identity crisis - part 1

It's funny how Koreans will rally around soccer. Even the twinkiest of Twinkies will don the red shirts, whip out the thunderstix, and do the cheer. And for those of us who are superfobs (or I suppose imposter superfobs such as myself) - it's a month of exhiliration in rallying around an intense spirit that's just contagious.

That's what I think is missing from American culture - pride in our country. I'd venture to say that out of all the people in the US watching the World Cup - the majority are rooting for another country. And if you're Hispanic, forget it - you've either got your own country or you're defaulting to Brazil. I don't know the name of a single player on the American team. And I couldn't tell you which bracket they're in or what their chances are of advancing. I only know of Beckham because of the movie "Bend it like Beckham". (He's British, not American)

I think it's a byproduct of the "melting pot" and attempting to hold onto our heritage. Where do you stop being [insert your ethnicity here] and start being "American"? Whenever a Korean refers to Korea, they call it 우리 나라 - "our country". I noticed that the last time I was there - my 7 year old cousin was curious as to the differences between Korea and America. I would say "in America we do it this way" and she would say "in our country, we do it that way". What do most Americans refer to the country as? "The U.S.". Which inherently stands for United STATES. I think that we tend to have more pride for the state that we come from (talk to any Californian about that one) than for the country as a whole.

Perhaps it's a function of sheer size, perhaps it's the fact that our identity is in being all identities - which isn't a bad thing. And of course soccer gets the shaft here because of the far more publicized and commercialized sports like basketball. But I just thought it was interesting as I stood in the crazy crowd in K-town for the first game, and in a crowded apt of friends the second. That something like soccer would bring out hidden roots into our heritage, loyalty and pride to a country that most of us have never lived in.

Then again, I'm that kid whose parents got her to embrace Korean culture by buying me kpop CD's and watching miniseries and gameshows. =)