If you feel like you might not dislike the left enough, keep reading.
On July 1, the same day that U.S. soccer star Folarin Balogun was hit with a red card in the U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT) 2-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina, former MSNBC host Joy Reid welcomed Dave Zirin, sports editor for The Nation, onto her podcast.
During the interview, Zirin made it clear that he was not rooting for America and wanted to see the U.S. “knocked down a peg,” at least in part, for fear of its victories being “exploited” by President Trump.
“I find myself really wishing the United States was actually playing a team from the Global South so I could truly root with even more fervor to see them get knocked down a peg, because we know how it’s going to be exploited if they go forward in the Cup,” Zirin said. “Let’s just be real about that.”
After Reid greeted his take with approving laughter, Zirin continued.
“The World Cup is politics by other means. It is informed politically, and it is created politically, for the simple reason that we do have this world of unequal nations, and we do have this sport that the entire world watches,” he said. “And when you imbue that incredible global viewership with the politics of colonialism and empire, it’s impossible to extricate the two, and what makes it so painful.”
Yikes.
Reid chimed in, saying she was rooting for the African teams in the tournament.
“I’m being very open about it. I’m rooting for the African teams. I want one of them to win. I think it would be so great for the Global South for an African team to take home the big prize,” Reid said. “And I am sorry, not sorry, but I really want that to happen. I think it would be great for our collective souls if that happened.”
Since those comments, all but two African teams, Egypt and Morocco, have been eliminated from World Cup competition.
If Zirin was concerned about Trump exploiting the USMNT’s successes on July 1, he must be in hysterics here on July 6, after Trump’s successful intervention with FIFA, which aided in Balogun’s red card being suspended, making him eligible for the Americans’ Round of 16 game against Belgium.
I guess we know who Dave is rooting for tonight, “Global South” or not.