"I feel a bit sorry for Americans. They don't go through enough national sporting despair. OK, they had an invigorating shot of misery last Sunday night losing the Ryder Cup, but that was a rare thing for them. It's rare because they're so dominant in all the team sports they really care about, not least because their biggest team sports certainly NFL and baseball aren't played by anyone else."
"They don't know how to do it. So they just resort to nastiness. And worse, even after their team had performed brilliantly and nearly pulled off an incredible comeback, they were leaving in droves, storming out in a massive collective sulk. There didn't seem to be any sticking around to applaud the worthy winners and, more importantly, salute their countrymen who, in the end, did themselves great credit in running Europe so close."
Americans rarely encounter national sporting despair because they dominate the major team sports they value, including NFL, baseball and basketball. The limited global reach of NFL and baseball means other nations rarely challenge U.S. dominance in world competitions. U.S. basketball teams have repeatedly won Olympic gold, and ice hockey offers a closer rivalry with Canada. Constant success can diminish the intensity of victory. Inexperience at losing can produce poor behavior when defeat arrives, including nastiness and mass departures. After a near-comeback, many fans left early rather than applaud the victors or honor their countrymen who performed admirably.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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