After 50,000 fake Americans showed up to root against their national team in favor of the country of their "heritage", I wondered what your thoughts were on the etiquette of deciding what national team to root for?

For example, I was born in Germany, but I am an American citizen. I root for the United States and Germany, but the United States is the team I root for if they are playing each other.

Sorry, I'm pretty liberal, but when I see American citizens openly rooting against the country that they live in to the point that they are throwing things at arguably our best player I lose all that liberalism.

My heritage. Italian. Born in Canada.

Will never root for Canada. They have the worst soccer system here. It really is a shame.

Never vote for any team for Toronto either.

Fans support the team no matter what...management has no reason to purchase new players. I refuse to be one of them.

Im from German heritage,my parents and my grandparents who are German root for Germany and Brazil.

I have 0 affection towards the German NT, although i would probably support them if i was born in, for example, Canada

I'm from Benin, grew up there until 15. now i'm a canadian. I root for both of them. If they face each other i'll be proud and i might root for the weakest team but basically i think that it's possible to root for both of them.
The 2 NT are pretty weaks anyways.

I'm half English, born and raised here and identify as British first and foremost, I feel no real affection for my other heritage countries from a sporting perspective, but I have a half-sister from Germany in the same boat only she seems more inclined to our patriarchal heritage. There's no right or wrong in these situations.

I have noticed that a lot of people from the US are from the US when it comes to things like athletics or world issues, but when it comes to things like 'soccer' and such, they'll suddenly identify as "Spanish" or "Italian" or whichever country they can trace their bloodline back to though

I'm an American citizen, born and raised in Russia with some Afghani heritage attached. The Afghani NT is super awful and I feel absolutely no affection towards the team or the country so I don't really care about them. I do like the Russian NT and have a soft spot for them when they play but if they were to face the US, I would absolutely support the USMNT.

Otherwise I root for different NT's that have my favorite players playing for them. (Denmark, Agger), (England, Gerrard) etc. However I do not have any sort of emotional connection to those NT's. The second Agger, Gerrard, Coutinho, etc retire from international footy I don't care about those NT's anymore. Like if Suarez leaves LFC I really wouldn't give two shits about Uruguay any longer. I used to support France, Brazil, and Spain for Zidane, Ronaldo, and Raul/Torres but don't care much about them anymore.

In order of favoratism it's

1. USMNT
2. Denmark
3. Russia
4. Brazil (if they call up Coutinho & Lucas)
The rest

Firenze wrote:I have noticed that a lot of people from the US are from the US when it comes to things like athletics or world issues, but when it comes to things like 'soccer' and such, they'll suddenly identify as "Spanish" or "Italian" or whichever country they can trace their bloodline back to though

Yeah, that's the part that pisses me off.

I can understand not identifying with the United States when we largely think being Latino is some form of second class status, but fair or not, it's hard to change that mindset when you have opportunities to show how much you love America and instead you give the haters more reasons not to like or trust you.

I mean if you can get under my skin, I'd hate to see what a close minded individual thought watching that game.

I'm algerian with morrocan and spanish hertiage on my dads side.. I only root for algeria or usa..

I don't see any issue with people supporting their home country (or parents' home nation) over the US if that's the case. I do, however, have a problem when said fans are throwing objects at US players in the US and/or hurling nasty vocal abuse their way.

That goes for other nations as well, though it seems to be much less an issue elsewhere as the US has so many immigrants in it's ranks.

Please elaborate what fake americans were present? Because I hope you realize that although the gold cup is hosted by the united states that does not mean that every time the U.S plays the game is going to be a home game. Seriously, it's an international tournament and I would say that a majority of those fans are immigrants who supported their national team since childhood and just because the United States has given them wonderful opportunities doesn't mean they have to change their allegiance. While I do condone them for throwing stuff, that's really just a cultural thing. Example Look at how Mexican Fans treated their own coach

Furthermore, I am American and my parents are from Honduras, but I support the Honduran National Team and have a soft spot for the USMNT. I do not consider myself a fake american.

There's no excuse for throwing things at players or other fans. Do NOT attempt to excuse it.

I'm not attempting to excuse it... I'm not a fan of it, but simply pointing out that its opposing fans doing it. The same or similar would be seen in any away international game and considering the amount of fans there I think its safe to say it was a away game.

But you are right there's no excuse to it and its wrong

Eh, I see where you're coming from and it probably would have bothered me when I was younger, but I could care less at this point. We just kicked ES's ass 5-1, I'm not bothered with these supporters who gave the USSF oodles of cash to silently watch that organized gang rape that I just witnessed.

