I am annoyed by the pleasure that Americans, especially the media, take at American disappointments in world sporting events. I let it go after the World Cup loss, but America’s early exit at Wimbledon has once again pushed the American hating issue to the front of my mind. I understand that American’s are usually seen as the dominant force in sports (and nearly everything else) and they are hated by our competition for that reason. I understand that the political dislike of America from foreigners spills over to the sports arena. I know that America losing is big news. What I don’t understand is why a reporter like Frank Deford would be downright giddy as he reads an imaginary obituary for American tennis on NPR. Why would an American be so happy that we lost?

The only explanation I can think of is that the media fundamentally misunderstands the true fan. A real fan, doesn’t cheer for a team because they know their team routinely stomps the competion. A real fan is born out of the 9th inning heroics of a close game, the heart-breaking defeats, and season after season of unwavering support. Why would the media really care about the fans? The fan I just described is going to watch the games regardless of media intervention. The media is more interested in winning new eyes and ears. We know their strategy all too well. They need the huge celebrity athletes that they can seduce the public with. If there isn’t a dream team of celebrities the media fears that the average person won’t take notice. They invent scandals or exploit the personalities in order to create the provocative story. They don’t even care about the celebrities they exploit. Look at the way the media turned its back on their posterboy, Andy Roddick this week. He has gone from the savior of American tennis to strangely absent in proclamations of American tennis’ death.

I guess what is most upsetting is that patriotism is so absent from the media. There is more than just sports on display international sporting events. These athletes represent us. We should take pride in their performances, win or lose. The media also represent us, and I am ashamed of them for having so little nationalism. The greatest thing about sports is that it can promote nationalism, and that is the story that is being intentionally ignored when they revel in American defeat. The story could bring us together - if they wanted it to. The interesting thing is that although the media would have us believe that American tennis (or soccer, or basketball) is dead, these sports are actually *more* interesting as a result of the increased level of international competition. The media doesn’t care, but I enjoy rooting for athletes that I can relate to and look forward to watching the next line of Americans. I just hope that they can survive the Dennis Rodman treatment they will get from the media.