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soccer

I Believe That We Will Tie: The US, Soccer, and Rooting Interests

Every four years, the US media has a conversation about whether the US is ready to embrace soccer. One of the talking points is the supposed obstacle to mass popularity presented by the frequency of tie games. It is generally assumed that US sports fans despise draws, even think they are “un-American.” In fact, everyone—from Ann Coulter to the guy who has just finished telling you that Americans are too unsophisticated and egotistical to like a truly international game like soccer—seems to agree that US sports fans regard winning as definitively “American,”[1] and all assume, correspondingly, that the US will Read more