Who really cares anymore? As a country we don't have anything to prove. We are better than everyone else and we don't need sports to show it. It's not like when we had to beat the Soviets to prove we were the better country. So what if Australians are better swimmers or Brazilians are better soccer players. While they get national worth from those things we'll get it with our bad ass military, advanced economy, and our hot wives with fake boobs.
Because you may not care, but a lot of people do. Especially outside the U.S. Living in Europe, you realize how seriously people take beating us. That doesn't mean I am advocating throwing even more money at sending our teams to play against intl competition. But I do think it's an important tradition to keep going. Plus, I think it is always great to have international teams competing, especially when there are so many bickering politically...
I see your point, but I think the people overseas get such a kick out of international sports because their countries aren't the best at anything that matters. They have standards of living that are lower than ours, they earn less, and in many cases their women are less attractive. They see international sports as a way to stick it to the Americans. We, on the other hand, have it all. We are too fat and rich and busy getting richer to care. We don't need to get our national worth from FIBA basketball. Countries like Greecee and Argentina do.
Yeah, just look at this roster. Chock full of furriners: http://www.ussoccer.com/common/stContent.jsp_16-MNT2006.html BTW, does anyone know what country the name "Landon Donovan" could possibly come from? We got nailed in the World Cup for the same reasons we got nailed in LSU/Auburn: home cookin'. In pro basketball, we depend on poor refereeing, sabotaging the coaches and athleticism rather than team work. I'm glad to see our pro guys lose, they need the wake-up call (which they continue to sleep through).
Military, check, with you there. Advanced economy? We're still snorting petroleum lines sold from arab cartels, exporting a lot of our jobs and manufacturing base, have a trade deficit that's abysmal, and are looking to get some more of our corporations getting bought. Hot wives with fake boobs? Dude, enjoy the silicone. Plus, our women here are taking cues from the magazines and are enjoying the emaciated look.
