First, a confession: I’m not a big soccer fan. I don’t appreciate the game’s intricacies enough to leave a 1-0 game, thinking, “Wow, what a game!” Moreover, I’m baffled by the practice of having games go beyond the regulation time to account for injuries or penalties. Why not just stop the clock at the appropriate time during the game like they do in other sports?
I am aware, however, that soccer (or “football”) is the world’s most popular spectator sport. Billions of people live and breathe the game. Moreover, participation in high school soccer by both boys and girls in the United States is on the upswing.
That said, I became a big fan of the U.S. Women’s World Cup soccer team, highlighted by the heroics of superstar Megan Rapinoe. Watching the final game against the Netherlands with my two granddaughters helped me understand first-hand the impact that Rapinoe and her fellow players have on young women. They’re sending several important underlying messages: They are great athletes, and they are not afraid to show it and say it. And they should be treated and paid just as well as men.
I also loved Rapinoe’s willingness to call out hate and divisiveness from President Donald Trump.
During a recent television interview, Rapinoe spoke directly to the president: “I think that we need to have a reckoning with the message that you have and what you’re saying with ‘Make America Great Again.’ I think that you’re harking back to an era that was not great for everyone. It might have been great for a few people, but it’s not great for enough Americans … You have an incredible responsibility as, you know, the chief of this country to take care of every single person.”
Later at the celebration parade in New York City, Rapinoe said to the huge crowd, “We need to love more and hate less; we’ve got to listen more and talk less. This is everybody’s responsibility … to make this world a better place.” Rapinoe was being authentically herself; she didn’t need a teleprompter.
Some Americans, to be sure, complained about Rapinoe’s unwillingness to participate in the national anthem, just as Trump bashed NFL player Colin Kaepernick when he knelt during the anthem. And these same people, no doubt, took issue with Rapinoe’s practice of posing with her arms spread wide apart after scoring goals.
Those same Americans, interestingly, seemed to have no problems with Joe Namath’s “I guarantee you” bravado or Tiger Woods’ vigorous fist pumps after sinking a long putt. And a large swath of Americans loved it when quarterback Tim Tebow knelt in prayer in the end zone, a practice that became known as “Tebowing.”
This issue, let’s be honest, seems to really be about trying to knock down strong women, especially those who look different or live a different lifestyle. Some still refer to Jane Fonda as “Hanoi Jane” because of her visit to North Vietnam in 1972. Oddly enough, Trump supporters seem to have no problem when he is friendly with dictators like Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un and the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.
All of which brings me back to two central questions: Is the refusal by many Americans to celebrate Rapinoe and her teammates motivated by sexism and homophobia? And who is a more patriotic American, Megan Rapinoe or Donald Trump?
David Treadwell is a Brunswick writer.