Some people say that, after the fiasco of the last World Cup (and I swear I’ve heard this from a lot of people), I have the perfect excuse to start rooting for another team. In fact, every time I meet someone from a Latin American country, the result of the Germany-Brazil game in 2014 is inevitably mentioned in the first few minutes of conversation. Ever since I can remember, Brazil’s World Cup games have always been tense, painful, even dramatic. In the end, there’s a sense of relief and, regardless of the result, you feel like: thank God that torment is over. During the 2002 World Cup, I heard that a friend of a friend’s father had died of a massive heart attack during a Brazil game in the final. The atmosphere is tense and we take everything very seriously – the World Cup is important to us Brazilians.
In 2014, my children were already older and I tried to convey to them my enthusiasm for the World Cup: “It’s really cool, a lot of countries are participating, there are 48 teams in total, the World Cup was taking place in Brazil, you’re Brazilian too, Brazil has won several World Cups, etc.”
They loved the idea! I dug some Brazilian T-shirts out of the attic, one of which was even official, that had belonged to the children of Brazilian friends who had already grown up… The children were excited. When we went to watch the first game, both of them wearing Brazilian T-shirts, at our neighbors’ house, having a great time: popcorn, fresh peaches, dog on their feet, my dear neighbour asked them: “So… Soph and Ben, who are you going to root for: Brazil or the US?”
As a mother, I should have known the answer to this question… Personally, I expected them both to have the same duality that I have (since I end up rooting for both teams). But they both answered enthusiastically: “the US, of course!” It was quite a sight to see those two in Brazilian jerseys joining the chorus of children shouting “US! US! US!”.
Of course, I can’t ask too much of them. Americans are raised to be patriotic (although I think that as a Brazilian I was also raised to be quite patriotic, singing the national anthem and raising the flag before school – I have friends who insist that raising the flag in the hot sun for 14 minutes – the time it took in my time for the national anthem to play – made them less patriotic, but that’s a topic for another day). In several states, American children recite their version of the National Anthem – the Pledge of Allegiance every day before school starts (this is done standing, with the right hand over the heart and a solemn expression).
At the Olympics, the United States is strong in several sports, giving the public plenty of reason to celebrate and cheer. After all, what else are sports if not a great metaphor that feeds our societal myths? The Olympic Games, for example, can be understood as a demonstration of our need for a fair world (where effort is rewarded with success), organized, united and free from prejudice.
When an athlete wins, he receives a medal and the anthem of his country is played. The anthem and the flag are part of the award that the athlete receives, a recognition of his origin, an additional reason for pride for his country.
Russian athletes at the last Winter Olympics did not have the pleasure of hearing their national anthem or having their flag displayed (after all, Russia competed as part of the Olympic Committee Team due to the doping scandal), leaving many outraged by the situation. Patriotism and sports go hand in hand, like hand in hand, and there is no family culture that can change that – I am the one who needs to adapt here!
*Check out the news about Russian athletes at the Winter Olympics here:
Olympic Committee bans athletes from marching under Russian flag