Allen Yeh explains how soccer explains the world. Here’s an outline of his points:
- England is the birthplace of sport.
- Football is nationalism.
- The one exception to the previous point is the United Kingdom.
- Home is where the (trophy) is.
- Football is not just once every four years.
- Sport can be the greatest unifier.
- Sport can be the greatest divider.
- The ugly duckling in European football is Spain.
- The World Cup really lives up to its name.
- Sport requires insider knowledge of history.
- Sport elicits the highest allegiance in many countries.
- Sport is religion in many countries.
- Sport is politics in many countries.
- Sport exposes American individualism.
- Sport is humorous.
- Sport is deadly serious.
Read the whole thing for the explanation of each point.
Earlier this week Joe Carter reprinted a humorous exchange between the US Embassy and the British Embassy, offering a wager on the US vs England in the World Cup.
