Tuesday, August 24, 2004

ESPN dabbles in Politics, Again 

Jim Caple over at ESPN.com attempts to work his political views into sports stories (also check out The Vatican of Liberalism on this issue too). This time Caple goes at it again with his story "No one's cheering for Team USA":
Much to the anger of the athletes involved, President Bush is using the Iraqi Olympic team's success in his re-election campaign, essentially saying if it hadn't been for him, the country and its soccer team wouldn't be here.
And in a related development, that "independent" group of Vietnam swiftboat veterans has released another attack ad on John Kerry, saying that if it hadn't been for him, the U.S. men's basketball team wouldn't be here, either.
Funny, isn't it, how things turn out? The surprising Iraqi soccer team is the official "Coming Soon To A Multi-Plex Near You" story of these Olympics, the team everyone is cheering. And then there's the U.S. men's basketball team. Far from the days of the first Dream Team in 1992, when even opponents begged for autographs, there might have been more fans rooting against the United States in Saturday's Lithuania game than actually live in Lithuania.
"We don't expect the crowd to be on our side the whole tournament," U.S. guard Allen Iverson said after Sunday's practice. "We expect everything to be against us. And that is how it's been so far. It's been tough on us, but having the USA across our chest, everybody wants us to lose."
First off, the Iraqi Soccer Team might of been there, but now if they lose they won't be beaten and tortured for it. Its like a great burden lifted off your shoulders, in fact that kind of relief may even help you play better. Then of course a comment about the Swifties, and using the quotation marks to imply they aren't independent. For the idiots that means Bush is making them do it. Of course he botches it by saying his made up Swifites Ad credits Kerry with getting the US Basketball Team into the Olympics. Trying to be funny ends up sounding stupid.
Yes Jim it is funny how things turn out, funny about the liberation from a brutal tyrant and its funny how people actually cheer for a nation that has suffered for so long and is now free, but not because of Bush. As far as the US getting booed, is this something new? Especially in a country that has not been historically friendly to the US at all. As for the troubles of the US Basketball Team, there are so many issues there its not worth getting into.
You know how some American fans mourn the good old Olympic days when we could root against the Soviet Bloc teams and look down on their athletes as chemically enhanced, government-controlled ogres? Well, guess what. With the BALCO scandal, the untold millions of dollars invested in the team and our athletes' lucrative salaries and endorsement packages, that's exactly how we must look now to a lot of smaller, poorer countries. Which is to say, everyone.
It's only natural. Everyone loves an underdog and everyone hates the overwhelming favorite (except for Yankees fans).
Ironically there were many who rooted for the Bloc countries, in fact there were many here that wanted the ultimate victory for communism, some still do. Of course now we have become the "evil empire" to Caple where we are the big rich bad man who takes advantage of every other poor country. Way to look down on the progress being made in many countries that have embraced free markets and turned away from the socialist/communist ideal.
While the U.S. basketball team has $678 million in combined contracts (which doesn't count their endorsement deals) and is staying on the Queen Mary, the Iraqis overcame almost unimaginable challenges to reach here. When Uday Hussein was in charge of the country's Olympic program, the players faced routine torture for poor play. The continued fighting in Iraq forced the team to train and play its "home" games in other countries. Even now, one of Uday's former right-hand men heads up the national soccer program. And when the Olympics end, they will return to a war-ravaged country.
Once again the free market is bad, competition is bad. No one should make money. Of course the Iraqi players have suffered more, they lived under Saddam it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. Caple points out Iraq isn't perfect yet and we know that. No one expected it to be a walk in the park but things are getting better. But hey Jim whose policies ended Uday's reign of terror over Iraqi Athletes? Who is still there fighting to secure a peaceful and prosperous Iraq?
The Iraqis' success -- they went 3-1 in qualifying games and are one win from a medal -- has been so surprising that a Bush campaign spot shows flags from Iraq and Iran while a voice says, "At this Olympics there will be two more free nations and two fewer terrorist regimes." But the Iraqi players told Sports Illustrated they are angry Bush is using them this way because they don't agree with his policies, conveniently ignoring that such policies are why Uday isn't torturing them anymore.
Hey dipshit! Its Iraq and AFGHANISTAN not Iran (but one day Iran could be a free nation too), try keeping up on the events of the past 4 years and maybe look at a map at some point in time. It also appears Jim has something in common with the soccer player, they don't agree with Bush's policies. Inserting some shock he actually points out that Bush's policies are the reason why they aren't being tortured by Uday. Is this the enlightenment of Caple we are seeing?
Midfielder Ahmed Manajid told SI's Grant Wahl that if he weren't playing soccer, he'd be back in his home of Fallujah fighting the coalition. "I want to defend my home. If a stranger invades America and the people resist, does that mean they are terrorists?" he said. "Everyone [in Fallujah] has been labeled a terrorist. These are all lies. Fallujah people are some of the best people in Iraq."
Hmmm. That's a quote that probably won't make it into any campaign ads or into any Hollywood scripts.
It's interesting how we choose whether to root for a team or not. A dozen years ago in Barcelona, few people rooted for Iraq and many rooted against it. A dozen years ago almost everyone rooted for the U.S. basketball team and few rooted against it. Now it's just the opposite.As Bush's father said, it's a new world order and the allegiances that last longest are the ones that matter the most. Like whether a team's jersey has Yankees or Red Sox written across its chest.
Looks like I spoke too soon. Lets see have to work in the America is the terrorist quote, because we all know that it was George Bush flying that first plane. Terrorists victimize innocent people, because they are easy targets and it instills terror. Its what happened on September 11, its what they insurgents are doing Iraq. Killing innocent people to get what they want, because they are nothing more than cold blooded murders, does Caple realize this. The other issue is the ingratitude for all those who have given their lives to make them free from Saddam. It would make a Hollywood script because it has the values the Hollywood Lefties love: Anti-America, Anti-Bush, & Anti-Military (in fact I was watching A Few Good Men last night and just realized how anti-military that movie really is). Caple should take some history, there has always been anti-American feelings in the world, because the world likes victims. America stopped being a victim and uses its power to fight for a greater good in the world, that's what they hate. Grow up Caple, fire your fact-checker, and stick to sports.
# posted by the Pirate @ 7:38 AM | |
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