It was a weird position in which to find myself – actively rooting against the United States Olympic team. Not the whole team, though I’ve been rather open about my indifference on that subject, but the women’s soccer team. Or should I say, the wymxn’s soccer team? Who knows, and who cares? They lost and it’s glorious.
There are some members of the team you feel sorry for, the few who don’t kneel during the national anthem, but not many. The rest of them? Meh.
Led by Megan Rapinoe, the Americans lost to Canada in the semi-finals, ending their chances at a gold medal. Excellent. I love the country, I don’t support those to take it for granted or those who would protest against it while in the midst of representing it. If it’s so awful, don’t play for it.
When I woke up Monday morning and heard the news I felt the mixed feelings you might expect: happy they were out of gold contention and sad it had come to this. What the left has done to the country is disgusting, and there’s no easy road back. You can’t convince people you’ve been insisting are victims, who’ve based their identity on the victimhood, that they are, in fact, the perps.
The American people don’t like the women’s soccer team very much because the women’s soccer team doesn’t like America. There isn’t much they don’t protest or complain about. They play a game that generates very little revenue, yet demand to be paid as much as the men’s team, which actually does generate more revenue. As a percentage of the money they generate, they’re paid more than the men, so they’re technically overpaid.
Moreover, rather than work harder to earn more money by attracting larger crowds, the leaders of the team and most of the players decided lecturing the American public about how awful the country, and by extension they are. Name the left-wing cause and you’d find the team getting behind it. Think of a left-wing anti-American smear and it was embraced and parroted. Why should the American public care about these people?
The giant crater where the NBA’s ratings landed should’ve been an indicator. The team didn’t care, so we returned the favor.
This whole Olympics has been a disaster. Japan’s COVID restrictions left stadiums empty and families at home. Half the enjoyment of the games is the reaction of athletes and their families when they win, having that via a blotchy Zoom call with delated audio rips the magic out of the moment.
Add to that the meltdown of Simone Biles and the fights over that, and you have the recipe for ruined games.
In the case of Biles, her mental block or whatever it is, sucked all the oxygen out of Tokyo. Half the country thought she was weak, the other half thought she was a hero. Personally, I believe if she couldn’t get her focus back to compete safely, she shouldn’t have competed. But that inability to overcome that mental block removes her from the G.O.A.T. discussion. The greatest in any sport has to perform when their team needs them, and come through. By bailing, Biles took the focus off her team and acted selfishly. She’ll always been one of the best because she’s amazingly talented, but not the greatest of all time. Not anymore.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying she was selfish for pulling out, I’m saying she was selfish for sticking around. Can you name the American who won the women’s all-around gold? Maybe. But in a couple of weeks you won’t remember Suni Lee’s name. Not because she didn’t win, but because every story about her win is framed through the lens of “Simone Biles didn’t compete,” implying she only won because the best wasn’t out there. Lots of shot of Simone in the stands, lots of talk about her, etc. I don’t know that she would’ve gotten that much attention if she had competed and lost, or won. By sticking around, she robbed her team of the whole spotlight, and probably a bunch of endorsement deals, at least for Lee. It was selfish.
But not as selfish as the women’s soccer team has been for years. They lead lives of privilege while playing a game, making more money than the interest in what they do deserves, and they bite the hand that feeds them while flipping us all the bird. Do I feel guilty watching people like that lose, even to Canada? Nope, not even a little. You want to take the knee? Go grab a seat, we’re not interested.
Derek Hunter is the host of a free daily podcast (subscribe!), host of a daily radio show on WCBM in Maryland, and author of the book, Outrage, INC., which exposes how liberals use fear and hatred to manipulate the masses. Follow him on Twitter at @DerekAHunter.