It wouldn't be seen in "any away international game" though, in fact it's a fairly rare occurrence outside of very specific games/areas.  And the fact that it's coming from people living in a specific nation, against that very nation's national side, makes it all the worse and all the more indefensible and inexcusable.  You certainly don't have to support the USMNT when living in the United States, but a modicum of respect for the team and its players is the very least that should be expected and demanded.  If people cannot even show that bit of basic etiquette then I'm inclined to agree that there is an issue with the supposed "fans" in question.

honduran09 wrote:While I do condone them for throwing stuff, that's really just a cultural thing.

Even if you meant to say "don't" there, you ARE still attempting to provide an excuse for the activity by providing a cultural justification.

It bothers me when the US play a game "at home" in front of a hostile crowd. In my opinion, that should never happen. Frankly, it struck me just how hostile towards the USMNT that crowd was. However, it's they have a right to root for whichever National Team they identify with.

In truth, I believe it says more about American soccer than the fans in the stadium. We haven't defined our footballing identity, yet. Even in our centennial year, we are only just beginning to establish some form of identity, thanks in part to a growing popularity of the sport (as a consumer sport, not a participatory sport) in this country.

I firmly believe that the solution is not chastising those fans who chose to support the nation of their heritage over the nation of their citizenship. Instead, we should give them something to identify with.

Personally, I'm about as much of an American "mutt" as you can get. Irish and English are my predominant background, but there is a little German, French, and who knows what else in there. The point of this is that I don't identify with any single nation as my heritage. I self-identify as an American. Therefore, the USMNT is my team (as should be obvious from my handle). However, many people have stronger ties to their heritage, ties that will take something more than simply having a team to persude them to shift allegiance.

Hopefully, this current spell of semi-competitiveness (winning in The Azteca, knockout stage of the last world cup, that incredible Confed Cup run, beating Germany, beating Italy, etc.) continues and we are able to establish the beginnings of the identity that other nations have built up over decades upon decades of competitive national sides.

Personally I support Italy

I'm part Italian, grew up in England but I don't technically have any English heritage.

To be honest it doesn't matter if you pick your birthplace or heritage or even your residency. If you feel strongly about that place, culture, NT etc then you'e obviously going to support it

Thank god i'm not 100% English, half the team cheat on their wives and have a terrible attitude

Which brings me to another point. Even if you love a country, if you hate some of the 11 men, just because they put on a different top it doesn't mean you should have to support them.

I would understand people not supporting their NT, if they despise some of the main players who supposedly represent their Nation.

Giving an explanation for a occurrence does not mean excuse its simply providing some reasoning for their actions. For example if I was to say theft is a poverty thing doesn't mean I'm excusing their actions. Its just cause and effect.

"You certainly don't have to support the USMNT when living in the United States, but a modicum of respect for the team and its players is the very least that should be expected and demanded. If people cannot even show that bit of basic etiquette then I'm inclined to agree that there is an issue with the supposed "fans" in question."

I agree with this statement the only disagreement I have is with the OP and that's because he called them fake americans and basically was saying that they should be supporting the USMNT just because they live here ( well thats what i got out of it anyways)

donttreadonred wrote:It bothers me when the US play a game "at home" in front of a hostile crowd. In my opinion, that should never happen. Frankly, it struck me just how hostile towards the USMNT that crowd was. However, it's they have a right to root for whichever National Team they identify with.

In truth, I believe it says more about American soccer than the fans in the stadium. We haven't defined our footballing identity, yet. Even in our centennial year, we are only just beginning to establish some form of identity, thanks in part to a growing popularity of the sport (as a consumer sport, not a participatory sport) in this country.

I firmly believe that the solution is not chastising those fans who chose to support the nation of their heritage over the nation of their citizenship. Instead, we should give them something to identify with.  

Personally, I'm about as much of an American "mutt" as you can get. Irish and English are my predominant background, but there is a little German, French, and who knows what else in there. The point of this is that I don't identify with any single nation as my heritage. I self-identify as an American. Therefore, the USMNT is my team (as should be obvious from my handle). However, many people have stronger ties to their heritage, ties that will take something more than simply having a team to persude them to shift allegiance.

Hopefully, this current spell of semi-competitiveness (winning in The Azteca, knockout stage of the last world cup, that incredible Confed Cup run, beating Germany, beating Italy, etc.) continues and we are able to establish the beginnings of the identity that other nations have built up over decades upon decades of competitive national sides.  

