Soccer

As many of my tormented friends know, I've become a rather dedicated soccer enthusiast in the last year or so. I'm now at the point where I'm setting my Tivo to record games in just about every European country save Italy (those guys are absolutely shameless). I've tirelessly tried to convert my disinterested friends into dedicated followers all in vain. I find myself having to explain how the lack of scoring is unimportant when you learn to appreciate the skill and creativity displayed in seemingly simple plays. Or, I try to appeal to the little general manager in each of them, and explain the complexity of a league where teams are playing for their very membership in that league each season. Sadly, my efforts share the fate of John Kerry's, a campaign based on nuianced arguments our downfall.

But, I saw something interesting on television this evening. It was a Gatorade commercial pushing U.S. Soccer. On the surface, it wasn't anything special, a collection of highlights from different qualifying match games. What was interesting was the strategic appeal. In each of the matches presented, the director makes the viewer keenly aware of the anti-American sentiment of the home crowds across the globe. As in the cold war, it's us versus them, and regardless of the platform, we're galvanized as Americans in support. We're the free, the reightous, occupiers of the high-ground in a world full of savages. Shit, this campaign might just work. Nationalism works. Here's the commercial, courtesy of YouTube:

"Is It In You?"