14-09
      • 15917

      #3
      I agree with your sentiments about America. I was reading the comment section on an MSN story about Pakistan telling the USA that they are tired of the drone attacks and many other things. They recently closed down one of the drone base and the comments from the American posters were mainly......

      how they hate Arabs and how we should nuke them
      how they are incompetent and we should invade and take their nuclear weapons away
      how we should cut off our aid and wipe them out

      It is just unreal how dumbed down our country is and so many people just don't get the fact that if you fly remote control planes into other countries and have no problems killing 200 innocent people to get 1 bad guy that you are going to generate a lot of hatred.
      Comment
      • ACoochy
        SBR Posting Legend
        • 08-19-09
        • 13949

        #4
        Mayan/Warrior in 3....2....1
        Comment
        • FishFace5
          SBR MVP
          • 10-15-09
          • 1768

          #5
          Do you realize your posts are unreadable? Nobody wants to hear you babble for 1000 words.
          Learn how to formulate a few ideas into a legible paragraph so that others can actually respond....
          Howards point was simply that the whole ceremony should not have been in Spanish. Trophy presentations at events like this are often done in multiple languages and he felt like the tournament took place on american soil and English should have been represented. Why is this so reprehensible to you?
          Was it the right time or place for him to say something? of course not, but this is what happens with so much media coverage and microphones everywhere..... frustration is an ugly thing.
          Comment
          • gamble
            SBR MVP
            • 06-30-10
            • 1087

            #6
            before i even clicked this i thought 'he probably read scoop jackson's terrible article'

            howard's comments may have some merit, but obviously right after a loss he comes across as whining about it, which is exactly what he was doing at that point. got nothing to do with american attitude
            Comment
            • FuzzyDunlop
              SBR MVP
              • 01-15-11
              • 2422

              #7
              The only network that purchased rights to air every match of the tournament in it's entirety was the Spanish speaking one, so why wouldn't they have the host from that network do the ceremony like US media does in every sport? From what I understand there is no confirmation of who would have done the postgame if the US had won, it very well could have been the same announcer in Spanish. Wasn't really a gamesmanship issue as much as it was a business decision, the language of money always wins. If Howard wants to complain about this, maybe he should convince some US networks to give the tournament the coverage that it got on Univision and its affiliate channels.


              Also, tell him in English how soft three of those goals were.
              Comment
              • Emily_Haines
                SBR Posting Legend
                • 04-14-09
                • 15917

                #8
                Maybe they were making fun of the shitty play from the USA keeper and were being nice by using a foreign language.
                Comment
                • doublej95
                  SBR Posting Legend
                  • 01-26-10
                  • 14094

                  #9
                  up yours forsberg
                  Comment
                  • TheCentaur
                    SBR Hall of Famer
                    • 06-28-11
                    • 8108

                    #10
                    First, I think to say Americans are arrogant and have some superior attitude is false. Did you read all the threads bashing our choking soccer team by US posters?

                    Second, all this babble is dancing around the real issue. A conscientious decision to hold a ceremony in Spanish on US soil really hits a nerve with American citizens. No American is unaffected anymore, be it indirectly through social services and law enforcement costs, or directly through some drunk illegal hitting your car or a bunch of Mexicans bothering your daughter when she goes to Wal Mart. That's what this is about.
                    Comment
                    • ttwarrior1
                      BARRELED IN @ SBR!
                      • 06-23-09
                      • 28460

                      #11
                      uh usa wasnt supposed to beat mexico and we don't care about soccer.

                      Mexicans in the usa need to leave.

                      Being an immigrant now is not the same as it was in 1910
                      Comment
                      • bballs84
                        SBR Hall of Famer
                        • 11-11-09
                        • 5461

                        #12
                        Wow that is a long post... Don't think I wrote that much on papers for school
                        Comment
                        • FuzzyDunlop
                          SBR MVP
                          • 01-15-11
                          • 2422

                          #13
                          Originally posted by bballs84
                          Wow that is a long post... Don't think I wrote that much on papers for school
                          He pasted an article, then wrote a two paragraph summary...just like I used to in skoool.
                          Comment
                          • bballs84
                            SBR Hall of Famer
                            • 11-11-09
                            • 5461

                            #14
                            Hated those teachers that made you submit it on-line so they could tell whether or not you copied from the Internet
                            Comment
                            • forsberg21
                              SBR MVP
                              • 09-23-09
                              • 1851

                              #15
                              Originally posted by FishFace5
                              Do you realize your posts are unreadable? Nobody wants to hear you babble for 1000 words.
                              Learn how to formulate a few ideas into a legible paragraph so that others can actually respond....
                              Howards point was simply that the whole ceremony should not have been in Spanish. Trophy presentations at events like this are often done in multiple languages and he felt like the tournament took place on american soil and English should have been represented. Why is this so reprehensible to you?
                              Was it the right time or place for him to say something? of course not, but this is what happens with so much media coverage and microphones everywhere..... frustration is an ugly thing.
                              Unreadable? You consider 15 lines unreadable? Did your head start hurting after the 7th line and you just had to give up? If you consider 15 lines of text unreadable, you must have not made it very far in school since school requires a lot more reading than this. Or maybe you were one of those kids who bought Ritalin from the campus dealer to get by.

                              I understand what his "point" was, but it came off as being an ignorant whiner. Now I'm not saying his point did have any validity, but those kinds of thoughts should be kept to oneself, especially if you've lost the championship game with a performance like he put up. If you're going to disrespect someone's culture and language by making comments like that, you're going to take a ton of heat for it, even if your words have merit.

                              The point of the whole article, since you clearly didn't get it, is that Americans disregard other nations' cultures due to their own ignorance and this is what makes foreigners dislike them. Look at the title of the article for Christ's sake, "Tim Howard's rant feeds stereotype".

                              The author uses phrases like "And we wonder why the world sometimes hates us.", "Typical American." and "The U.S. has a history of making the world feel all of those aforementioned words define who we are. Not just in sports, but in how we live day to day. We breed our own contempt, we give others reason to feel that way about us."

                              This article isn't about whether what Howard said was justifiable, it's about the mentality of American ignorance in global sports, and how that then transcends into what the world thinks about Americans in general. Unfortunately, you didn't get this point because your head starting hurting after you hit the second paragraph.

                              Your parents must have lost all hope for you by the age of 8 when they discovered you wouldn't amount to much intellectually. Or maybe you're just the sad victim of a terrible education system. I'm sorry that my posts are unreadable to you too.
                              Comment
                              • King Mayan
                                SBR Posting Legend
                                • 09-22-10
                                • 21326

                                #16
                                Originally posted by ttwarrior1
                                uh usa wasnt supposed to beat mexico and we don't care about soccer.

                                Mexicans in the usa need to leave.

                                Being an immigrant now is not the same as it was in 1910
                                Sorry, mexicans were here first...

                                I think your fat-ass needs to leave...
                                Comment
                                • InTheDrink
                                  SBR Posting Legend
                                  • 11-23-09
                                  • 23983

                                  #17
                                  Scoop Jackson?
                                  Comment
                                  • freeVICK
                                    SBR Hall of Famer
                                    • 01-21-08
                                    • 7114

                                    #18
                                    Who the fukk is Tim Howard?
                                    Comment
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