Rooting against your country is gross

The World Cup has come and gone for the United States of America. After an exciting group play stage that saw the Americans win their stage, hopes were high for the Americans to advance further in the tournament than they had before. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen when the team was unceremoniously trounced by Belgium. It showed how far American soccer still has to go (the men at least) when it comes to seriously competing on the national stage.
It was a feel-good story for a while, however, and seemed to be something the country could rally around. Until, like most everything else these days, it became political.
We all know the story by now. American striker Folarin Balogun received an (in our opinion) undeserved red card and was sent off from the Americans’ game against Bosnia  and Herzegovina and was supposed to miss the game against Belgium as well, the standard procedure when receiving a red card. The story didn’t end there, however, as apparently President Donald Trump got ahold of some soccer higher ups and pressed them to rescind Balogun’s suspension. Those soccer higher ups say Trump’s call had little to do with lifting the suspension. Who knows if that is the case. What is known is the suspension was lifted, and Balogun played against the Belgians. Not that it mattered.
Something happened after Balogun was allowed to play and during the game, however, that was absolutely was appalling. Some Americans, and dare we say, many Americans, began to openly root against the United States soccer team. Why? Their hatred for Donald Trump.
That’s where we are at as a country. It’s sad. There were countless social media posts by people saying they hoped Belgium defeated their home country because of Trump’s phone calls protesting the red card. This borders on insanity.
First of all, the players on the soccer team had absolutely nothing to do with the decision to rescind the red card, and they certainly didn’t lobby the president to make the call. Balogun has put his life into soccer and to representing his country. To ask him to “do the right thing” and sit out a game he has trained his entire life for is unrealistic. The World Cup only comes around every four years. These guys work their entire lives for this moment. If he was allowed to play, he was going to play.
I can’t imagine how these guys felt if they got on social media at all (understanding that social media is a cesspool of negativity and not always reflective of reality) and saw so many Americans hoping they lose. Through no fault of their own, no less. That had to be incredibly disheartening.
You can dislike the president all you want. That’s fine and it’s your right. But to let politics and your disdain for one person run your life so much that you would root against your own country in a sporting event is just...weird. Put down the politics and step away from the social media for a few days before you give yourself a stroke.
It was a fun ride, team USA. We, at least, were behind you all the way.