This^ I would support the USMNT more often if I could identify with more clearly beside the fact that I was born here.. A major reason why I support the Honduran National Team is not because they play amazingly or anything but because I grew up on them. To this day it is still a tradition for my dad and me to watch their games together. Even though the majority of time we are complaining on how bad they suck.

I will admit though I find myself watching and following both sets of teams and players and I hope to establish a similar tradition with my daughter

I was born in England, raised in England, have English heritage and identify with English culture, so I suppose it's natural I support the English national team. However, I don't support the team out of any sense of obligation because I was born here or because I have English parents since those aren't the reasons why I feel English; I feel English because I've spent 20 years experiencing this culture and its values. To me, that's the most important thing when choosing which national team you support. If I had lived in France for 20 years instead, I'd be supporting France, regardless of being born in England or having England heritage.

Which brings me to another point. Even if you love a country, if you hate some of the 11 men, just because they put on a different top it doesn't mean you should have to support them.

I would understand people not supporting their NT, if they despise some of the main players who supposedly represent their Nation.

I've personally never had a problem with this since I tend to separate the personal and playing sides. So while I certainly can't ignore some of things, say, John Terry has done, I can still appreciate his talents as a football player.

GoonerJay29 wrote:I was born in England, raised in England, have English heritage and identify with English culture, so I suppose it's natural I support the English national team. However, I don't support the team out of any sense of obligation because I was born here or because I have English parents since those aren't the reasons why I feel English; I feel English because I've spent 20 years experiencing this culture and its values. To me, that's the most important thing when choosing which national team you support. If I had lived in France for 20 years instead, I'd be supporting France, regardless of being born in England or having England heritage.

Which brings me to another point. Even if you love a country, if you hate some of the 11 men, just because they put on a different top it doesn't mean you should have to support them.

I would understand people not supporting their NT, if they despise some of the main players who supposedly represent their Nation.

I've personally never had a problem with this since I tend to separate the personal and playing sides. So while I certainly can't ignore some of things, say, John Terry has done, I can still appreciate his talents as a football player.

This.

I am English, but i don't have an English heritage. However despite leaning towards France early on in my life(mainly because of my grand father) i gradually started to properly support England over the years. It's like, living in an English(or any) culture all your life will naturally push you towards that. I support England and it isn't as an obligation, it's because i am part of this country and so is the England NT.

However i do find it hard to not insult Lennon and Parker at times. ahem carry on

Though heritage is very important to me, I think it's also important to support the you live in day to day.

If you can call that place home, it is a bit disrespectful IMO to root against that.

honduran09 wrote:Giving an explanation for a occurrence does not mean excuse its simply providing some reasoning for their actions. For example if I was to say theft is a poverty thing doesn't mean I'm excusing their actions. Its just cause and effect.

"You certainly don't have to support the USMNT when living in the United States, but a modicum of respect for the team and its players is the very least that should be expected and demanded.  If people cannot even show that bit of basic etiquette then I'm inclined to agree that there is an issue with the supposed "fans" in question."

I agree with this statement the only disagreement I have is with the OP and that's because he called them fake americans and basically was saying that they should be supporting the USMNT just because they live here ( well thats what i got out of it anyways)

You are correct in what I intended with my original post, and I do in fact view them as less American for not rooting for the USMNT. Believe me, I'm not saying for a moment that my beliefs are right and not close-minded. This is one of the few areas I am not liberal on, because for some reason it has always gotten under my skin so I am not my typical rational self when it comes to events like this.

I am not okay with 50,000 residents of the Northeast openly rooting against the team that represents the nation that provides them the opportunity to support themselves and their family at a level likely higher than had they still lived in the country of their heritage.

Maybe if we were a better football nation I wouldn't care and I'd just laugh at their misguided support, but I look at those people and I just see lost opportunities: 1) on the part of US Soccer in not finding a way to bring them into the fold; and 2) at them personally for not doing their part if they love the game and this country so much to help introduce their heritage to our football and move us all one step closer to where we want to go.

However i do find it hard to not insult Lennon and Parker at times. ahem carry on

Lennon hardly gets a run in to your team (somehow) Dunno how you can support him though. He's like a better Walcott really. Parker I understand completely and fully support you.

For me this is easy since I am American, have lived in America my whole life, and my parents before me are both American. I find it hard to see people rooting against the country they live in but I can understand it if they don't identify with the country they live in.

I think RG and Goonerjay have got it spot on this thread.