Comments on: On Happiness

By: Church Of Soccer » 2010: Moments That Changed The Beautiful Game (Part I)

Church Of Soccer » 2010: Moments That Changed The Beautiful Game (Part I) — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 16:04:51 +0000

[...] Brian Phillips summed it up nicely: Five minutes after it happened, Twitter was still in flames, cars were honking, bars were shaking like there’d been an earthquake, ESPN was breaking down in tears. [...]

By: MaidenCar

MaidenCar — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 13:27:09 +0000

I completely terrified my coworker who came in to consult on a project with me. I was half-reading her paper, half-eyeing the computer screen where the game was streaming. She talked, I split my vision, and then, bursting out with that very joy you wrote about, I interrupted her, crying, “Oh! Oh! Yes!” She jumped about three feet in the air and I watched Donovan slide into the corner flag as I apologized and tried to help her get her heartbeat back to normalcy.

It was a great moment. And I’d written off the US, thinking I didn’t care if they made it far.

By: Lanterne Rouge

Lanterne Rouge — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 09:38:14 +0000

Superbly put. I have always thought that football is about how you feel at 5 o’clock on a given saturday night. Whatever division the side you supports is in at that moment, a win, and in particular, a good win, will charge your mood, leave you just that little bit skippier. Hence, we see fans of teams like Manchester and Norwich Cities flock to watch their team even when relegated to the third tier of English football: it doesn’t matter if it’s a victory over Macclesfield or Liverpool that has been chalked up: you suddenly feel better. In a World Cup context, the US may now be out but the joy you describe after Landon’s goal will still occupy a place in memories for years to come. From an English point of view, one of my best World Cup memories was the astonishment felt and the explosion of joy when Michael Owen tore through Argentina in 1998. Nevermind that England lost the match on penalty: leaping up and down like a loon in a North London pub was fantastic.

By: Alan Jacobs

Alan Jacobs — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 01:46:03 +0000

Next post: “On Unhappiness.”

By: Brian Phillips

Brian Phillips — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 14:15:36 +0000

@Paul_Brooklyn All respect, but that's a crazy attitude and you should shake it out of your crazy head. I don't care whether soccer ever gets big in America, but I also can't sign off on its being a secret codespace for sophisticated urban liberals. First, because you're already sharing it with some of the worst people in the world (Franco, Lazio fans) so worrying about NASCAR dads is beside the point. Second, because it's lame to say you don't want Republicans to read Shakespeare. Third, because pseudo-hardcore fans who've been into the game for two years and act like seasoned hooligans are as annoying as any gleeful bandwagon-jumper. I definitely worry about sport's susceptibility to political exploitation, but for the most part, if NFL daytrippers want to expose themselves to something amazing and beautiful (and inherently internationalist) I say be glad they're in the spirit.

By: Football is boring argument dies in US « The Wrong Empire

Football is boring argument dies in US « The Wrong Empire — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 13:38:21 +0000

[...] The Run of Play posts On Happiness after the game [...]

By: More of the Web’s Best on the World Cup | World's Greatest T-Shirt

More of the Web’s Best on the World Cup | World's Greatest T-Shirt — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 20:53:40 +0000

[...] • The US beats Algeria, unleashing buckets of joy. [Run of Play] [...]

By: On Happiness « Scissors Kick

On Happiness « Scissors Kick — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 19:46:56 +0000

[...] On Happiness “Five minutes after it happened, Twitter was still in flames, cars were honking, bars were shaking like there’d been an earthquake, ESPN was breaking down in tears. If you spoke Spanish, or were my dad, there was a good chance you’d just heard this. Yahoo! Sports was crashing. My dad, who’s not really a soccer fan, was stuck in the car, couldn’t find the game on English-language radio, and spent 90 minutes trying to follow the Spanish commentary; he called me after the match to find out if what he thought had happened was real. But that was how everyone felt. It’s scary to think how things might have looked if anyone here cared about soccer.” (Run of Play) [...]

By: Tasty

Tasty — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 18:12:24 +0000

I lost my damn mind for a good day and a half after this match. You got a good part of it right, that this victory, all things considered, is not a defining point on the USA. It was, in a strange way, though, a defining point on ME, a USA soccer FAN, and someone who had played for a long time.

Also, the phrase, “a bowling ball in a bowling ball shop” might be the best way I’ve ever heard someone describe Altidore’s current playing style.

By: Paul_Brooklyn

Paul_Brooklyn — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 18:02:00 +0000

I lack the ability to express my thoughts, but stupidly I will try. It was a fantastically compelling match, as all three US matches have been, resulting in my begrudging support.

I just can’t help but fell uneasy at the prospect of USMNT success attracting the “not really a soccer fan” hoards, with their USA!USA!USA! chants, and feeble knowledge of the game, its history, or its customs.

I think I realize, Brian, you are expressing, to some extent, similar concerns: about bandwagon triumphalism and “crypto-fascism”, but are finding in it all some true community.

Maybe it was that I was watching it in a bar 2 blocks from Wall St. (in some sort of act of self-flagellation), but I can’t past the feeling of exploitation. I am not a USMNT fan, yet I feel an (I’m sure) unwanted sympathy for them.

I know I’m projecting, but assuming soccer-fandom arises at least in part from some sort of vaguely lefty, internationalist spirit, were I a fan, I wouldn’t want these NFL day-trippers at my party.