Did anyone see the U.S. lose to Brazil in the Women’s World Cup? In light of Title IX, did anyone care? You should have. During the Cold War, we crushed Communism with superior firepower and aggressive capitalism. But they dominated us during their peak on many an athletic playing field. That is why THE sports event of the second half of the 20th century was the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y., when the U.S. hockey team whipped the “Big Red Machine.” Why did the USSR pay so much attention to developing sports? Positive public relations for the world to see. In the last two years, the United States has taken a beating in sports arenas with regards to national sports teams. Remember the World Baseball Classic last year? Hope not. The United States finished a distant 6th. Who won? China. Who is the most upwardly mobile country in the last 20 years? China. Men’s 2006 Soccer World Cup? 0-2-1, and looked real bad doing it. Don’t think the world noticed? You, my friend, are wrong. Now this isn’t all gloom and doom with the world seeing us as a 21st century version of 5th century Rome. The U.S. men’s senior basketball team won the FIBA Americas Championship this year, qualifying for the Olympics in Beijing in 2008. As in Beijing, CHINA. In the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, the U.S. national team finished second in the medal count behind Germany. Pretty good considering some previous medal counts. Bottom line, whether you like soccer or basketball or baseball or not, you should keep yourself aware of the results of such world tournaments. In this wired-in 21st century, all the world is a stage, and public perception is vital to economic growth and political positioning. When U.S. sports teams fail to live up to expectations the influence is subtle, but affective in other arenas not just sports.

Dylan Thomas