(Todd A. Smith/Photo Credit: Kevin Bussey for Bussey One Photography)
Growing up, many people loved to profess their patriotism.
They celebrated every Fourth of July.
They bragged about their loved-ones serving the country in the miliary.
Then every four years when the Olympics come up, some brag about rooting against Team USA and certain American Olympians.
That is the opposite of patriotism.
And what that shows is that people care more about their privilege than patriotism, and they only love America when America benefits them, those who look like them and those who vote like them.
Whether it is former soccer star Megan Rapinoe’s politics, the racial makeup of the 2004 men’s Olympic basketball team or the fact that the 2024 women’s basketball team left Caitlin Clark off the team, when an American cheers against America, they should never call themselves patriotic ever again.
While politics and race often divide Americans, some even went so far as cheering against The Avengers (2024 men’s Olympic basketball team) because coach Steve Kerr did not play Jason Tatum enough minutes or the fact that they are San Antonio Spurs fans and Spurs star Victor Wembanyama plays for the French national team.
As a result, their loyalty to the Celtics (David Portnoy of Barstool Sports) or Spurs outweighs their loyalty to their own country.
As a Houston Rockets diehard fan since birth, I wanted Rockets players like Dillon Brooks from Canada and Jock Landale from Australia to do well.
I just did not want them to beat America or get a medal better than what we would eventually receive.
As an African-American, I became enthralled with the men’s basketball team from South Sudan.
The fact that their country is new, and the country has no indoor basketball courts made the team the ultimate Cinderella story.
I would have loved to see an African team receive a medal in basketball and that is also why I wanted the Nigerian women’s team to have some success in the Olympics.
In fact, my family tree has roots in Nigeria according to Ancestry.com.
So, if Nigeria would have won the silver medal in women’s basketball, I would have been on cloud nine, only if America had also received the gold medal.
As an African-American man dealing with the racism, I never considered myself overly patriotic until Sept. 11.
Even though African-Americans built this country for free and died in service for a country that did not love them back, I still saw patriotism as a White thing.
Now, I do not see it that way at all.
Let’s keep it 100, many White Americans epitomize the term patriotic.
But there are some who have hid their racism behind a fake vail of patriotism and their façade is beginning to shatter.
As African-Americans and other minorities begin to gain power and influence, many so-called patriots have begun to denigrate America, balk at patriotism and cozy up to dictators who are America’s sworn enemies.
The same type of people who criticized athletes for kneeling during the National Anthem because it disrespected the American family, used the American flag as a weapon to try to overthrow our democracy on Jan. 6, 2021.
In 2023, Luke Winkie of Slate wrote, “Rooting against your country’s national team—as in, for Americans, against a group of athletes wreathed in the Star Spangled Banner, hoping to consecrate their homeland with glory—should be a historically flagrant faux pas. I can honestly think of no greater sin in sports fandom; it’s some real traitorous behavior, high key Benedict Arnold sh*t. And yet, when the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team bombed out of the World Cup after a long, bitter, frustrating 0-0 draw against Sweden—capped off with a trio of botched penalty kicks—I was not surprised to see some of the most annoying people in the country dancing on their tournament grave.”
While referencing Rapinoe during the World Cup, former President Donald Trump posted, “WOKE EQUALS FAILURE. Nice shot Megan, the USA is going to HELL.”
Well, if the United States is indeed going to Hell it is because devilish wannabe dictators want to see it go to Hell just because things do not go their way or the fact that everyone does not share their opinions on political issues.
It is because people would rather burn the country down than to share power with their brothers and sisters from different demographic groups.
If the country goes to Hell it is because many in this country do not love their neighbors as they love themselves.
It is because they only love themselves, not the country as a whole.
Even so-called pastors are contributing to the division that is creating a Hell-like atmosphere in this beloved country.
Franklin Graham said, “When they lost, I wasn’t sad. I wish I didn’t feel that way, but when players think it is more about them than the nation they represent, I can’t support that.”
Longtime soccer commentator Alexi Lalas tweeted, “Don’t kill the messenger. The USWNT is polarizing. Politics, causes, stances, and behavior have made this team unlikable to a portion of America. This team has built its brand and has derived its power from being the best/winning. If that goes away they risk being irrelevant.”
However, the 2024 Paris Olympics was not overtly political or political at all and Americans still cheered against America for the pettiest reasons proving it was never about simple political divisions.
It was about privilege.
And when some see their privilege disappear, their façade of patriotism disappears simultaneously.
