Lessons Should Americans Take Away from the UK? How to Cope With National Sporting Despair

I have some sympathy for Americans. They don’t go through sufficient national sporting despair. OK, they had a refreshing dose of sorrow last Sunday night falling short in the team golf championship, yet that proved an uncommon occurrence for them. It’s rare because they hold such supremacy in all the team sports that truly matter to them, particularly since their most popular team games – without a doubt NFL and the national pastime – do not see participation by other countries. Or perhaps not in such a way that an overseas team is set to nearly beating them in any notable “world cup” competition. Hoops, admittedly, is globally practiced across the globe but fundamentally a similar situation exists – the US men have been gold medalists on 17 occasions from twenty tournaments; for the women it has been nine victories in twelve tries. Ice hockey is a bit unique. Here, Americans have faced stiff competition, and in Canada possess a real local rival. This could be an explanation Trump suggests about annexing them.

So, why feel sorry for them? Firstly, how reduced is the thrill of victory if you succeed continuously? As a mate with whom I go to the football frequently states following a crushing loss: lacking sorrow there can be no happiness.

Defeat requires experience, which is why I somewhat understand the pretty despicable behaviour of certain US supporters over the weekend

Defeat requires experience, which is why I nearly excuse the quite appalling actions of certain US spectators on the course over the weekend. They lack the experience. Thus, they turn to rudeness. Even more troubling, although the US squad had performed brilliantly and came close to securing a stunning turnaround, fans were exiting en masse, marching away amid a group pout. There was a noticeable lack of any staying behind to acknowledge the victorious team and, crucially, honor their fellow Americans that , finally, did themselves great credit by nearly defeating Europe. Walking away in the direction of transit, it was like they were all channelling a sports legend: “Identify a sportsmanlike loser,” the NFL coach once remarked, “and you have found someone who loses.” OK, understood. But he was talking about the athletes instead of the spectators.

US citizens don’t get the chance to unite for their country's squad in the way the rest of us do. It’s such a valuable thing for the people of a nation to experience jointly, moments to experience togetherness and inclusion being rather rare. And in the really big moments failure is equally meaningful compared to victory, in the sense of all being in it together. The day following an English team's unsuccessful final I passed a woman and her son traveling to class. They happened to be from Indian descent. The boy sported an England shirt. I expressed sympathy toward the boy, and his mother’s look made clear it had been a challenging time for everyone at home. I felt the same. We’d all been through it together. We and millions of others. Alright, it wasn't the be-all and end-all for the entire population, yet it mattered. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Irish followers have experienced similar events as well, when people were united toward a common goal and sharing the same feelings. For Croatians – another place that matters to me – it’s been said from what I've heard that there is constant disagreement among themselves continuously regarding every topic, until such time as the soccer squad appears for a match during a major tournament.

I've seen England's losses in two European Championship finals, and Croatia's loss in the ultimate match of a global tournament. In every instance I returned home very disappointed, but I have never felt more connected with national citizens. Frankly, US sports enthusiasts fail to realize what they’re missing.