I don't think there are any loyalty issues when someone cheers for a team beacuse they happen to like their play style or a certain player. Not rooting for your home country first does not show a sense of disloyalty. Do all of us actually have the college based in our hometown as our favorite? I personally will cheer for my country, but they're not the only team I cheer for. I will also cheer against certain teams and will cheer for their opponents.

North Korea

LOL, Oh, Kim Jong Il...you complete me??

i am for germany, then the netherlands (how can you not be for the netherlands... even if you don't like the social atmosphere of that country, its just so damn little), and i guess i would root for the united states but i really couldn't give a damn if the united states is good at football, at least as long as they (we) refuse to call it by the correct name.

This post could not be converted. To view the original post's thread, click here.

I am from the Netherlands, Oranje for life.

Not rooting for your country and not rooting for a team in your state is laughably different.

And I understand that the US has tons of cultures. However how can you not root for your home country first. Show some pride in the guys out there representing us. Again if you like a team for play style or your heritage its fine, but you should at least be rooting for the US somewhat. Some people dont even care about them.

Go Canada!

I have no life and will watch EVERY game. Last World Cup I saw every game but the final between France and Italy (stupid, dumb family vacation). ARGH! I got hooked watching the World Cup 8 years ago.

I'll be rooting for the US, then Mexico, then the hosts South Africa.

Quote: Originally posted by tmacfan12 on 6/10/2010Not rooting for your country and not rooting for a team in your state is laughably different.

And I understand that the US has tons of cultures. However how can you not root for your home country first. Show some pride in the guys out there representing us. Again if you like a team for play style or your heritage its fine, but you should at least be rooting for the US somewhat. Some people dont even care about them.

why? what if you are a human first, and an american second. then there is no argment for rooting for the USA over the other countries. it always kills me when in the news its like, OMG a plane crashed and FOUR americans died. and oh yeah, 300 other people died too. but who gives a crap about them. FOUR americans died.

also tmac, if you are saying you should be loyal to your region, then you should be much more attached to your local teams than the national ones. so either way you slice it - species first, or local first, i can't see how not rooting for your country is a big deal. i mean its not like people are like, i hope north korea drops a nuke on our ***. we are just rooting for another country to win a game. it would help if our country showed some respect for the sport, but by and large i don't feel that is the case.

Basically, it sounds like billyg is advocating killing Americans in plane crashes and is practically begging for North Korea to drop the bomb on us.

In all seriousness though, as heartwarming as your "citizens of the world, human first" argument is, I don't get rooting for another country's team over your own country's team (unless you're from the other country or have significant roots there). It's your right and I certainly wouldn't think any less of you, but I don't really get it.

Then again, I'm a jingoistic, red-meat consuming McCarthyite.

Don't nearly all Americans have significant roots in other countries?

i wonder if native americans root for the US team

Quote: Originally posted by emy1013 on 6/11/2010Don't nearly all Americans have significant roots in other countries?

If so, I'm an exception.

I'm descended from a British general who fought in the Revolutionary War on one grandparent's side and various Swedish/English/Pennsylvania Dutch people on the other three's, but all eight of my great-grandparents were born in the USA.

Never lived outside of the US, though I've traveled a bit. My rooting interests are with Russia (damn) and France (ut oh,) because I speak those languages and like those cultures.

But significant roots? Not really.