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ESPN will continue to air the EURO 2008 soccer semifinals on Wednesday when Germany will battle Turkey, while on Thursday Russia and Spain will once again battle. No one will be working in these respective countries while their countries are playing. If the USA were in the World Cup semifinals - or even quarterfinals - the country would continue on like nothing important is happening. Not many people would ask off from work just to watch our country.
Now, let's say the Boston Celtics or even the Gamecocks were playing in a national event. All of the residents in those respective cities would stop what they were doing and either watch the event or travel to see their local heroes play. In case you didn't know, three of the top ten days U.S. citizens skip or ask off for each year are the day after the Super Bowl and the first Thursday and Friday of the NCAA basketball tournament. Obviously, U.S. fans have the love for sports, but why can't we channel this spirit for our country's sports as a whole?
My brother's friend Philip was in Europe during the aforementioned Euro 2008. He was not a soccer - or should I say futbol - fan until recently. What made him become an instant fanatic? Well, last week, he was in Berlin when Germany defeated Portugal 3-2. He said it was awesome. He was thrown into the street in celebration and the streets soon became a zoo with everyone going crazy.
Currently, U.S. athletes are competing at the All England Club for one of tennis' greatest tournaments -the championships at Wimbledon. While I am writing this article, I am cheering for my fellow Americans and hoping that they will succeed and represent my country well.
In two months, some of these tennis players and many other USA citizens will compete for glory and for our country at the 2008 Olympic Games. Most of our athletes are not getting paid to compete but are gladly representing our country. Let's show them that we appreciate their hard work and dedication.
Now, I don't expect you to be as fiery as I am, but I expect you to follow the Olympics as much as possible. I don't expect you to watch every single second or to earn the nickname "screamer" because you are yelling at women's beach volleyball like me, but the athletes deserve your attention.
Plenty of people known more famous athletes like Lebron James and Kobe Bryant, but do you know the Bryan brothers that will represent the U.S. in doubles tennis, or Laura Wilkinson who is a former Olympic Champion on the 10 m platform (the platform is a diving event)? Or do you know about Bernard Lagat who loves this country so much he became a U.S. citizen just so he could represent the U.S. at the Olympics and give us a great chance to win our first ever gold in the 1500 m.?
One way you can root for your country is picking out locals you can cheer for. This great university will have several Olympians in the track and field events that you can cheer for. This weekend, many former Gamecocks will be competing at the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trails in Eugene, Ore. So come August, let's show that along with great athletes, the U.S. also has some of the best fans in the world. You can do this by simply watching the games and making the Olympics one of the most watched programs in the history of Television.
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